Photo finishes
Tie
decided the closest call
Pork Ribs places 8–9: Twin Pillars BBQ and Smokin' Stacks BBQ tied on 166.8344 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
California State Fair BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS)
Jul 31 – Aug 1, 2026 · Sacramento, CA · 📍 1600 Exposition Blvd
Reps: Ian Schmidt, Julie Poe · Prize money: $825
Grand Champion: 5 Skinz BBQ (178.8572) · 12 teams
Full results from the California State Fair BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) 2026, a KCBS-sanctioned barbecue contest held on July 31, 2026 in Sacramento, CA at 1600 Exposition Blvd. Category winners: Pork Ribs — 5 Skinz BBQ (178.8572).
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Pork Ribs totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
156
median 169.44
178.86 🏆
Entries
12
1 judged meat · 1 ancillary
Top score
178.8572
Winning margin
1.7028
1st over 2nd in Pork Ribs
Field average
169.57
156178.86
Pork Ribs · median 169.44 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
8 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
166.3088
156178.86
10th place in Pork Ribs
Field spread
22.8572
winner to last place
Prize money
$825
on the line
How hot was the win?
Top 30%
beats 70% of 5793 Pork Ribs wins in the data
Storylines (1 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.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Score distribution
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 170.8572 | 166.3088 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Masters Series Single Meat
Pork Ribs
12 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.4402
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Skinz BBQ | |
| 2 | Smolder and Wiser | |
| 3 | Smokin' Rose BBQ | |
| 4 | Cowabunga BBQ | |
| 5 | Top Nach BBQ | |
| 6 | The Naked Rib BBQ | |
| 7 | The Walnut Room BBQ Team | |
| 8 | Twin Pillars BBQ | |
| 9 | Smokin' Stacks BBQ | |
| 10 | 8up Barbeque | |
| 11 | 3G BBQ | |
| 12 | Uncle Matty's BBQ |
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 — Just Wing It
12 entries · top 175.4288 · median 161.9598
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Walnut Room BBQ Team | |
| 2 | Smokin' Rose BBQ | |
| 3 | Twin Pillars BBQ | |
| 4 | Cowabunga BBQ | |
| 5 | Top Nach BBQ | |
| 6 | Smolder and Wiser | |
| 7 | 5 Skinz BBQ | |
| 8 | 8up Barbeque | |
| 9 | The Naked Rib BBQ | |
| 10 | 3G BBQ | |
| 11 | Smokin' Stacks BBQ | |
| 12 | Uncle Matty's BBQ |