A new contest record
702.8116
highest overall ever cooked here
702.8116 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 701.6916 Smoked Out BBQ set in 2019.
- old record 701.6916
- set 2019 by Smoked Out BBQ
Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 1 2020
Oct 23–24, 2020 · Shawnee, OK · 📍 1570 S Gordon Cooper Dr · State championship
Reps: Bob McKinnon, Karen Jane Williams, Ralph Williams, Terri McKinnon · Prize money: $13,000
BOOMERANG BBQ won Grand Champion at the Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 1 on October 23, 2020 in Shawnee, OK at 1570 S Gordon Cooper Dr, scoring 702.8116 in a field of 64 teams. SLAPS BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.8688. Category winners: Chicken — Lake Rat BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Smoking OCD (177.7144); Brisket — BUFFALO'S BBQ (180.0000). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Smoked Out BBQ; 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.
606.11
median 681.05
702.81 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180 🔥
- Pork Ribs 177.71
- Brisket 180 🔥
142.18
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2019 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
64
3 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
702.8116
Winning margin
3.9428
GC over RC
Field average
676.60
606.11702.81
median 681.05 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.2856 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
694.2056
606.11702.81
10th place overall
Field spread
96.6972
winner to last place
Prize money
$13,000
on the line
How hot was the win?
Top 23%
beats 77% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
38%
28 of 74 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.56 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,657
avg power rating going in · stronger than 97% of contests
Storylines (7 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.
Won without a category win
3 of 3
meats called to the stage
BOOMERANG BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 3 boards, best of them 5th. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 5th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Brisket 10th
A day of perfect scores
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- BUFFALO'S BBQ · Brisket
- SLAPS BBQ · Brisket
- Potbellied Stallions · Brisket
A stacked field
1657
average power rating going in
Stronger than 97% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1657 power rating going in — stronger than 97% of every contest tracked.
- top seed GETTIN' BASTED (1986)
- 64 rated teams
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: BOOMERANG BBQ and MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ and UNCLE J'S tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: UNCLE J'S and BOGGS HOG BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
A contest record in chicken
180.0000
best chicken ever cooked here
Lake Rat BBQ turned in 180.0000 in chicken — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 1 past editions
One of the big ones
64
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 93% of the 5,482 contests in the data
64 teams — bigger than 93% of the 5,482 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 2019 | Shawnee, OK | 1570 S Gordon Cooper | 74 | 701.6916 | Smoked Out BBQ | DEAD BIRD BBQ |
| Oct 23, 2020 ← this one | Shawnee, OK | 1570 S Gordon Cooper Dr | 64 | 702.8116 | Boomerang BBQ | SLAPS BBQ |
| Mar 19, 2021 | Shawnee, OK | 1570 S Gordon Cooper Dr | 56 | 706.8456 | Rio Valley Meat BBQ | CLARK CREW BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 176.5600 | 175.4288 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 175.4288 | 174.2628 |
| Brisket | 180 | 177.7028 | 175.4056 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
64 entries · top 702.8116 · median 681.0456
Chicken
64 entries · top 180 · median 171.6914 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
64 entries · top 177.7144 · median 168.8514
Brisket
64 entries · top 180 · median 170.5428 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
Master Series — Pork Butt
64 entries · top 180 · median 171.9886 · 🔥 perfect 180