A stacked field
1694
average power rating going in
Stronger than 99% of every rated contest
The field averaged a 1694 power rating going in — stronger than 99% of every contest tracked.
- top seed Organizer Portal (1930)
- 10 rated teams
TN River BBQ Battle 2021
Sep 24–25, 2021 · Savannah, TN · 📍 215 Ziffel Circle · State championship
Reps: Maria Lohman, Wayne Lohman · Prize money: $14,795
Q-BONES BBQ won Grand Champion at the TN River BBQ Battle on September 24, 2021 in Savannah, TN at 215 Ziffel Circle, scoring 694.8344 in a field of 10 teams. Organizer Portal took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.7772. Category winners: Chicken — Memphis Original BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — Q-BONES BBQ (177.1544); Pork — LC BBQ (176.0000); Brisket — Organizer Portal (177.7028). This is the 1st of 2 editions of this contest on record; 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.
511.91
median 679.87
694.83 🏆
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 177.15
- Pork 176
- Brisket 177.70
151.92
178.30
Entries
10
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
694.8344
Winning margin
4.0572
GC over RC
Field average
659.20
511.91694.83
median 679.87 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
5.1772 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
511.9080
511.91694.83
10th place overall
Field spread
182.9264
winner to last place
Prize money
$14,795
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 54%
beats 46% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.88 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,694
avg power rating going in · stronger than 99% 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 3 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 2–3: PIGGIN' WHISKEY and Organizer Portal tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 9–10: BIG G BBQ and HOGG LEGG SMOKERS tied on 158.2400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 4–5: Poppa Pig edged CHICKEN FRIED BBQ by 0.0228.
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · tie
- Pork 9–10 · tie
- Pork 4–5 · 0.0228
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Q-BONES BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 6th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 2nd
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 24, 2021 ← this one | Savannah, TN | 215 Ziffel Circle | 10 | 694.8344 | Q-Bones BBQ | Organizer Portal |
| Sep 23, 2022 | Saltillo, TN | Main Street | 16 | 706.2516 | GLAMPING GRILLERS | Uncle Kenny's Take-Away |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 173.1200 | 161.6456 |
| Pork Ribs | 177.1544 | 170.8228 | 151.9200 |
| Pork | 176 | 169.6684 | 158.2400 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 167.3940 | — |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
10 entries · top 694.8344 · median 679.8740
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q-BONES BBQ | |
| 2 | Organizer Portal | |
| 3 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER | |
| 4 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 5 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 6 | LC BBQ | |
| 7 | Memphis Original BBQ | |
| 8 | BIG G BBQ | |
| 9 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 10 | Poppa Pig |
Chicken
10 entries · top 178.2972 · median 172.8342
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis Original BBQ | |
| 2 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 3 | Q-BONES BBQ | |
| 4 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 5 | Organizer Portal | |
| 6 | BIG G BBQ | |
| 7 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER | |
| 8 | Poppa Pig | |
| 9 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS | |
| 10 | LC BBQ |
Pork Ribs
10 entries · top 177.1544 · median 170.5486
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q-BONES BBQ | |
| 2 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 3 | Organizer Portal | |
| 4 | Poppa Pig | |
| 5 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER | |
| 6 | BIG G BBQ | |
| 7 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 8 | LC BBQ | |
| 9 | Memphis Original BBQ | |
| 10 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS |
Pork
10 entries · top 176 · median 168.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LC BBQ | |
| 2 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER | |
| 3 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 4 | Poppa Pig | |
| 5 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 6 | Q-BONES BBQ | |
| 7 | Organizer Portal | |
| 8 | Memphis Original BBQ | |
| 9 | BIG G BBQ | |
| 10 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS |
Brisket
9 entries · top 177.7028 · median 167.3940
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organizer Portal | |
| 2 | Q-BONES BBQ | |
| 3 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER | |
| 4 | LC BBQ | |
| 5 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 6 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 7 | Memphis Original BBQ | |
| 8 | BIG G BBQ | |
| 9 | HOGG LEGG SMOKERS |
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 — Celebrate Real Pork - Pork Chop
6 entries · top 173.1772 · median 159.0972
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | |
| 2 | Organizer Portal | |
| 3 | PIGGIN' WHISKEY | |
| 4 | LC BBQ | |
| 5 | Poppa Pig | |
| 6 | TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER |