A razor-thin finish
0.0232
points between champion and reserve
Closer than 97% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The Grand Championship was decided by 0.0232 points — closer than 97% of every championship in the data.
- Mad Mutt's BBQ
- 913 BBQ
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) 2021
Sep 24–25, 2021 · Shawnee, KS · State championship
Reps: Forrest Bruce, Kim Collier, Larry Hadley, Mark Collier · Prize money: $5,150
MAD MUTT'S BBQ won Grand Champion at the Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship (TEAM & JUDGES ARE FULL-WAITLIST ONLY) on September 24, 2021 in Shawnee, KS, scoring 709.1316 in a field of 86 teams. 913 BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 709.1084. Category winners: Chicken — GETTIN' BASTED (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Overland Pork BBQ (178.8800); Pork — 913 BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE (178.8800). This is the 6th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Fat & Dumb BBQ; 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.
301.62
median 653.62
709.13 🏆
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 178.88
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 178.88
20
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
86
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
709.1316
Winning margin
0.0232
GC over RC
Field average
650.13
301.62709.13
median 653.62 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
1.1772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
688.4800
301.62709.13
10th place overall
Field spread
407.5088
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,150
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 4%
beats 96% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
52%
53 of 102 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.57 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,518
avg power rating going in · stronger than 12% 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.
An upset on the books
12-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 88 times in 100
MAD MUTT'S BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, GETTIN' BASTED, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 12-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1637
- top seed 1983
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
MAD MUTT'S BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 13th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 2nd
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- GETTIN' BASTED · Chicken
- 913 BBQ · Pork
- GETTIN' BASTED · Pork
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 15 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: Sugar 'n Spice BBQ and Evening Wood tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 5–6: Evening Wood and FOUR MEN AND A PIG tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: FOUR MEN AND A PIG and 913 BBQ tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE (won 2015, 2016), Fat & Dumb BBQ (won 2019).
- BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE · 2015, 2016
- Fat & Dumb BBQ · 2019
One of the big ones
86
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 97% of the 5,482 contests in the data
86 teams — bigger than 97% of the 5,482 contests in the data.
This contest's own records (1 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 27, 2013 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS | 114 | 685.6800 | 3 GUYS WITH WOOD | HOGGY STYLE |
| Sep 26, 2014 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS 66203 | 112 | 694.2856 | KC Q | MIDNIGHT STOKERS |
| Sep 25, 2015 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS 66216 | 112 | 709.1200 | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE | FUNNY FARM BBQ |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee, KS | 111 | 686.2284 | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE | SKUNK RIVER BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee Town 1929 | 102 | 714.8572 | Fat & Dumb BBQ | 913 BBQ |
| Sep 24, 2021 ← this one | Shawnee, KS | Shawnee Town | 86 | 709.1316 | Mad Mutt's BBQ | 913 BBQ |
| Sep 23, 2022 | Shawnee, KS | 11600 Johnson Drive | 87 | 709.7256 | 913 BBQ | KC SMOKE DAWGS |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 176.5600 | 173.1428 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8800 | 176.5716 | 174.8456 |
| Pork | 180 | 177.7028 | 174.2856 |
| Brisket | 178.8800 | 177.7028 | 174.8800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
86 entries · top 709.1316 · median 653.6172
Chicken
86 entries · top 180 · median 162.8286 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
86 entries · top 178.8800 · median 165.6800
Pork
86 entries · top 180 · median 165.6970 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
85 entries · top 178.8800 · median 161.1088
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.
Ancillary — Sausage
44 entries · top 180 · median 169.1142 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FOUR MEN AND A PIG | |
| 2 | Last Years Leftovers | |
| 3 | Hoggy Style BBQ | |
| 4 | Overland Pork BBQ | |
| 5 | 3 Blondes and a Bald | |
| 6 | Skyy Full of Smoke | |
| 7 | SMF | |
| 8 | Blowin' Smoke | |
| 9 | Grilligan's Island | |
| 10 | This is Nice | |
| 11 | BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE | |
| 12 | Char-que-tary | |
| 13 | Nelson Family BBQ | |
| 14 | Pharr Moore BBQ | |
| 15 | Bubba's Pig-a-licious | |
| 16 | Evening Wood | |
| 17 | T'S SMOKIN PIT | |
| 18 | Bourbon Barrel Smokers | |
| 19 | Dunn Up BBQ | |
| 20 | Pine Tar BBQ | |
| 21 | Pigasus-In Pork We Trust | |
| 22 | Smokeritaville | |
| 23 | KC Rib Doctor | |
| 24 | Big Fork BBQ | |
| 25 | Mad Cow Angry Beaver | |
| 26 | IHC BBQ | |
| 27 | Short Horn | |
| 28 | Velvet Swine | |
| 29 | FOMSB | |
| 30 | HG BBQ | |
| 31 | Silence of the Hams | |
| 32 | Almost Flamous Barbeque | |
| 33 | Why Not Smoke | |
| 34 | Sugar 'n Spice BBQ | |
| 35 | Pot Bellies | |
| 36 | LEGENDARY BARBEQUE | |
| 37 | SMOKING JOE'S BARBERQ | |
| 38 | No Butts About It | |
| 39 | SWEET ASH BBQ | |
| 40 | Hawg Heaven | |
| 41 | Big Chubbs BBQ | |
| 42 | Sloppy Seconds | |
| 43 | Meat-A-Swinging | |
| 44 | Poker Smokers |