A new contest record
703.9660
highest overall ever cooked here
703.9660 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.2516 Top Gun Barbecue set in 2021.
- old record 694.2516
- set 2021 by Top Gun Barbecue
Bone Suckin Sauce Peak City Pig Fest 2022
Jul 22–23, 2022 · Apex, NC · 📍 202 Saunders Street · State championship
Reps: Alan Rothrock, Doug Reid · Prize money: $10,800
MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ won Grand Champion at the Bone Suckin Sauce Peak City Pig Fest on July 22, 2022 in Apex, NC at 202 Saunders Street, scoring 703.9660 in a field of 35 teams. Smoke Central BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.0628. Category winners: Chicken — MUTTLEY CREW BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Kings BBQ Team (176.5716); Pork — MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — Laytons backyard bbq (178.8800). This is the 4th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by Top Gun Barbecue; the next was held in 2023.
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.
582.14
median 675.91
703.97 🏆
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 176.57
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 178.88
126.24
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2018 to 2024 — this edition picked out.
Entries
35
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
703.9660
Winning margin
10.9032
GC over RC
Field average
665.79
582.14703.97
median 675.91 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2972 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
682.2060
582.14703.97
10th place overall
Field spread
121.8288
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,800
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 18%
beats 82% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
53%
16 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,598
avg power rating going in · stronger than 76% 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
29-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 71 times in 100
MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 29-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1728
- top seed 1885
A statement win
10.9032
points clear of the field
Wider than 90% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 10.9032 points — a wider margin than 90% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 6 tracked editions
SMOKE MONSTER BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 6 tracked editions.
- 2018
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 17 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: CHUNKY BBQ and SMOKE N BREW tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: SMOKE N BREW and Smoke Central BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 6–7: SMOKING BUTT HEADS and Dyin Breed BBQ tied on 176.5716 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 17th.
- Chicken 17th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in brisket
178.8800
best brisket ever cooked here
Laytons backyard bbq turned in 178.8800 in brisket — past the 176.5600 that had stood across 3 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5600
- across 3 past editions
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.
- MUTTLEY CREW BBQ · Chicken
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2018 | Apex, NC | Salem Street | 44 | 688.5596 | SMOKE MONSTER BBQ | REDNECK SCIENTIFIC |
| Jun 14, 2019 | Apex, NC | Salem Street | 38 | 685.7028 | Smoke Monster BBQ | MUTTLEY CREW BBQ |
| Jul 23, 2021 | Apex, NC | Apex, NC | 30 | 694.2516 | Top Gun Barbecue | SMOKE N BREW |
| Jul 22, 2022 ← this one | Apex, NC | 202 Saunders Street | 35 | 703.9660 | Mcadoo Heights BBQ | Smoke Central BBQ |
| Apr 14, 2023 | Apex, NC | 112 Saunders Street | 32 | 702.2400 | Mcadoo Heights BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Apr 12, 2024 | Apex, NC | 112 Saunders Street | 25 | 700.5372 | Optimus Swine | SMOKIN SKULLIES |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.7028 | 175.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5716 | 172.5716 | 171.9656 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 173.7144 | 171.4056 |
| Brisket | 178.8800 | 173.1316 | 170.8228 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
35 entries · top 703.9660 · median 675.9088
Chicken
35 entries · top 180 · median 170.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
35 entries · top 176.5716 · median 168.5372
Pork
35 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.2400
Brisket
35 entries · top 178.8800 · median 166.2400
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
10 entries · top 178.8572 · median 172.2686
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Eyed Pig BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKE N BREW | |
| 3 | MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ | |
| 4 | Laytons backyard bbq | |
| 5 | HOLY SMOKE BBQ-NC | |
| 6 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 7 | JL Smokers | |
| 8 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | |
| 9 | Weeeeee Q | |
| 10 | THE ROOKIES |
Ancillary — Non-Dessert
11 entries · top 179.4400 · median 165.7256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FOWL HOGZ | |
| 2 | HOLY SMOKE BBQ-NC | |
| 3 | SMOKE N BREW | |
| 4 | OFF THE RACK BBQ | |
| 5 | CHOCK FULL OF BARBEQUE | |
| 6 | THE ROOKIES | |
| 7 | Blue Ribbon BBQ NC | |
| 8 | One Eyed Pig BBQ | |
| 9 | JL Smokers | |
| 10 | Laytons backyard bbq | |
| 11 | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ |