A new contest record
697.7372
highest overall ever cooked here
697.7372 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 692.5488 Team Meat Coma set in 2019.
- old record 692.5488
- set 2019 by Team Meat Coma
Smoke in the Grove 2020
Jul 24–25, 2020 · Spring Grove, PA · 📍 205 East Railroad St · State championship
Reps: Alex Jr Brown, Angela McKee, Louise Weidner, Robert McKee · Prize money: $12,025
DIG'N N PIG'N won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Grove on July 24, 2020 in Spring Grove, PA at 205 East Railroad St, scoring 697.7372 in a field of 59 teams. UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT took Reserve Grand Champion with 694.8112. Category winners: Chicken — UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT (179.4400); Pork Ribs — CHUNKY BBQ (178.2972); Pork — BAD AZZ MULE BBQ (177.7028); Brisket — DIG'N N PIG'N (180.0000). The Backyard Series standings were won by Webers Backyard BBQ with 342.8344. This is the 4th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Team Meat Coma; the next was held in 2021.
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.
583.26
median 657.60
697.74 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 179.44
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 178.30
- Master Series — Pork 177.70
- Master Series — Brisket 180 🔥
- Backyard Series — Chicken 176.58
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 173.73
122.67
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
59
6 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
697.7372
Winning margin
2.9260
GC over RC
Field average
654.09
583.26697.74
median 657.60 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.4172 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
678.2516
583.26697.74
10th place overall
Field spread
114.4796
winner to last place
Prize money
$12,025
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 42%
beats 58% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
48%
40 of 84 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.49 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,545
avg power rating going in · stronger than 33% of contests
Storylines (10 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
8-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 92 times in 100
DIG'N N PIG'N came in rated below the field's top team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 8-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1539
- top seed 1967
A first Grand Championship
27
tracked contests to get there
This was Dign N Pign's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 27th tracked contest.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Pork Ribs places 6–7: MACK DADDYS BBQ and BAD AZZ MULE BBQ tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Backyard Series — Chicken places 9–10: MRC Barbecue and Kane's BBQ tied on 165.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 7–8: BUBBA'S BARBECUE edged BIG RAZ BBQ by 0.0116.
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Backyard Series — Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 7–8 · 0.0116
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
DIG'N N PIG'N took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 10th.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 9th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in brisket
180.0000
best brisket ever cooked here
DIG'N N PIG'N turned in 180.0000 in brisket — past the 176.0000 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
- old best 176.0000
- across 3 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (won 2018).
- WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ · 2018
One of the big ones
59
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 91% of the 5,469 contests in the data
59 teams — bigger than 91% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The biggest field yet
59
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 53 teams
59 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 53.
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- DIG'N N PIG'N · Brisket
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2017 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 E Railroad Street | 51 | 675.8972 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 E Railroad Street | 54 | 688.4912 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | APORKALYPSE NOW |
| Jul 26, 2019 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 E Railroad Street | 53 | 692.5488 | Team Meat Coma | SMOKIN' TEX BBQ |
| Jul 24, 2020 ← this one | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad St | 59 | 697.7372 | Dign N Pign | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Jul 30, 2021 | Spring Grove, PA | Spring Grove, PA 17362 | 54 | 692.5256 | Not So Famous Dave's BBQ | TOP GUN BARBECUE |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad Street | 54 | 697.6688 | Piggin' Whiskey | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
| Jul 30, 2022 | Spring Grove, PA | 205 East Railroad Street | 42 | 703.9888 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| Jul 28, 2023 | Spring Grove, PA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 29, 2023 | Spring Grove, PA | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2856 | 172 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 178.2972 | 173.1428 | 169.6916 |
| Master Series — Pork | 177.7028 | 174.2856 | 172 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180 | 174.8456 | 171.9772 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 176.5828 | 171.4056 | 165.6800 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 173.7260 | 168.5484 | 163.4400 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
59 entries · top 697.7372 · median 657.6000
Chicken
59 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.5484
Pork Ribs
59 entries · top 178.2972 · median 163.3940
Pork
59 entries · top 177.7028 · median 165.7028
Brisket
59 entries · top 180 · median 163.4400 · 🔥 perfect 180
Backyard Series
Overall
26 entries · top 342.8344 · median 324.5602
Chicken
25 entries · top 176.5828 · median 163.3828
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 173.7260 · median 159.4170
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 — Backyard Pork Butt
22 entries · top 176.5828 · median 164.2798