Big Bear Grill & Chill BBQ Championships
2021-05-28 – 2021-05-29 · Big Bear Lake, CA · 📍 630 Bartlett Rd · State championship
Reps: MICHAEL SANTIAGO, RHONDA SANTIAGO · Prize money: $10,000.00
Grand Champion: Mudville BBQ (705.1316) · 27 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 BIG POPPA SMOKERS
Entries
27
4 judged meats
Top score
705.1316
Winning margin
5.7144
GC over RC
Field average
633.65
median 651.30
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
659.8744
10th place overall
Field spread
583.0744
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000.00
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 22%
beats 78% of 1951 Master Series wins in the data
Traveled in
7%
of the 27 teams with a home region came from outside CA
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.72 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1528
avg power rating going in · stronger than 33% of contests
Storylines
📸 Photo finishes
Pork Ribs places 3–4: 2LiveQ edged B' MACKIN BBQ by 0.0116. Pork places 2–3: MUDVILLE BBQ edged BIG POPPA SMOKERS by 0.0228. Chicken places 8–9: 7 SINS BBQ edged LADY OF Q by 0.0232.
🃏 An upset on the books
MUDVILLE BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, BIG POPPA SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
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)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-05-28 ← this one | Big Bear Lake, CA | 630 Bartlett Rd | 27 | 705.1316 | Mudville BBQ | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| 2022-05-27 | Big Bear Lake, CA | 630 Bartlett Rd | 25 | 701.6572 | Smokin' Volts BBQ | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON |
| 2022-05-28 | Big Bear Lake, CA | 630 Bartlett Rd | 25 | 698.8116 | B'Mackin BBQ | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 174.2628 | 170.8456 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.3200 | 173.1428 | 166.8344 |
| Pork | 180.0000 | 174.2972 | 168.5256 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 173.1428 | 169.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 705.1316 · median 651.3028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 2 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 3 | 2LiveQ | |
| 4 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | LADY OF Q | |
| 7 | Team Woodshed | |
| 8 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | |
| 9 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 10 | Zia Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 11 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 12 | Rad Fondo BBQ | |
| 13 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 14 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 15 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 17 | BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 18 | My Smokin' Grillfriend | |
| 19 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 20 | COACHES PIT BBQ | |
| 21 | BOB-A-QUE | |
| 22 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 23 | Irie Smokehouse BBQ | |
| 24 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 25 | EAT_A_COW | |
| 26 | Jr's BBQ | |
| 27 | Burnt Offerings |
Chicken
26 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168.2856
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 2 | 2LiveQ | |
| 3 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 7 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 8 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 9 | LADY OF Q | |
| 10 | My Smokin' Grillfriend | |
| 11 | Zia Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 12 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 13 | BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 14 | Rad Fondo BBQ | |
| 15 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 17 | Team Woodshed | |
| 18 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 19 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 20 | Irie Smokehouse BBQ | |
| 21 | COACHES PIT BBQ | |
| 22 | Jr's BBQ | |
| 23 | EAT_A_COW | |
| 24 | BOB-A-QUE | |
| 25 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 26 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE |
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 178.3200 · median 163.3944
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LADY OF Q | |
| 2 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 3 | 2LiveQ | |
| 4 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 7 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 8 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 9 | Team Woodshed | |
| 10 | Irie Smokehouse BBQ | |
| 11 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | |
| 12 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 13 | My Smokin' Grillfriend | |
| 14 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 15 | COACHES PIT BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 17 | Zia Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 18 | BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 19 | BOB-A-QUE | |
| 20 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 21 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 22 | Jr's BBQ | |
| 23 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 24 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 25 | Rad Fondo BBQ | |
| 26 | EAT_A_COW |
Pork
26 entries · top 180.0000 · median 164.8114 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 2 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 3 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 4 | Team Woodshed | |
| 5 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 6 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | |
| 7 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 8 | LADY OF Q | |
| 9 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 10 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 11 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 12 | COACHES PIT BBQ | |
| 13 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 14 | BOB-A-QUE | |
| 15 | 2LiveQ | |
| 16 | Zia Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 17 | BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 18 | Rad Fondo BBQ | |
| 19 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 20 | EAT_A_COW | |
| 21 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 22 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 23 | Jr's BBQ | |
| 24 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 25 | My Smokin' Grillfriend | |
| 26 | Irie Smokehouse BBQ |
Brisket
27 entries · top 179.4400 · median 164.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2LiveQ | |
| 2 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 3 | Rad Fondo BBQ | |
| 4 | B' MACKIN BBQ | |
| 5 | Team Woodshed | |
| 6 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 7 | MUDVILLE BBQ | |
| 8 | LADY OF Q | |
| 9 | 5TH GEAR BBQ | |
| 10 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 11 | Zia Smoke BBQ Team | |
| 12 | BOB-A-QUE | |
| 13 | My Smokin' Grillfriend | |
| 14 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 15 | Bob's Morning Wood Barbeque | |
| 16 | OM BBQ COMPANY | |
| 17 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | |
| 18 | BILL'S BLUE LINE BBQ | |
| 19 | COACHES PIT BBQ | |
| 20 | Irie Smokehouse BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ | |
| 22 | Jessie Raes BBQ | |
| 23 | Big Red BBQ | |
| 24 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 25 | EAT_A_COW | |
| 26 | Burnt Offerings | |
| 27 | Jr's BBQ |