A new contest record
698.7768
highest overall ever cooked here
698.7768 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 694.2056 IQ set in 2022.
- old record 694.2056
- set 2022 by IQ
Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest 2023
Jun 24–25, 2023 · Dodewaard, Netherlands · NETHERLANDS
Reps: Marianne Van Galen, Mayco Van Galen
IQ - NETHERLANDS won Grand Champion at the Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest on June 24, 2023 in 6669 MH Dodewaard,, scoring 698.7768 in a field of 26 teams. BBQ+ took Reserve Grand Champion with 685.0860. Category winners: Chicken — IQ - NETHERLANDS (177.7028); Pork Ribs — Barbecoa BBQ Team (174.8572); Pork — BBQ+ (180.0000); Brisket — WHITE SQUIRREL BBQ (174.2628). This is the 2nd of 3 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by IQ; the next was held in 2024.
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.
609.05
median 656.47
698.78 🏆
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 174.86
- Pork 180 🔥
- Brisket 174.26
130.82
180
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2022 to 2024 — this edition picked out.
Entries
26
4 judged meats
Top score
698.7768
Winning margin
13.6908
GC over RC
Field average
656.41
609.05698.78
median 656.47 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
2.2628 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
664.4228
609.05698.78
10th place overall
Field spread
89.7252
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 39%
beats 61% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
68%
15 of 22 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.78 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,570
avg power rating going in · stronger than 55% 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.
Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
iQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2022
- 2023
A statement win
13.6908
points clear of the field
Wider than 94% of the 4,714 championships in the data
The champion won by 13.6908 points — a wider margin than 94% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 3 tracked editions
IQ has won this contest 2 times across its 3 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2023
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 7–8: KNOCKSTONE BBQ TEAM AUSTRIA and Meat Me & T-Rex tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: BBQ+ edged ROKENDE REGAHS by 0.0112. Brisket places 6–7: BUNCH OF SWINES edged ROKENDE REGAHS by 0.0116.
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0112
- Brisket 6–7 · 0.0116
- Chicken 3–4 · 0.0116
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
IQ - NETHERLANDS took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 2nd
- Brisket 5th
A contest record in pork ribs
174.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
Barbecoa BBQ Team turned in 174.8572 in pork ribs — past the 172.0228 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 172.0228
- across 1 past editions
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.
- 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2022 | Dodewaard | 6669 MH Dodewaard, | 22 | 694.2056 | IQ | KNOCKSTONE BBQ TEAM AUSTRIA |
| Jun 24, 2023 ← this one | Dodewaard | 6669 MH Dodewaard, | 26 | 698.7768 | iQ | BBQ+ |
| Jun 22, 2024 | Dodewaard | 6669 BZ Dodewaard, | 23 | 690.2516 | Just Wing It | BACKCORNER BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 177.7028 | 173.7028 | 169.7028 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.8572 | 172.5944 | 168.5832 |
| Pork | 180 | 170.8228 | 168.5256 |
| Brisket | 174.2628 | 169.1084 | 165.1200 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
26 entries · top 698.7768 · median 656.4744
Chicken
26 entries · top 177.7028 · median 168.2570
Pork Ribs
26 entries · top 174.8572 · median 163.9658
Pork
26 entries · top 180 · median 166.8228 · 🔥 perfect 180
Brisket
26 entries · top 174.2628 · median 162.8400