A first Grand Championship
1
title in the data
This was Cook the books's first Grand Championship in the data.
Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival
Aug 13–14, 2022 · Nova Scotia, Canada · CANADA · 📍 Church Point, Digby County
Reps: Debra Gage, Maria Lohman, Wayne Lohman, William Gage
Cook the books won Grand Champion at the Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival on August 13, 2022 in Nova Scotia, B0W 1M0 at Church Point, Digby County, scoring 693.6456 in a field of 11 teams. RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 680.4800. Category winners: Chicken — Cook the books (176.5600); Pork Ribs — All Sauced Up-CA (174.2972); Pork — Cook the books (177.1428); Brisket — Hogs Harbour (173.7028).
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.
492.05
median 654.16
693.65 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.56
- Pork Ribs 174.30
- Pork 177.14
- Brisket 173.70
20
177.14
Entries
11
4 judged meats
Top score
693.6456
Winning margin
13.1656
GC over RC
Field average
644.50
492.05693.65
median 654.16 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
8.0116 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
634.2172
492.05693.65
10th place overall
Field spread
201.6000
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 59%
beats 41% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.07 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,504
avg power rating going in · stronger than 3% of contests
Storylines (6 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
13.1656
points clear of the field
Wider than 94% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 13.1656 points — a wider margin than 94% of championships in the data.
A rookie on the podium
1st
at their first tracked contest
Cook the books finished 1st overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 4 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 5–6: All Sauced Up-CA and The A Team tied on 168.5484 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 1–2: All Sauced Up-CA and RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ tied on 174.2972 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 6–7: AtlantiQ edged Ye Olde Smokers by 0.0228.
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · 0.0228
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · 0.1256
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Cook the books won Chicken, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Cook the books took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 4th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 1st
- 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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5600 | 168.5484 | 157.6456 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2972 | 165.1312 | 157.6572 |
| Pork | 177.1428 | 166.2628 | 159.4172 |
| Brisket | 173.7028 | 162.8572 | 152.5028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
11 entries · top 693.6456 · median 654.1600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook the books | |
| 2 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | Hogs Harbour | |
| 4 | Barbecue Heaven | |
| 5 | Ye Olde Smokers | |
| 6 | All Sauced Up-CA | |
| 7 | Les pars-en-haut BBQers | |
| 8 | The A Team | |
| 9 | AtlantiQ | |
| 10 | Bris | |
| 11 | Butt Boys |
Chicken
11 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.5484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook the books | |
| 2 | Barbecue Heaven | |
| 3 | Hogs Harbour | |
| 4 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | All Sauced Up-CA | |
| 6 | The A Team | |
| 7 | Bris | |
| 8 | Ye Olde Smokers | |
| 9 | Les pars-en-haut BBQers | |
| 10 | AtlantiQ | |
| 11 | Butt Boys |
Pork Ribs
11 entries · top 174.2972 · median 162.2744
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Sauced Up-CA | |
| 2 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | Barbecue Heaven | |
| 4 | Cook the books | |
| 5 | The A Team | |
| 6 | AtlantiQ | |
| 7 | Ye Olde Smokers | |
| 8 | Les pars-en-haut BBQers | |
| 9 | Butt Boys | |
| 10 | Hogs Harbour | |
| 11 | Bris |
Pork
11 entries · top 177.1428 · median 165.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook the books | |
| 2 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 3 | Hogs Harbour | |
| 4 | AtlantiQ | |
| 5 | Barbecue Heaven | |
| 6 | The A Team | |
| 7 | Ye Olde Smokers | |
| 8 | Les pars-en-haut BBQers | |
| 9 | All Sauced Up-CA | |
| 10 | Bris | |
| 11 | Butt Boys |
Brisket
11 entries · top 173.7028 · median 158.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hogs Harbour | |
| 2 | Cook the books | |
| 3 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | Les pars-en-haut BBQers | |
| 5 | Ye Olde Smokers | |
| 6 | Bris | |
| 7 | Barbecue Heaven | |
| 8 | Butt Boys | |
| 9 | AtlantiQ | |
| 10 | The A Team | |
| 11 | All Sauced Up-CA |