A new contest record
705.1200
highest overall ever cooked here
705.1200 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 704.5372 The Boys in Que set in 2019.
- old record 704.5372
- set 2019 by The Boys in Que
Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out 2021
Sep 17–18, 2021 · Kearney, MO · 📍 3001 N 33 Hwy · State championship
Reps: Donna Young, Ed Young · Prize money: $5,025
The Art of Que won Grand Champion at the Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out on September 17, 2021 in Kearney, MO at 3001 N 33 Hwy, scoring 705.1200 in a field of 16 teams. SMOKIN' TOAD'S took Reserve Grand Champion with 697.0744. Category winners: Chicken — The Art of Que (177.1428); Pork Ribs — The Cutoffs (180.0000); Pork — SMOKIN' TOAD'S (178.8572); Brisket — The Art of Que (177.7028). This is the 8th of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by The Boys in Que.
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.
603.86
median 665.63
705.12 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.14
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 177.70
145.66
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2021 — this edition picked out.
Entries
16
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
705.1200
Winning margin
8.0456
GC over RC
Field average
663.10
603.86705.12
median 665.63 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
4.5828 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
663.3600
603.86705.12
10th place overall
Field spread
101.2572
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,025
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 14%
beats 86% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
23%
7 of 31 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.78 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,529
avg power rating going in · stronger than 21% of contests
Storylines (9 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.
An upset on the books
20-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 80 times in 100
The Art of Que came in rated below the field's top team, SMOOTH SMOKE, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 20-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1539
- top seed 1779
A first Grand Championship
10
tracked contests to get there
This was The Art of Que's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 10th tracked contest.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 8 tracked editions
SLAPS BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 8 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 7 calls decided inside half a point
Brisket places 1–2: The Art of Que and PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: SMOOTH SMOKE edged SMOKIN' TOAD'S by 0.0116. Pork places 3–4: SMOOTH SMOKE edged Flower of the Flame by 0.0116.
- Brisket 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · 0.0116
- Pork 3–4 · 0.0116
- Pork 5–6 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
The Art of Que won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
The Art of Que took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 5th
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS (won 2018).
- PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS · 2018
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.
- The Cutoffs · Pork Ribs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2013 | Kearney, MO | Kearney, MO | 53 | 682.2056 | SWEET BEAVER BBQ | JAESTAR BBQ |
| Sep 19, 2014 | Kearney, MO | Kearney, MO 64060 | 49 | 702.2856 | FOUR MEN AND A PIG | GRILLAS |
| Sep 18, 2015 | Kearney, MO | Kearney, MO 64060 | 41 | 698.7884 | SLAPS BBQ | PORKARITAVILLE |
| Sep 16, 2016 | Kearney, MO | Kearney, MO | 35 | 703.3940 | SMOKE THIS BBQ-MO | SLAPS BBQ |
| Sep 15, 2017 | Kearney, MO | 3001 N 33 Highway | 37 | 696.5028 | SLAPS BBQ | SONS OF A BRISKET |
| Sep 14, 2018 | Kearney, MO | 3001 N 33 Highway | 35 | 700.5600 | PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS | JAESTAR BBQ |
| Sep 20, 2019 | Kearney, MO | 3001 N 33 Hwy | 31 | 704.5372 | The Boys in Que | Valley Oaks Steak Company |
| Sep 17, 2021 ← this one | Kearney, MO | 3001 N 33 Hwy | 16 | 705.1200 | The Art of Que | SMOKIN' TOAD'S |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.1428 | 170.2628 | 162.8000 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 170.8228 | 164.5256 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 171.9772 | 166.8456 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 173.1200 | 163.9656 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
16 entries · top 705.1200 · median 665.6342
Chicken
16 entries · top 177.1428 · median 163.1258
Pork Ribs
16 entries · top 180 · median 166.5372 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
16 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.6914
Brisket
16 entries · top 177.7028 · median 166.5372
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.
Kids-Q — Kids Q 11-15
3 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Savannah Smith | |
| 2 | Adam Spiteri | |
| 3 | Addison Morris |
Kids-Q — Kids Q 5-10
2 entries · top 179.4400 · median 178.2914
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Elliott | |
| 2 | Landon Elliott |
Ancillary — Turkey
8 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 SMOKERS | |
| 2 | Team Price Chopper | |
| 3 | THREE LEGS AND A PIG | |
| 4 | Flower of the Flame | |
| 5 | Circle Z Beef | |
| 6 | One Slab at a Time | |
| 7 | The Art of Que | |
| 8 | T'S SMOKIN PIT |