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.
- Pops BBQ 22 · Chicken
- CYNICAL BBQ · Chicken
- Meat Candy Q · Pork Ribs
The Golden State Battle III - Day 2
Apr 17–18, 2021 · Hollister, CA · State championship
Reps: Kathleen McIntosh, Kelly McIntosh · Prize money: $5,000
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won Grand Champion at The Golden State Battle III - Day 2 on April 17, 2021 in Hollister, CA, scoring 702.2400 in a field of 26 teams. BULL MARKET BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 699.9544. Category winners: Chicken — Pops BBQ 22 (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Meat Candy Q (180.0000); Brisket — BIG POPPA SMOKERS (178.8572).
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 🔥
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Brisket 178.86
158.22
180
Entries
26
3 judged meats · 1 ancillary
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
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 25%
beats 75% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.39 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,610
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 13 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
2 of 3
meats called to the stage
BIG POPPA SMOKERS took the title on 2 calls from 3 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 20th.
- Chicken 20th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- 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 | 177.7028 | 174.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 176.5600 | 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 · 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 · 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 |
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 |
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
26 entries · top 180 · 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 |