Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
Big Poppa Smokers won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2019
- 2022
Clayton BBQ Cook-off 2022
Jul 8–9, 2022 · Clayton, CA · 📍 6055 Main St · State championship
Reps: Ian Schmidt, Julie Poe · Prize money: $8,975
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won Grand Champion at the Clayton BBQ Cook-off on July 8, 2022 in Clayton, CA at 6055 Main St, scoring 704.5716 in a field of 27 teams. PORTERHOUSE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.0628. Category winners: Chicken — BIG POPPA SMOKERS (177.7028); Pork Ribs — RBQ (173.7028); Pork — BIG POPPA SMOKERS (178.2972); Brisket — BIG POPPA SMOKERS (178.8572). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Big Poppa Smokers.
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.
588.97
median 653.63
704.57 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 173.70
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 178.86
138.80
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2018 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
27
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
704.5716
Winning margin
19.5088
GC over RC
Field average
649.20
588.97704.57
median 653.63 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
666.7428
588.97704.57
10th place overall
Field spread
115.6000
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,975
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 15%
beats 85% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
15%
8 of 53 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.85 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,565
avg power rating going in · stronger than 50% 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.
A statement win
19.5088
points clear of the field
Wider than 99% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 19.5088 points — a wider margin than 99% of championships in the data.
A hat-trick of category wins
3
category wins in a day
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won Chicken, Pork, Brisket — a hat-trick, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 3 tracked editions
Big Poppa Smokers has won this contest 2 times across its 3 tracked editions.
- 2019
- 2022
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 5 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 9–10: BAR-B-CUDA BBQ and OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ tied on 165.6916 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 4–5: OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ and PORTERHOUSE BBQ tied on 170.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: Claytonville BBQ Crue edged Big Cat BBQ by 0.0116.
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
- Brisket 4–5 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
BIG POPPA SMOKERS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 3 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 4th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in chicken
177.7028
best chicken ever cooked here
BIG POPPA SMOKERS turned in 177.7028 in chicken — past the 177.1428 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.1428
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Big Poppa Smokers (won 2019).
- Big Poppa Smokers · 2019
The contest returns
3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-07-12.
- previous edition 2019-07-12
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 13, 2018 | Clayton, CA | Main Street | 19 | 682.2400 | SMOKEY HOG ISLAND LUV | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ |
| Jul 12, 2019 | Clayton, CA | 6055 Main St | 31 | 708.0344 | Big Poppa Smokers | THE SMOKING J'S |
| Jul 8, 2022 ← this one | Clayton, CA | 6055 Main St | 27 | 704.5716 | Big Poppa Smokers | PORTERHOUSE BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 172 | 167.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.7028 | 169.7028 | 165.6916 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 174.2628 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 170.2628 | 163.9312 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
27 entries · top 704.5716 · median 653.6340
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 3 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 4 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 7 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 8 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 9 | RBQ | |
| 10 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 11 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 12 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 13 | Thin Blue Que | |
| 14 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 15 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 17 | OM BBQ | |
| 18 | Beards BBQ | |
| 19 | Claytonville BBQ Crue | |
| 20 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 21 | NB Construction BBQ | |
| 22 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 23 | Mojave Meat Masters | |
| 24 | If Looks Could Grill BBQ | |
| 25 | Lord Of The Ribs BBQ | |
| 26 | Steamboat's BBQ | |
| 27 | Supernatural BBQ |
Chicken
27 entries · top 177.7028 · median 165.0856
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 4 | RBQ | |
| 5 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 6 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 7 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 8 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 9 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 10 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 11 | Thin Blue Que | |
| 12 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 13 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 14 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 15 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 17 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 18 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 19 | Beards BBQ | |
| 20 | Lord Of The Ribs BBQ | |
| 21 | Mojave Meat Masters | |
| 22 | OM BBQ | |
| 23 | If Looks Could Grill BBQ | |
| 24 | NB Construction BBQ | |
| 25 | Claytonville BBQ Crue | |
| 26 | Supernatural BBQ | |
| 27 | Steamboat's BBQ |
Pork Ribs
27 entries · top 173.7028 · median 162.8344
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RBQ | |
| 2 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 3 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 4 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 5 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 6 | Claytonville BBQ Crue | |
| 7 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 8 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 9 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 10 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 11 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 13 | Thin Blue Que | |
| 14 | OM BBQ | |
| 15 | Beards BBQ | |
| 16 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 17 | NB Construction BBQ | |
| 18 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 19 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 20 | If Looks Could Grill BBQ | |
| 21 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 22 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 23 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 24 | Supernatural BBQ | |
| 25 | Mojave Meat Masters | |
| 26 | Lord Of The Ribs BBQ | |
| 27 | Steamboat's BBQ |
Pork
27 entries · top 178.2972 · median 163.9888
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 3 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 4 | OM BBQ | |
| 5 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 6 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 7 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 8 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 9 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 10 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 11 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 13 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 14 | Claytonville BBQ Crue | |
| 15 | Beards BBQ | |
| 16 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 17 | Thin Blue Que | |
| 18 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 19 | Mojave Meat Masters | |
| 20 | NB Construction BBQ | |
| 21 | Supernatural BBQ | |
| 22 | RBQ | |
| 23 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 24 | If Looks Could Grill BBQ | |
| 25 | Lord Of The Ribs BBQ | |
| 26 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 27 | Steamboat's BBQ |
Brisket
27 entries · top 178.8572 · median 162.8000
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | |
| 2 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 3 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ | |
| 4 | OLD TOWN FRANKLIN BBQ | |
| 5 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 6 | Steamboat's BBQ | |
| 7 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' AXE BBQ | |
| 9 | Meat Candy Q | |
| 10 | Thin Blue Que | |
| 11 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 12 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 13 | RBQ | |
| 14 | Big Cat BBQ | |
| 15 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 16 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 17 | Cherry Anchor BBQ | |
| 18 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 19 | Beards BBQ | |
| 20 | OM BBQ | |
| 21 | NB Construction BBQ | |
| 22 | Claytonville BBQ Crue | |
| 23 | Lord Of The Ribs BBQ | |
| 24 | If Looks Could Grill BBQ | |
| 25 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 26 | Mojave Meat Masters | |
| 27 | Supernatural BBQ |
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 — Dessert
11 entries · top 178.8572 · median 172.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SON OF SMOKE | |
| 2 | OM BBQ | |
| 3 | Supernatural BBQ | |
| 4 | G & Pops BBQ | |
| 5 | Low-N-Slow Smokin' Que's | |
| 6 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 7 | BAR-B-CUDA BBQ | |
| 8 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 9 | CYNICAL BBQ | |
| 10 | Smoked Seduction BBQ | |
| 11 | Mojave Meat Masters |