A new contest record
701.1316
highest overall ever cooked here
701.1316 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 691.9544 Fire Down Below set in 2019.
- old record 691.9544
- set 2019 by Fire Down Below
New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 2023
Apr 21–22, 2023 · Blairstown, NJ · 📍 Triple Brook Camping Resort · State championship
Reps: Jeff Chambers, Louise Weidner · Prize money: $5,000
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ won Grand Champion at the New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) on April 21, 2023 in Blairstown, NJ at Triple Brook Camping Resort, scoring 701.1316 in a field of 36 teams. FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.7884. Category winners: Chicken — BLUE & GRAY BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (175.4288); Pork — WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ (178.2972); Brisket — CHUNKY BBQ (176.5600). The Backyard Series standings were won by Beefy Bros BBQ with 343.9772. This is the 3rd of 18 editions of this contest on record; the 2019 edition was won by Fire Down Below; 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.
310.18
median 662.76
701.13 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 178.30
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 175.43
- Master Series — Pork 178.30
- Master Series — Brisket 176.56
- Backyard Series — Chicken 174.27
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 171.42
134.83
178.30
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2018 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
36
6 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
701.1316
Winning margin
2.3432
GC over RC
Field average
649.32
310.18701.13
median 662.76 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Brisket
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
674.1940
310.18701.13
10th place overall
Field spread
390.9484
winner to last place
Prize money
$5,000
on the line
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 28%
beats 72% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
14%
6 of 43 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.58 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,564
avg power rating going in · stronger than 50% 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.
A dynasty in the making
4×
wins at this contest
4 of 18 tracked editions
Grandpa Val's BBQ has won this contest 4 times across its 18 tracked editions.
- 2025
- 2025
- 2026
- 2026
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 7–8: TOP GUN BARBECUE and DIG'N N PIG'N tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork places 7–8: SmoKEN Meatz and PACKANACK LAKE BBQ CLUB tied on 172.5716 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Brisket places 3–4: FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY and WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Master Series — Pork 7–8 · tie
- Master Series — Brisket 3–4 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 4th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 4th
A contest record in pork ribs
175.4288
best pork ribs ever cooked here
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA turned in 175.4288 in pork ribs — past the 174.8572 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 174.8572
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA (won 2018).
- SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA · 2018
The contest returns
4 yrs
since the last edition
This contest was away for 4 years — the previous tracked edition ran on 2019-04-27.
- previous edition 2019-04-27
This contest's own records (2 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2018 | Blairstown, NJ | 58 Honey Run Rd, Triple Brook Camping Resort | 40 | 681.6456 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | GOOD SMOKE BBQ |
| Apr 27, 2019 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 43 | 691.9544 | Fire Down Below | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT |
| Apr 21, 2023 ← this one | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 36 | 701.1316 | Wolf's Revenge | FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY |
| Apr 21, 2023 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 12 | 177.7144 | Good Googly Goo BBQ | — |
| Apr 22, 2023 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 30 | 698.2172 | Top Gun Barbecue | WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ |
| Apr 22, 2023 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 9 | 178.8572 | Blue & Gray BBQ | — |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 29 | 702.8228 | Boggs Hog BBQ | CHUNKY BBQ |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 11 | 178.2972 | Piggin' Whiskey | — |
| Apr 20, 2024 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 27 | 701.7144 | Boggs Hog BBQ | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| Apr 20, 2024 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 8 | 178.8800 | SmoKen Meats | — |
| May 2, 2025 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 33 | 701.6684 | Smokin Hoggz BBQ - MA | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| May 2, 2025 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 21 | 177.7144 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | — |
| May 3, 2025 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 34 | 705.1084 | Boggs Hog BBQ | GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ |
| May 3, 2025 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 14 | 177.1544 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | — |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 26 | 691.9776 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | House of Que |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 10 | 178.8572 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | — |
| Apr 18, 2026 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 26 | 707.3944 | ElJefe Smoke | GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ |
| Apr 18, 2026 | Blairstown, NJ | Triple Brook Camping Resort | 8 | 177.7144 | Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 178.2972 | 173.1200 | 170.8228 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 175.4288 | 169.6800 | 167.4744 |
| Master Series — Pork | 178.2972 | 173.1316 | 170.8344 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 176.5600 | 173.7028 | 169.7032 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 174.2744 | 167.3828 | 159.9544 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 171.4172 | 166.2628 | 154.2516 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
36 entries · top 701.1316 · median 662.7602
Chicken
36 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168.5486
Pork Ribs
36 entries · top 175.4288 · median 163.3886
Pork
35 entries · top 178.2972 · median 166.8456
Brisket
35 entries · top 176.5600 · median 165.1200
Backyard Series
Overall
15 entries · top 343.9772 · median 321.6460
Chicken
14 entries · top 174.2744 · median 165.4058
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 171.4172 · median 158.8344
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 — Dessert
6 entries · top 177.7028 · median 173.4230
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | |
| 2 | Bayshore BBQ | |
| 3 | CHICKEN CHOKERS BBQ | |
| 4 | Grandpa Val's BBQ | |
| 5 | PACKANACK LAKE BBQ CLUB | |
| 6 | Beefy Bros BBQ |