Decided by a tiebreaker
Tie
identical totals at the top
The top two teams finished on identical totals — the Grand Championship came down to the KCBS tiebreaker rules.
Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge 2023
Jan 13–14, 2023 · Bullhead City, AZ · 📍 Rotary Park · State championship
Reps: Bunny Tuttle, Michael Winter, Rich Tuttle · Prize money: $16,000
STEVO'S BBQ TEAM won Grand Champion at the Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge on January 13, 2023 in Bullhead City, AZ at Rotary Park, scoring 691.3716 in a field of 45 teams. LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 691.3716. Category winners: Chicken — Cherry Anchor BBQ (177.7028); Pork Ribs — SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ (175.4172); Pork — SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — PORTERHOUSE BBQ (177.7028). This is the 6th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by SHARPE GOURMET COOKING WOOD.
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.
502.24
median 668.49
691.37 🏆
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 175.42
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 177.70
117.58
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2017 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Entries
45
4 judged meats · 5 ancillary
Top score
691.3716
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
656.06
502.24691.37
median 668.49 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2856 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.3140
502.24691.37
10th place overall
Field spread
189.1316
winner to last place
Prize money
$16,000
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 67%
beats 33% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
31%
18 of 59 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.59 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,580
avg power rating going in · stronger than 63% of contests
Storylines (5 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
STEVO'S BBQ TEAM came in rated below the field's top team, BIG POPPA SMOKERS, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 10-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1583
- top seed 1965
Won without a category win
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
STEVO'S BBQ TEAM won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 3rd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 8th
- Pork 10th
- Brisket 3rd
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 15 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 2–3: DRY 2 DA BONE and Meat Candy Q tied on 176.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: WELL SAUCED BBQ and Burnin and Lootin tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 1–2: SMOKIN' BLISS BBQ and DRY 2 DA BONE tied on 175.4172 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 9–10 · tie
- Pork Ribs 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: BIG POPPA SMOKERS (won 2020).
- BIG POPPA SMOKERS · 2020
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20, 2017 | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 40 | 697.0972 | SHIG NINJA BBQ | STEEL CITY BBQ |
| Jan 19, 2018 | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 70 | 700.5600 | ROOFTOP BBQ | MAR-B-QUE'S BBQ |
| Jan 18, 2019 | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 63 | 696.5256 | 4 LEGS UP BBQ | UTAH BBQ COMPANY |
| Jan 17, 2020 | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 59 | 695.9428 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS | THE BBQ BUS |
| Jan 14, 2022 | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 59 | 695.3944 | SHARPE GOURMET COOKING WOOD | BIG POPPA SMOKERS |
| Jan 13, 2023 ← this one | Bullhead City, AZ | Rotary Park | 45 | 691.3716 | STEVO'S BBQ | LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 175.4172 | 173.1200 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4172 | 171.4056 | 169.6800 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 175.4172 | 171.9772 |
| Brisket | 177.7028 | 173.1200 | 170.8112 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
45 entries · top 691.3716 · median 668.4916
Chicken
45 entries · top 177.7028 · median 167.3828
Pork Ribs
45 entries · top 175.4172 · median 166.2400
Pork
45 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5372
Brisket
44 entries · top 177.7028 · median 164.8342
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 — Appetizer
5 entries · top 175.4172 · median 170.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WELL SAUCED BBQ | |
| 2 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 3 | CHEF G | |
| 4 | SCORE ONE SMOKIN' | |
| 5 | SWEET BREEZE CREPES |
Ancillary — Cook'S Choice
9 entries · top 173.7028 · median 164.5372
Ancillary — Dessert
8 entries · top 180 · median 175.1486 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHEF G | |
| 2 | STEVE'S PIG PIKINS BBQ | |
| 3 | POPPA PIG AND PORKCHOP | |
| 4 | SWEET BREEZE CREPES | |
| 5 | 7 SINS BBQ | |
| 6 | WELL SAUCED BBQ | |
| 7 | HONEY PAWS BBQ | |
| 8 | Los Lagos Meat Heads |
Kids-Q — Kids Que
15 entries · top 172.5944 · median 148.0228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KAYLA HILL | |
| 2 | BRODY FULTON | |
| 3 | DEXTER DUNCAN | |
| 4 | ANOTHONY WILSON | |
| 5 | DEAN BARR | |
| 6 | MATIAS LARA | |
| 7 | ISAAC LARA | |
| 8 | MATTHEW RIVERA | |
| 9 | MADISON LARON | |
| 10 | BAUER POWER BBQ | |
| 11 | JIMMY GRANO AND PAYTON PARKER | |
| 12 | JAXON SWINFORD | |
| 13 | TRENT DELALAMA | |
| 14 | ACE CADY AND THOMAS BIRD | |
| 15 | KAITLIN & ABIGAIL HOFFMAN |
Ancillary — Sausage
13 entries · top 174.2628 · median 166.2400
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JOLLEY'S BAD TO THE BONE BARBEQUE | |
| 2 | WELL SAUCED BBQ | |
| 3 | YOUR BEHIND BBQ | |
| 4 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 5 | SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | |
| 6 | West Coast BBQ Shop | |
| 7 | SinBin BBQ | |
| 8 | STEVO'S BBQ TEAM | |
| 9 | Burnin and Lootin | |
| 10 | SD Smoke BBQ | |
| 11 | Coaches Pit BBQ | |
| 12 | SCORE ONE SMOKIN' | |
| 13 | B' MACKIN BBQ |