A new contest record
699.4628
highest overall ever cooked here
699.4628 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 677.1540 Hot Wachula's set in 2019.
- old record 677.1540
- set 2019 by Hot Wachula's
I Love Barbecue & Music Festival 2021
Sep 3–5, 2021 · Lake Placid, NY · 📍 Shipman Youth Center · State championship
Reps: Louise Weidner, Robert McKee
TOP GUN BARBECUE won Grand Champion at the I Love Barbecue & Music Festival on September 3, 2021 in Lake Placid, NY at Shipman Youth Center, scoring 699.4628 in a field of 15 teams. THE PIG'S PAJAMAS took Reserve Grand Champion with 695.4284. Category winners: Chicken — THE PIG'S PAJAMAS (178.2972); Pork Ribs — Belly Buss Barbeque (177.7372); Pork — TOP GUN BARBECUE (180.0000); Brisket — RGDBBQ (176.0000). This is the 8th of 11 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Hot Wachula's; the next was held in 2022.
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.
585.01
median 667.35
699.46 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 177.74
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 176
129.66
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Entries
15
4 judged meats
Top score
699.4628
Winning margin
4.0344
GC over RC
Field average
660.54
585.01699.46
median 667.35 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
5.1544 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
662.1600
585.01699.46
10th place overall
Field spread
114.4568
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 34%
beats 66% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
16%
5 of 32 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.64 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,588
avg power rating going in · stronger than 70% of contests
Storylines (8 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.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 11 tracked editions
MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 11 tracked editions.
- 2014
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 8–9: V Licious BBQ and El Jefe Smoke tied on 166.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: TOP GUN BARBECUE and THE PIG'S PAJAMAS tied on 170.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 8–9: V Licious BBQ and Steve's Prime BBQ tied on 165.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
TOP GUN BARBECUE took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in pork
180.0000
best pork ever cooked here
TOP GUN BARBECUE turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 172.5600 that had stood across 7 earlier editions.
- old best 172.5600
- across 7 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (won 2015).
- SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA · 2015
The contest returns
2.2 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 2.2 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-07-05.
- previous edition 2019-07-05
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.
- TOP GUN BARBECUE · Pork
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 4, 2013 | Lake Placid, NY | Lake Placid, NY | 28 | 646.8570 | Q HAVEN BBQ | BUCKNER BROTHERS BBQ |
| Jul 4, 2014 | Lake Placid, NY | Lake Placid, NY 12946 | 27 | 657.1200 | MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA |
| Jul 3, 2015 | Lake Placid, NY | Lake Placid, NY 12946 | 31 | 661.6800 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | QUAU |
| Jul 2, 2016 | Lake Placid, NY | Lake Placid, NY | 28 | 658.2856 | MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
| Jul 7, 2017 | Lake Placid, NY | 32 School St | 40 | 669.7028 | PISTOL PACKIN' PIGGIES | BLACK HART BBQ |
| Jul 6, 2018 | Lake Placid, NY | 32 School St | 39 | 661.0972 | GOOD SMOKE BBQ | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA |
| Jul 5, 2019 | Lake Placid, NY | 32 School St | 32 | 677.1540 | Hot Wachula's | GOOD SMOKE BBQ |
| Sep 3, 2021 ← this one | Lake Placid, NY | Shipman Youth Center | 15 | 699.4628 | Top Gun barbecue | THE PIG'S PAJAMAS |
| Sep 2, 2022 | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | 22 | 679.4060 | Chunky BBQ | BOGGS HOG BBQ |
| Sep 2, 2022 | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 1, 2023 | Lake Placid, NY | 5514 Cascade Road | 18 | 690.8116 | Paddy McQ's | Dirt Bag Barbeque |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 171.4172 | 166.2400 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.7372 | 170.8456 | 160.5484 |
| Pork | 180 | 174.8456 | 162.2856 |
| Brisket | 176 | 170.2744 | 163.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
15 entries · top 699.4628 · median 667.3488
Chicken
15 entries · top 178.2972 · median 166.8228
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 177.7372 · median 168.5716
Pork
15 entries · top 180 · median 165.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
15 entries · top 176 · median 165.1200