A day of perfect scores
4
perfect 180s
4 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- LADY OF Q · Brisket
- BNL Barbecue · Brisket
- BIG POPPA SMOKERS · Chicken
Horse Town Brew N Que Festival
2022-06-03 – 2022-06-04 · Norco, CA · 📍 3737 Crestview Dr · State championship
Reps: KATHLEEN MCINTOSH, KELLY MCINTOSH · Prize money: $8,000.00
Grand Champion: Big Poppa Smokers (706.2400) · 37 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Meat Candy Q
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.
626.19
median 677.65
706.24 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 180.00 🔥
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 178.88
- Master Series — Pork 178.86
- Master Series — Brisket 180.00 🔥
- Backyard Series — Chicken 178.86
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 174.86
117.47
180.00
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2015 to 2025 — this edition picked out.
Entries
37
6 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
706.2400
Winning margin
5.1544
GC over RC
Field average
673.17
626.19706.24
median 677.65 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
1.7372 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.9432
626.19706.24
10th place overall
Field spread
80.0464
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,000.00
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 11%
beats 89% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
16%
10 of 64 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.37 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1564
avg power rating going in · stronger than 49% of contests
Storylines (7 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 7 tracked editions
Loot N' Booty BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2025
- 2025
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 16 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: BIG POPPA SMOKERS and Meat Candy Q tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 3–4: VEGAS GRILLBILLIES and LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 4–5: Up in Smoke and 7 SINS BBQ tied on 177.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 4–5 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Double Trouble BBQ won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
BIG POPPA SMOKERS took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 14th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 7th
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 14th
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: PORTERHOUSE BBQ (won 2015).
- PORTERHOUSE BBQ · 2015
The contest returns
3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-05-31.
- previous edition 2019-05-31
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-05-29 | Norco, CA | Norco, CA 92860 | 75 | 708.5828 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | SMOKE HOUND BBQ |
| 2016-06-03 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 58 | 705.1544 | MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ. | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
| 2019-05-31 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 49 | 695.9312 | Burnin' and Lootin' | Team Woodshed |
| 2022-06-03 ← this one | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 37 | 706.2400 | Big Poppa Smokers | Meat Candy Q |
| 2023-06-02 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview Dr | 43 | 705.1316 | Big Red BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| 2025-05-30 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview | 27 | 711.9884 | Loot N' Booty BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| 2025-05-31 | Norco, CA | 3737 Crestview | 20 | 710.2744 | Loot N' Booty BBQ | Meat Candy Q |
| 2026-05-29 | Norco, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.5600 | 173.7028 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 178.8800 | 177.1428 | 175.4172 |
| Master Series — Pork | 178.8572 | 176.0000 | 173.7028 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 180.0000 | 175.4172 | 171.9656 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 178.8572 | 150.2396 | — |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 164.5256 | — |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
37 entries · top 706.2400 · median 677.6456
Chicken
37 entries · top 180.0000 · median 168.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
37 entries · top 178.8800 · median 169.6684
Pork
37 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5944
Brisket
37 entries · top 180.0000 · median 166.8344 · 🔥 perfect 180
Backyard Series
Overall
6 entries · top 353.7144 · median 329.9258
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double Trouble BBQ | |
| 2 | Ricky Rays BBQ | |
| 3 | Smoking Rays BackYard BBQ | |
| 4 | Operation Dessert Storm BBQ | |
| 5 | Boonies Pit & Q | |
| 6 | Son of Sins |
Chicken
6 entries · top 178.8572 · median 163.3886
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double Trouble BBQ | |
| 2 | Ricky Rays BBQ | |
| 3 | Smoking Rays BackYard BBQ | |
| 4 | Operation Dessert Storm BBQ | |
| 5 | Boonies Pit & Q | |
| 6 | Son of Sins |
Pork Ribs
6 entries · top 174.8572 · median 165.1200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double Trouble BBQ | |
| 2 | Operation Dessert Storm BBQ | |
| 3 | Ricky Rays BBQ | |
| 4 | Smoking Rays BackYard BBQ | |
| 5 | Son of Sins | |
| 6 | Boonies Pit & Q |
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+
6 entries · top 176.5716 · median 171.9714
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parker's BBQ | |
| 2 | Team Khloe Bug | |
| 3 | AG BBQ | |
| 4 | Porkies BBQ | |
| 5 | Marvel | |
| 6 | Books & BBQ |
Kids-Q — Kids-Q 6-10
9 entries · top 175.4400 · median 171.4172
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camby Wamby | |
| 2 | Zoey's BBQ | |
| 3 | Survival Mode BBQ | |
| 4 | Colt's BBQ | |
| 5 | Vinny's BBQ | |
| 6 | Mya's BBQ | |
| 7 | Smash Brothers | |
| 8 | Rainbows & Unicorns | |
| 9 | Scarlett's BBQ |