A new contest record
697.7600
highest overall ever cooked here
697.7600 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 673.6344 FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS set in 2018.
- old record 673.6344
- set 2018 by FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS
Wild West Fest On Fire 2019
Aug 10–11, 2019 · Zbilje, Medvode, Slovenia · SLOVENIA
Reps: Haymo Gutweniger, Luca Famigli
WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ won Grand Champion at the Wild West Fest On Fire on August 10, 2019 in Zbilje, Medvode, 1215, scoring 697.7600 in a field of 27 teams. BUNCH OF SWINES took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.0512. Category winners: Chicken — FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS (176.5600); Pork Ribs — DRAGON BBQ (173.1772); Pork — WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ (178.3200); Brisket — WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ (179.4400). This is the 2nd of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS; the next was held in 2022.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
622.78
median 662.83
697.76 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 173.18
- Pork 178.32
- Brisket 179.44
143.39
179.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2018 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
27
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
697.7600
Winning margin
12.7088
GC over RC
Field average
660.88
622.78697.76
median 662.83 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.3316 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
669.0856
622.78697.76
10th place overall
Field spread
74.9828
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 42%
beats 58% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
52%
11 of 21 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.81 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,572
avg power rating going in · stronger than 57% of contests
Storylines (9 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
An upset on the books
33-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 67 times in 100
White Squirrel BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, BUNCH OF SWINES, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 33-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1756
- top seed 1881
A statement win
12.7088
points clear of the field
Wider than 93% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The champion won by 12.7088 points — a wider margin than 93% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
Knockstone BBq Team Austria has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2023
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: Grillers - bbq passion and WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ tied on 172.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: FULAC BBQ and NYARSPOLGAR BBQ tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 8–9: NYARSPOLGAR BBQ and WESTSIDE BBQ tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 10th.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 10th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in brisket
179.4400
best brisket ever cooked here
WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ turned in 179.4400 in brisket — past the 168.5716 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 168.5716
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS (won 2018).
- FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS · 2018
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2018 | Zbilje, Medvode | Zbilje, Medvode, 1215 | 21 | 673.6344 | FRIULI VIOLENT GRILLERS | THE BARKTENDERS |
| Aug 10, 2019 ← this one | Zbilje, Medvode | Zbilje, Medvode, 1215 | 27 | 697.7600 | White Squirrel BBQ | BUNCH OF SWINES |
| Aug 6, 2022 | Medvode | Zbilje | 11 | 693.6688 | Knockstone BBq Team Austria | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
| Aug 12, 2023 | Medvode | Zbilje | 12 | 695.3944 | Knockstone BBQ Team Austria | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
| Aug 10, 2024 | Medvode | Zbilje | 11 | 707.9772 | Insomnia BBQ Team | COOKLOUNGE BBQ |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Medvode | Lake Zbilje | 20 | 699.9540 | Food'Venture Grill & BBQ | WESTSIDE BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 172 | 170.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1772 | 170.8456 | 168 |
| Pork | 178.3200 | 171.9656 | 168.5140 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 169.7028 | 165.7372 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 697.7600 · median 662.8344
Chicken
27 entries · top 176.5600 · median 167.9888
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 173.1772 · median 166.2972
Pork
27 entries · top 178.3200 · median 165.1200
Brisket
27 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.5944
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Ancillary — Dessert
8 entries · top 180 · median 175.4114 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSYCHO DOG BBQ TEAM | |
| 2 | Grillers - bbq passion | |
| 3 | KNOCKSTONE BBQ TEAM AUSTRIA | |
| 4 | EGGHEAD-BARBECUE | |
| 5 | SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE | |
| 6 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 7 | SPENA BBQ | |
| 8 | HEDGEHOG BBQ |