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.
Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 2023
May 6–7, 2023 · Lincoln, DE · 📍 Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches · State championship
Reps: Jeff Chambers, Regina Bodnar · Prize money: $2,800
SMOKECRAFT - MD won Grand Champion at the Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) on May 6, 2023 in Lincoln, DE at Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches, scoring 692.5144 in a field of 19 teams. Ham Squad took Reserve Grand Champion with 692.5144. Category winners: Chicken — Ham Squad (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SMOKECRAFT - MD (174.8572); Pork — SMOKECRAFT - MD (178.8572); Brisket — BLUE EYED BBQ (177.1544). The Backyard Series standings were won by Better Half Barbecue with 351.9772. This is the 3rd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2023 edition was won by Blue Eyed BBQ; 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.
651.36
median 679.33
692.51 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Master Series — Chicken 180 🔥
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 174.86
- Master Series — Pork 178.86
- Master Series — Brisket 177.15
- Backyard Series — Chicken 175.43
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 177.71
146.83
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2023 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Entries
19
6 judged meats
Top score
692.5144
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
677.44
651.36692.51
median 679.33 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.8572 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
679.3256
651.36692.51
10th place overall
Field spread
41.1544
winner to last place
Prize money
$2,800
on the line
Double threats
9
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 63%
beats 37% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.44 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,585
avg power rating going in · stronger than 67% 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
27-in-100
shot on pre-contest ratings
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100
SMOKECRAFT - MD came in rated below the field's top team, 3 EYZ BBQ, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1646
- top seed 1823
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 14 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: 3 Eyz BBQ and THE GRILLER B’S tied on 179.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 7–8: PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ and SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Pork Ribs places 8–9: BLUE EYED BBQ and BIG BOB'S SMOKIN QUE tied on 168.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Master Series — Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Master Series — Brisket 4–5 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SMOKECRAFT - MD won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMOKECRAFT - MD took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 15th.
- Chicken 15th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 4th
A contest record in pork
178.8572
best pork ever cooked here
SMOKECRAFT - MD turned in 178.8572 in pork — past the 175.4172 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 175.4172
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Mispillion Meat Works (won 2023), Blue Eyed BBQ (won 2023).
- Mispillion Meat Works · 2023
- Blue Eyed BBQ · 2023
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.
- Ham Squad · Chicken
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2023 | Lincoln, DE | Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches | 20 | 697.0972 | Mispillion Meat Works | TOP GUN BARBECUE |
| May 5, 2023 | Lincoln, DE | Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches | 9 | 178.8572 | Blue Eyed BBQ | — |
| May 6, 2023 ← this one | Lincoln, DE | Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches | 19 | 692.5144 | Smokecraft | Ham Squad |
| May 6, 2023 | Lincoln, DE | Jellystone Park at Delaware Beaches | 9 | 177.7144 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 180 | 175.4172 | 171.9888 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 172 | 167.9772 |
| Master Series — Pork | 178.8572 | 171.9772 | 169.6916 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 177.1544 | 170.8228 | 167.9772 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 175.4288 | 169.6800 | 159.4172 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 177.7144 | 163.4060 | 153.7144 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
19 entries · top 692.5144 · median 679.3256
Chicken
19 entries · top 180 · median 171.9888 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
19 entries · top 174.8572 · median 167.9772
Pork
19 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.6916
Brisket
19 entries · top 177.1544 · median 167.9772
Backyard Series
Overall
12 entries · top 351.9772 · median 327.9372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 2 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 3 | Piggy & Swine BBQ | |
| 4 | Brewski's BBQ Competition Team | |
| 5 | All About the Wood | |
| 6 | Pit Master Matt | |
| 7 | Do-Do-Que | |
| 8 | STICKS & STONES BBQ | |
| 9 | SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM | |
| 10 | Hog Heaven | |
| 11 | SMOAKWOOD | |
| 12 | HotItems |
Chicken
12 entries · top 175.4288 · median 167.6800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piggy & Swine BBQ | |
| 2 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 3 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 4 | SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM | |
| 5 | Pit Master Matt | |
| 6 | Brewski's BBQ Competition Team | |
| 7 | Do-Do-Que | |
| 8 | STICKS & STONES BBQ | |
| 9 | All About the Wood | |
| 10 | SMOAKWOOD | |
| 11 | Hog Heaven | |
| 12 | HotItems |
Pork Ribs
12 entries · top 177.7144 · median 161.4116
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Better Half Barbecue | |
| 2 | Brewski's BBQ Competition Team | |
| 3 | All About the Wood | |
| 4 | Capt. Blue BBQ | |
| 5 | Piggy & Swine BBQ | |
| 6 | Hog Heaven | |
| 7 | Do-Do-Que | |
| 8 | STICKS & STONES BBQ | |
| 9 | Pit Master Matt | |
| 10 | SMOAKWOOD | |
| 11 | HotItems | |
| 12 | SMOKIN' WITH POPS BBQ TEAM |