A new contest record
701.1088
highest overall ever cooked here
701.1088 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.8000 American Heroes BBQ set in 2021.
- old record 694.8000
- set 2021 by American Heroes BBQ
Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival 2022
Aug 19–20, 2022 · Worland, WY · 📍 501 15 Mile Rd. · State championship
Reps: Brian Moore, Steven Flewallen · Prize money: $10,000
AMERICAN HEROES BBQ won Grand Champion at the Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival on August 19, 2022 in Worland, WY at 501 15 Mile Rd., scoring 701.1088 in a field of 29 teams. Fergolicious BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 697.0860. Category winners: Chicken — Fergolicious BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — AMERICAN HEROES BBQ (178.8572); Pork — PAPA'S PIT CREW (178.8572); Brisket — TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER (179.4400). This is the 2nd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by American Heroes BBQ; 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.
554.47
median 669.06
701.11 🏆
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 178.86
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 179.44
109.45
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2021 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
29
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
701.1088
Winning margin
4.0228
GC over RC
Field average
654.17
554.47701.11
median 669.06 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
681.6228
554.47701.11
10th place overall
Field spread
146.6400
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,000
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 28%
beats 72% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
50%
15 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.81 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,585
avg power rating going in · stronger than 67% 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.
An upset on the books
10-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 90 times in 100
AMERICAN HEROES BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, CLARK CREW BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 10-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1648
- top seed 2034
Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
American Heroes BBQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2021
- 2022
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
American Heroes BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2021
- 2022
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 3–4: PROUD SOULS BARBECUE and SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ tied on 173.7372 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: Fergolicious BBQ and ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 9–10: Frank's BBQ Trading Post and Cluster Cluck Barbecue tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
AMERICAN HEROES BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork at 15th.
- Chicken 7th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 15th
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in brisket
179.4400
best brisket ever cooked here
TEXAS SMOKE WHISPERER turned in 179.4400 in brisket — past the 177.1428 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 177.1428
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: American Heroes BBQ (won 2021).
- American Heroes BBQ · 2021
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.
- Fergolicious 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2021 | Worland, WY | 501 15 Mile Rd. | 30 | 694.8000 | American Heroes BBQ | GRILLIN' BEAVERS |
| Aug 19, 2022 ← this one | Worland, WY | 501 15 Mile Rd. | 29 | 701.1088 | American Heroes BBQ | Fergolicious BBQ |
| Aug 18, 2023 | Worland, WY | 501 15 Mile Rd. | 27 | 706.2400 | Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | PIGGIN' WHISKEY |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Worland, WY | 501 15 Mile Rd. | 29 | 699.9428 | B-S BBQ Outlaws | Papa's Pit Crew |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 177.1428 | 173.7144 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 172.5600 | 168.5372 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 174.2628 | 170.8228 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 170.8228 | 169.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
29 entries · top 701.1088 · median 669.0632
Chicken
29 entries · top 180 · median 169.6800 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
29 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.8344
Pork
29 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.3944
Brisket
29 entries · top 179.4400 · median 163.3828
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 — Mystery Meat
15 entries · top 172.5828 · median 152.5032
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOST WEEKEND GRILL | |
| 2 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 3 | Sochie's BBQ | |
| 4 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 5 | PAPA'S PIT CREW | |
| 6 | Chubby Cheeks BBQ | |
| 7 | Barr's BQ | |
| 8 | BURNINTHE BONE BBQ | |
| 9 | LaTa-Que | |
| 10 | Unruly Smokers | |
| 11 | BIG BOYZ BBQ | |
| 12 | Barr's BQ Too | |
| 13 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 14 | 3 Smokin Chicks | |
| 15 | We Got Your Six Portions |
Ancillary — Sauce
11 entries · top 176 · median 165.1428
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bushmaster BBQ | |
| 2 | BURNINTHE BONE BBQ | |
| 3 | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ | |
| 4 | WYO SMOKE SHOW | |
| 5 | AMERICAN HEROES BBQ | |
| 6 | PAPA'S PIT CREW | |
| 7 | LaTa-Que | |
| 8 | Unruly Smokers | |
| 9 | Chubby Cheeks BBQ | |
| 10 | Barr's BQ | |
| 11 | 3 Smokin Chicks |