A new contest record
699.4744
highest overall ever cooked here
699.4744 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 697.6912 B-S BBQ Outlaws set in 2019.
- old record 697.6912
- set 2019 by B-S BBQ Outlaws
2022 Mazatzal Grill Masters BBQ Competition & Testicle Festival
Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2022 · Payson, AZ · 📍 MP 251 Hwy 87 · State championship
Reps: Kathleen McIntosh, Kelly McIntosh · Prize money: $17,100
West Coast BBQ Shop won Grand Champion at the 2022 Mazatzal Grill Masters BBQ Competition & Testicle Festival on September 30, 2022 in Payson, AZ at MP 251 Hwy 87, scoring 699.4744 in a field of 21 teams. GIRLS CAN GRILL took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.1088. Category winners: Chicken — Bad Boyz BBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — West Coast BBQ Shop (178.8572); Pork — POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP (180.0000); Brisket — SD Smoke BBQ (178.8572). This is the 3rd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by B-S BBQ Outlaws.
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.
634.64
median 678.15
699.47 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 177.70
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 178.86
151.98
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2018 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
21
4 judged meats
Top score
699.4744
Winning margin
6.3656
GC over RC
Field average
677.33
634.64699.47
median 678.15 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
3.9884 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
684.5024
634.64699.47
10th place overall
Field spread
64.8344
winner to last place
Prize money
$17,100
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 34%
beats 66% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
27%
9 of 33 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.65 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,577
avg power rating going in · stronger than 61% 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
24-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 76 times in 100
West Coast BBQ Shop came in rated below the field's top team, Bad Boyz BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 24-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1562
- top seed 1766
A first Grand Championship
12
tracked contests to get there
This was West Coast BBQ Shop's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 12th tracked contest.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: Cloud of Smoke BBQ and KNIFE PORK AND SPOON tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: Bad Boyz BBQ and GIRLS CAN GRILL tied on 173.1428 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 8–9: Big Red and POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP tied on 171.9772 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 8–9 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
West Coast BBQ Shop took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 10th.
- Chicken 10th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 10th
A contest record in pork
180.0000
best pork ever cooked here
POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP turned in 180.0000 in pork — past the 177.7144 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7144
- across 2 past editions
The contest returns
3 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 3 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-09-27.
- previous edition 2019-09-27
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.
- POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP · Pork
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2018 | Payson, AZ | Casino Mile Marker 251, Hwy 87 | 40 | 690.2744 | RIDGE ROUTE BOYS BBQ | IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Payson, AZ | Mazatzal Hotel & Casino | 33 | 697.6912 | B-S BBQ Outlaws | STEEL CITY BBQ |
| Sep 30, 2022 ← this one | Payson, AZ | MP 251 Hwy 87 | 21 | 699.4744 | West Coast BBQ Shop | GIRLS CAN GRILL |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 173.7144 | 170.8572 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 171.9656 | 169.7256 |
| Pork | 180 | 175.4056 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 178.8572 | 174.8572 | 170.8800 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
21 entries · top 699.4744 · median 678.1484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 2 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 3 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 4 | Bad Boyz BBQ | |
| 5 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 6 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 7 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 8 | Rhythm n QUE | |
| 9 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | Shig Ninja BBQ | |
| 11 | Big Red | |
| 12 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 13 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 14 | Smoke Show AZ | |
| 15 | Juan's BBQ | |
| 16 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 17 | PIG IN A PIT | |
| 18 | ALL ABOUT SMOKIN Q | |
| 19 | GuidoQ | |
| 20 | Fat Ox BBQ | |
| 21 | DJ's Smokin BBQ |
Chicken
21 entries · top 177.7028 · median 170.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bad Boyz BBQ | |
| 2 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 3 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 4 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 5 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 6 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | GuidoQ | |
| 8 | Rhythm n QUE | |
| 9 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 10 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 11 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 12 | Juan's BBQ | |
| 13 | Smoke Show AZ | |
| 14 | ALL ABOUT SMOKIN Q | |
| 15 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 16 | Big Red | |
| 17 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 18 | Shig Ninja BBQ | |
| 19 | PIG IN A PIT | |
| 20 | DJ's Smokin BBQ | |
| 21 | Fat Ox BBQ |
Pork Ribs
21 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 2 | Rhythm n QUE | |
| 3 | Bad Boyz BBQ | |
| 4 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 5 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 6 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | Smoke Show AZ | |
| 8 | Juan's BBQ | |
| 9 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 10 | Shig Ninja BBQ | |
| 11 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 12 | Big Red | |
| 13 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 14 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 15 | ALL ABOUT SMOKIN Q | |
| 16 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 17 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 18 | PIG IN A PIT | |
| 19 | DJ's Smokin BBQ | |
| 20 | Fat Ox BBQ | |
| 21 | GuidoQ |
Pork
21 entries · top 180 · median 170.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 2 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 3 | Rhythm n QUE | |
| 4 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 5 | Shig Ninja BBQ | |
| 6 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 7 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 8 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 9 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 10 | Bad Boyz BBQ | |
| 11 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 12 | Juan's BBQ | |
| 13 | PIG IN A PIT | |
| 14 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 15 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 16 | ALL ABOUT SMOKIN Q | |
| 17 | Big Red | |
| 18 | Smoke Show AZ | |
| 19 | Fat Ox BBQ | |
| 20 | GuidoQ | |
| 21 | DJ's Smokin BBQ |
Brisket
21 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 2 | GIRLS CAN GRILL | |
| 3 | KNIFE PORK AND SPOON | |
| 4 | HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | PIG IN A PIT | |
| 6 | Shig Ninja BBQ | |
| 7 | PORTERHOUSE BBQ | |
| 8 | Big Red | |
| 9 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 10 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 11 | Bad Boyz BBQ | |
| 12 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 13 | Smoke Show AZ | |
| 14 | ALL ABOUT SMOKIN Q | |
| 15 | Rhythm n QUE | |
| 16 | Juan's BBQ | |
| 17 | Cloud of Smoke BBQ | |
| 18 | GuidoQ | |
| 19 | Fat Ox BBQ | |
| 20 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 21 | DJ's Smokin BBQ |