A day of perfect scores
5
perfect 180s
5 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- Pops BBQ 22 · Chicken
- CYNICAL BBQ · Chicken
- BULL MARKET BBQ · Pork
The Golden State Battle III - Day 2
2021-04-17 – 2021-04-18 · Hollister, CA · 📍 Hollister, CA · State championship
Reps: KATHLEEN MCINTOSH, KELLY MCINTOSH · Prize money: $5,000.00
Grand Champion: Big Poppa Smokers (702.2400) · 26 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BULL MARKET BBQ
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.
658.18
median 685.91
702.24 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180.00 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180.00 🔥
- Pork 180.00 🔥
- Brisket 178.86
158.22
180.00
Entries
26
4 judged meats
Top score
702.2400
Winning margin
2.2856
GC over RC
Field average
682.87
658.18702.24
median 685.91 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
689.6228
658.18702.24
10th place overall
Field spread
44.0572
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,000.00
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 24%
beats 76% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.39 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1610
avg power rating going in · stronger than 83% of contests
Storylines (3 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 14 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: Pops BBQ 22 and CYNICAL BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: 7 SINS BBQ and BURNIN AND LOOTIN tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: Meat Candy Q and BULL MARKET BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
BIG POPPA SMOKERS took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 20th.
- Chicken 20th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 1st
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 177.7028 | 174.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 172.5600 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 174.8572 | 172.5600 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 176.5600 | 172.5828 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 702.2400 · median 685.9084
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 3 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 4 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 5 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 6 | THE CALIFORNIA GRILL BILLIES | |
| 7 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 8 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 9 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 10 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 11 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 12 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 13 | LADY OF Q | |
| 14 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 15 | PORKCHOP & BUBBAS | |
| 16 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 17 | Smokin Hot Babe Bbq | |
| 18 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 19 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 20 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 21 | CANYON RIDERS BBQ | |
| 22 | Team Woodshed | |
| 23 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 24 | ROCKIN' BAR-B SMOKERS | |
| 25 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 26 | West Coast Smoke |
Chicken
26 entries · top 180.0000 · median 173.4056 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 2 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 3 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 4 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 7 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 8 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 9 | ROCKIN' BAR-B SMOKERS | |
| 10 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 11 | THE CALIFORNIA GRILL BILLIES | |
| 12 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 13 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 14 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 15 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 16 | LADY OF Q | |
| 17 | PORKCHOP & BUBBAS | |
| 18 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 19 | CANYON RIDERS BBQ | |
| 20 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 21 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 22 | West Coast Smoke | |
| 23 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 24 | Team Woodshed | |
| 25 | Smokin Hot Babe Bbq | |
| 26 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.8572 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 2 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 3 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 4 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 5 | Team Woodshed | |
| 6 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 7 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 9 | Smokin Hot Babe Bbq | |
| 10 | THE CALIFORNIA GRILL BILLIES | |
| 11 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 12 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 13 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 14 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 15 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 16 | PORKCHOP & BUBBAS | |
| 17 | LADY OF Q | |
| 18 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 19 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 20 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 21 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 22 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 23 | West Coast Smoke | |
| 24 | CANYON RIDERS BBQ | |
| 25 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 26 | ROCKIN' BAR-B SMOKERS |
Pork
26 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.2456 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 2 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 3 | THE CALIFORNIA GRILL BILLIES | |
| 4 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 5 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ | |
| 6 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 7 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 8 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 9 | PORKCHOP & BUBBAS | |
| 10 | Smokin Hot Babe Bbq | |
| 11 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 12 | LADY OF Q | |
| 13 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 14 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 15 | Team Woodshed | |
| 16 | West Coast Smoke | |
| 17 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 18 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 19 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 20 | ROCKIN' BAR-B SMOKERS | |
| 21 | CANYON RIDERS BBQ | |
| 22 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 23 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 24 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 25 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 26 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ |
Brisket
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 3 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 4 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 5 | CANYON RIDERS BBQ | |
| 6 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 7 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 8 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 9 | LADY OF Q | |
| 10 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 11 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 12 | BULL MARKET BBQ | |
| 13 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 14 | PORKCHOP & BUBBAS | |
| 15 | THE CALIFORNIA GRILL BILLIES | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 17 | Smokin Hot Babe Bbq | |
| 18 | Pops BBQ 22 | |
| 19 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 20 | BURNIN AND LOOTIN | |
| 21 | ROCKIN' BAR-B SMOKERS | |
| 22 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 23 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 24 | West Coast Smoke | |
| 25 | Team Woodshed | |
| 26 | SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ |