A knife fight at the top
3.3596
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 3.3596 points.
- 1st WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ
- 2nd K & D SMOKERS
- 3rd PALMETTO PITMASTERS
- 4th SMOKE MONSTER BBQ
- 5th HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY
Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic 2019
Sep 20–21, 2019 · Salisbury, NC · 📍 653 Bendix Dr · State championship
Reps: Alan Rothrock, Debby Harwell, Don Harwell · Prize money: $10,000
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic on September 20, 2019 in Salisbury, NC at 653 Bendix Dr, scoring 691.9428 in a field of 56 teams. K & D SMOKERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.2284. Category winners: Chicken — WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — SMOKE MONSTER BBQ (178.8572); Pork — Still Workin' On It (175.4172); Brisket — SMOKE THIS (176.0116). This is the 6th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2018 edition was won by ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE.
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.
579.29
median 660.99
691.94 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 175.42
- Brisket 176.01
128.49
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2019 — this edition picked out.
Entries
56
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
691.9428
Winning margin
1.7144
GC over RC
Field average
657.52
579.29691.94
median 660.99 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
1.7144 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.2172
579.29691.94
10th place overall
Field spread
112.6516
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 65%
beats 35% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
59%
17 of 29 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.7 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,579
avg power rating going in · stronger than 63% of contests
Storylines (5 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 3–4: House of Smoke NC and PALMETTO PITMASTERS tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 5–6: NORTH MEETS SOUTH BBQ NC and SMOKE MONSTER BBQ tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 6–7: SMOKECRAFT - MD and SmoKing Aces BBQ - NC tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Pork 5–6 · tie
- Brisket 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
How the title was won
1 of 4
meats called to the stage
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ took the title on 1 call from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 17th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 11th
- Pork 17th
- Brisket 14th
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKE THIS (won 2015).
- SMOKE THIS · 2015
One of the big ones
56
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 90% of the 5,468 contests in the data
56 teams — bigger than 90% of the 5,468 contests in the data.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2013 | Salisbury, NC | Salisbury, NC | 72 | 705.7144 | KILLER B'S BBQ | 4:20 Q |
| Sep 18, 2015 | Salisbury, NC | Salisbury, NC 28146 | 59 | 697.6572 | SMOKE THIS | CHECKERED PIG |
| Sep 16, 2016 | Salisbury, NC | Salisbury, NC | 68 | 699.3716 | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM |
| Sep 15, 2017 | Salisbury, NC | 653 Bendix Dr | 63 | 689.6688 | SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | NORTH MEETS SOUTH BBQ |
| Sep 14, 2018 | Salisbury, NC | 653 Bendix Dr | 29 | 691.3944 | ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE | MIDNIGHT BURN |
| Sep 20, 2019 ← this one | Salisbury, NC | 653 Bendix Dr | 56 | 691.9428 | Wolf's Revenge BBQ | K & D SMOKERS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.8456 | 171.4172 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 175.4400 | 172.5600 |
| Pork | 175.4172 | 173.1200 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 176.0116 | 174.2972 | 172.5600 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
56 entries · top 691.9428 · median 660.9886
Chicken
56 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.4114
Pork Ribs
56 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.5486
Pork
56 entries · top 175.4172 · median 163.1144
Brisket
56 entries · top 176.0116 · median 165.4114
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 — Cabo Wabo Margarita
20 entries · top 178.8572 · median 164.2914
Ancillary — Turkey Smoke
24 entries · top 173.1316 · median 157.3942