A new contest record
698.8000
highest overall ever cooked here
698.8000 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.8112 WOLF'S REVENGE set in 2021.
- old record 694.8112
- set 2021 by WOLF'S REVENGE
New Holland Summer Fest 2022
Aug 26–27, 2022 · New Holland, PA · 📍 400 E. Jackson St. · State championship
Reps: Louise Weidner, Robert McKee · Prize money: $8,700
Optimus Swine won Grand Champion at the New Holland Summer Fest on August 26, 2022 in New Holland, PA at 400 E. Jackson St., scoring 698.8000 in a field of 49 teams. GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.6688. Category winners: Chicken — GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — Optimus Swine (178.8572); Pork — BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM (180.0000); Brisket — WEEKEND SMOKERS (180.0000). This is the 9th of 11 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by WOLF'S REVENGE; 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.
150.80
median 659.33
698.80 🏆
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 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
137.66
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2024 — this edition picked out.
Entries
49
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
698.8000
Winning margin
5.1312
GC over RC
Field average
647.72
150.80698.80
median 659.33 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.3372
150.80698.80
10th place overall
Field spread
548
winner to last place
Prize money
$8,700
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 39%
beats 61% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
66%
29 of 44 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,534
avg power rating going in · stronger than 25% of contests
Storylines (7 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
27-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100
Optimus Swine came in rated below the field's top team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1719
- top seed 1892
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.
- WEEKEND SMOKERS · Brisket
- GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ · Chicken
- BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM · Pork
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 11 tracked editions
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 11 tracked editions.
- 2016
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 13 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: Nice Racks and ALL HOGGED UP tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: ALL HOGGED UP and HEAVY HITTERS BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 5–6: Nice Racks and ALL HOGGED UP tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 5–6 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
How the title was won
2 of 4
meats called to the stage
Optimus Swine took the title on 2 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 15th.
- Chicken 15th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 12th
- Brisket 2nd
A contest record in pork
180.0000
best pork ever cooked here
BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 178.8572 that had stood across 8 earlier editions.
- old best 178.8572
- across 8 past editions
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 23, 2013 | New Holland, PA | New Holland, PA | 71 | 675.4056 | Drilling & Grilling BBQ Team | PA MIDNITE SMOKERS |
| Aug 22, 2014 | New Holland, PA | New Holland, PA 17557 | 70 | 685.0856 | DIZZY PIG | 3 EYZ BBQ |
| Aug 28, 2015 | New Holland, PA | New Holland, PA 17557 | 70 | 682.8456 | 4:20 Q | FLYING PORKERS |
| Aug 26, 2016 | New Holland, PA | New Holland, PA | 66 | 691.9312 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | BIG D'S BBQ |
| Aug 25, 2017 | New Holland, PA | 400 Block E Jackson St | 69 | 681.0860 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | BEERBEQUE |
| Aug 24, 2018 | New Holland, PA | 400 Block E Jackson St | 71 | 692 | 3N1 Q | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ |
| Aug 23, 2019 | New Holland, PA | 400 E Jackson St | 65 | 685.0740 | SMOKECRAFT | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| Aug 27, 2021 | New Holland, PA | 400 E Jackson St | 44 | 694.8112 | WOLF'S REVENGE | DANTE'S INFERNO |
| Aug 26, 2022 ← this one | New Holland, PA | 400 E. Jackson St. | 49 | 698.8000 | OPTIMUS SWINE | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| Aug 25, 2023 | New Holland, PA | 400 E. Jackson St. | 44 | 693.0512 | Chunky BBQ | SMOKECRAFT - MD |
| Aug 23, 2024 | New Holland, PA | 400 E. Jackson St. | 38 | 699.9428 | Wolf's Revenge BBQ | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180 | 174.8572 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 175.4172 | 171.9772 |
| Pork | 180 | 174.2744 | 173.1084 |
| Brisket | 180 | 174.2744 | 171.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
49 entries · top 698.8000 · median 659.3256
Chicken
49 entries · top 180 · median 167.4172 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
48 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.6800
Pork
48 entries · top 180 · median 162.8172 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
48 entries · top 180 · median 163.4116 · 🔥 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 — Chef'S Choice
22 entries · top 180 · median 178.5772 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE GRILLER B’S | |
| 2 | JIM'S PEQUEA PULLERS | |
| 3 | 50 SHADES OF PORK | |
| 4 | BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | |
| 5 | DRILLING & GRILLING | |
| 6 | Fat Rocky BBQ | |
| 7 | DIG'N N PIG'N | |
| 8 | HARCO LOCO BBQ | |
| 9 | FIRE ANTS BBQ | |
| 10 | MORT'S MEAT MAFIA | |
| 11 | BLACK TIE BBQ | |
| 12 | Second Helping BBQ -PA | |
| 13 | TRUCKERS CHOICE BBQ | |
| 14 | WEEKEND SMOKERS | |
| 15 | All About the Wood | |
| 16 | SQUEELIN 'N' WHEELIN | |
| 17 | ALL HOGGED UP | |
| 18 | DEAD ON Q | |
| 19 | Brisket Butts and BBQ | |
| 20 | Pappy's Q | |
| 21 | COAL CRACKER BBQ | |
| 22 | 3 T's BBQ |
Ancillary — Sausage
22 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168.5372
Ancillary — Whole Hog
4 entries · top 165.1084 · median 162.5430
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALL HOGGED UP | |
| 2 | SQUEELIN 'N' WHEELIN | |
| 3 | HEAVY HITTERS BBQ | |
| 4 | Pappy's Q |