A rookie on the podium
1st
at their first tracked contest
Bear's Den BBQ finished 1st overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Smoky Hayes BBQ Competition & Cook-Off
Jul 7–8, 2023 · Delta Junction, AK · 📍 Trophy Lodge
Reps: John Mann, Michelle Mann · Prize money: $4,750
Bear's Den BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoky Hayes BBQ Competition & Cook-Off on July 7, 2023 in Delta Junction, AK at Trophy Lodge, scoring 695.4288 in a field of 6 teams. SMOKEY HAZE took Reserve Grand Champion with 691.3944. Category winners: Chicken — White T-Shirt BBQ (176.0000); Pork Ribs — SMOKEY HAZE (176.5600); Pork — Bear's Den BBQ (176.0000); Brisket — Bear's Den BBQ (173.7372).
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176
- Pork Ribs 176.56
- Pork 176
- Brisket 173.74
149.67
176.56
Entries
6
4 judged meats
Top score
695.4288
Winning margin
4.0344
GC over RC
Field average
664.02
631.89695.43
median 659.05 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
10.2744 pts across the top 5
Field spread
63.5436
winner to last place
Prize money
$4,750
on the line
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 51%
beats 49% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Field strength
1,501
avg power rating going in
Storylines (4 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
decided the closest call
Pork Ribs places 2–3: Bear's Den BBQ and Big J's BBQ tied on 173.1316 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 2–3 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Bear's Den BBQ won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Bear's Den BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 4th.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176 | 162.2628 | — |
| Pork Ribs | 176.5600 | 166.2856 | — |
| Pork | 176 | 151.3712 | — |
| Brisket | 173.7372 | 152.5600 | — |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
6 entries · top 695.4288 · median 659.0518
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bear's Den BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKEY HAZE | |
| 3 | Big J's BBQ | |
| 4 | PIG PEOPLE | |
| 5 | White T-Shirt BBQ | |
| 6 | Alaska's Most Wanted BBQ |
Chicken
6 entries · top 176 · median 172.8572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | White T-Shirt BBQ | |
| 2 | PIG PEOPLE | |
| 3 | SMOKEY HAZE | |
| 4 | Bear's Den BBQ | |
| 5 | Big J's BBQ | |
| 6 | Alaska's Most Wanted BBQ |
Pork Ribs
6 entries · top 176.5600 · median 172.5486
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKEY HAZE | |
| 2 | Bear's Den BBQ | |
| 3 | Big J's BBQ | |
| 4 | Alaska's Most Wanted BBQ | |
| 5 | White T-Shirt BBQ | |
| 6 | PIG PEOPLE |
Pork
6 entries · top 176 · median 161.3830
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bear's Den BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKEY HAZE | |
| 3 | Big J's BBQ | |
| 4 | PIG PEOPLE | |
| 5 | Alaska's Most Wanted BBQ | |
| 6 | White T-Shirt BBQ |
Brisket
6 entries · top 173.7372 · median 162.2572
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bear's Den BBQ | |
| 2 | SMOKEY HAZE | |
| 3 | Big J's BBQ | |
| 4 | White T-Shirt BBQ | |
| 5 | Alaska's Most Wanted BBQ | |
| 6 | PIG PEOPLE |