A first Grand Championship
10
tracked contests to get there
This was Cocamoke Smoke BBQ's first Grand Championship in the data — it arrived at their 10th tracked contest.
4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN
Nov 11–12, 2022 · Gadsden, AL · 📍 1600 Noccalula Rd
Reps: Bob McKinnon, Carol Bigler, Janet Appleton, Karen Jane Williams, Ralph Williams, Randy G Bigler, Sam Appleton, Terri McKinnon
COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ won Grand Champion at the 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN on November 11, 2022 in Gadsden, AL at 1600 Noccalula Rd, scoring 702.2516 in a field of 91 teams. WEQ4U took Reserve Grand Champion with 700.5144. Category winners: Chicken — MUTTLEY CREW BBQ (178.8572); Pork Ribs — SHEATS SMOKED MEATS (179.4400); Pork — COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ (180.0000); Brisket — The Fat is Where It's At (180.0000). The Other standings were won by Ham Squad with 176.5828.
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.
611.77
median 678.16
702.25 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.86
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 180 🔥
142.15
180
Entries
91
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
702.2516
Winning margin
1.7372
GC over RC
Field average
676.23
611.77702.25
median 678.16 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Chicken
1.1428 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
693.5996
611.77702.25
10th place overall
Field spread
90.4800
winner to last place
Double threats
2
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 24%
beats 76% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
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 knife fight at the top
4.0344
points across the top five
First to fifth in the overall standings covered just 4.0344 points.
- 1st COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ
- 2nd WEQ4U
- 3rd JANKY LEG BBQ
- 4th GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ
- 5th TOP GUN BARBECUE
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 21 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 1–2: MUTTLEY CREW BBQ and Jonesy Q tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 2–3: Jonesy Q and Kith n' Kin tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: Kith n' Kin and GETTIN' BASTED tied on 178.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 5–6 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 62nd.
- Chicken 9th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 62nd
One of the big ones
91
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 98% of the 5,462 contests in the data
91 teams — bigger than 98% of the 5,462 contests in the data.
A perfect score on the table
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- The Fat is Where It's At · Brisket
- COCAMOKE SMOKE BBQ · 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
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 177.7144 | 176.5716 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 177.7144 | 175.4288 |
| Pork | 180 | 177.7028 | 176.5600 |
| Brisket | 180 | 176.5600 | 175.4056 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
91 entries · top 702.2516 · median 678.1600
Chicken
91 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8228
Pork Ribs
91 entries · top 179.4400 · median 169.1200
Pork
91 entries · top 180 · median 169.6916 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
91 entries · top 180 · median 168.5488 · 🔥 perfect 180
Other
Overall
11 entries · top 176.5828 · median 174.2628 · out of 180, not the usual 720
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ham Squad | |
| 2 | RUB MY RACK | |
| 3 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 4 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | |
| 5 | Jury's Out | |
| 6 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 7 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 8 | BAD ROOSTER BBQ | |
| 9 | Jonesy Q | |
| 10 | Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | |
| 11 | HESSHOGS |
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 — Cocktail
49 entries · top 180 · median 171.4172 · 🔥 perfect 180
Other — Kcbs National Steak
11 entries · top 176.5828 · median 174.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ham Squad | |
| 2 | RUB MY RACK | |
| 3 | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | |
| 4 | RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ | |
| 5 | Jury's Out | |
| 6 | FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | |
| 7 | MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | |
| 8 | BAD ROOSTER BBQ | |
| 9 | Jonesy Q | |
| 10 | Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | |
| 11 | HESSHOGS |
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
68 entries · top 180 · median 168.2570 · 🔥 perfect 180