A new contest record
703.3944
highest overall ever cooked here
703.3944 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 702.8228 Grey Street BBQ set in 2019.
- old record 702.8228
- set 2019 by Grey Street BBQ
Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival 2022
Aug 19–20, 2022 · Madison, IN · 📍 100 Broadway Street · State championship
Reps: Becky Druetzler, Dave Druetzler · Prize money: $10,500
Blue Chip BBQ won Grand Champion at the Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival on August 19, 2022 in Madison, IN at 100 Broadway Street, scoring 703.3944 in a field of 45 teams. CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. took Reserve Grand Champion with 701.6688. Category winners: Chicken — BooyaQ (179.4400); Pork Ribs — SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS (180.0000); Pork — Blue Chip BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. (180.0000). This is the 7th of 7 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by Bleacher Bums BBQ.
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.
432.57
median 672.48
703.39 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 179.44
- Pork Ribs 180 🔥
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
125.05
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
45
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
703.3944
Winning margin
1.7256
GC over RC
Field average
661.92
432.57703.39
median 672.48 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4284 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.3372
432.57703.39
10th place overall
Field spread
270.8228
winner to last place
Prize money
$10,500
on the line
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 20%
beats 80% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
58%
25 of 43 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.69 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,604
avg power rating going in · stronger than 80% 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
32-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 68 times in 100
BLUE CHIP BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, GREY STREET BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 32-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1821
- top seed 1953
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. · Brisket
- Blue Chip BBQ · Pork
- SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS · Pork Ribs
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 7 tracked editions
GREY STREET BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 7 tracked editions.
- 2017
- 2019
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 17 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 7–8: PIGGIN' WHISKEY and Glamping Grillers tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 8–9: Glamping Grillers and SmokinGhost BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: SmokinGhost BBQ and Blue Chip BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Blue Chip BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 10th.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 6th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 7th
A contest record in pork ribs
180.0000
best pork ribs ever cooked here
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS turned in 180.0000 in pork ribs — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 6 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 6 past editions
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: GREY STREET BBQ (won 2017, 2019), Bleacher Bums BBQ (won 2021).
- GREY STREET BBQ · 2017, 2019
- Bleacher Bums BBQ · 2021
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 15, 2014 | Madison, IN | Madison, IN 47250 | 60 | 689.6684 | BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ | ONE2BBQ |
| Aug 21, 2015 | Madison, IN | Madison, IN 47250 | 64 | 691.3484 | BARK BROTHERS BBQ | EAT MOR BUTT BBQ |
| Aug 18, 2017 | Madison, IN | Madison, IN | 55 | 701.6456 | GREY STREET BBQ | EXTRA MILE BBQ |
| Aug 17, 2018 | Madison, IN | Broadway and Vaughn St | 54 | 701.6456 | THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ | GREY STREET BBQ |
| Aug 16, 2019 | Madsion, IN | Broadway and Vaughn St | 47 | 702.8228 | Grey Street BBQ | BLUE CHIP BBQ |
| Aug 20, 2021 | Madison, IN | 601 W First St. | 43 | 698.2400 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | SMOKE-N-PEPPERS |
| Aug 19, 2022 ← this one | Madison, IN | 100 Broadway Street | 45 | 703.3944 | Blue Chip BBQ | CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO. |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 179.4400 | 175.4172 | 174.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 180 | 174.2744 | 171.9772 |
| Pork | 180 | 175.4400 | 174.2744 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176.5716 | 173.1316 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
45 entries · top 703.3944 · median 672.4804
Chicken
45 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.6916
Pork Ribs
45 entries · top 180 · median 167.9888 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork
44 entries · top 180 · median 167.9600 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
45 entries · top 180 · median 168.5256 · 🔥 perfect 180
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 — Anything Butt
10 entries · top 176.5600 · median 169.6800
Ancillary — Dessert
11 entries · top 180 · median 176.5600 · 🔥 perfect 180