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.
Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) 2023
Jul 28–29, 2023 · New Freedom, PA · 📍 1 Playground Alley · State championship
Reps: Angela McKee, Louise Weidner, Robert McKee · Prize money: $9,200
3 EYZ BBQ won Grand Champion at the Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) on July 28, 2023 in New Freedom, PA at 1 Playground Alley, scoring 698.8116 in a field of 51 teams. OFF THE RACK BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 698.8116. Category winners: Chicken — HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ (180.0000); Pork Ribs — SMOKESTACK REDEMPTION (178.8572); Pork — OFF THE RACK BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — GETTIN' BASTED (177.7144). The Backyard Series standings were won by Gold-N-Blue Barbecue with 353.7144. This is the 1st of 2 editions of this contest on record; 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.
293.71
median 671.91
698.81 🏆
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 178.86
- Master Series — Pork 178.86
- Master Series — Brisket 177.71
- Backyard Series — Chicken 179.44
- Backyard Series — Pork Ribs 174.27
48.01
180
Entries
51
6 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
698.8116
Winning margin
Tie
identical totals — KCBS tiebreaker
Field average
660.40
293.71698.81
median 671.91 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ (Chicken), OFF THE RACK BBQ (Chicken), GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ (Chicken)
Tightest race
Chicken
2.2856 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
687.9544
293.71698.81
10th place overall
Field spread
405.0972
winner to last place
Prize money
$9,200
on the line
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 38%
beats 62% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.61 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,580
avg power rating going in · stronger than 64% of contests
Storylines (6 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
3 EYZ BBQ came in rated below the field's top team, GETTIN' BASTED, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
- champion 1813
- top seed 1985
Won without a category win
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
3 EYZ BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
- Chicken 8th
- Pork Ribs 4th
- Pork 12th
- Brisket 2nd
A day of perfect scores
3
perfect 180s
3 perfect 180s were scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ · Chicken
- OFF THE RACK BBQ · Chicken
- GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ · Chicken
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 23 calls decided inside half a point
Master Series — Chicken places 1–2: HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ and OFF THE RACK BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 2–3: OFF THE RACK BBQ and GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ tied on 180.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Master Series — Chicken places 6–7: The Fat is Where It's At and WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ tied on 177.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Master Series — Chicken 1–2 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 2–3 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Master Series — Chicken 9–10 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
Gold-N-Blue Barbecue won Chicken, Pork Ribs — a double.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 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)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 2023 ← this one | New Freedom, PA | 1 Playground Alley | 51 | 698.8116 | 3 Eyz BBQ | OFF THE RACK BBQ |
| Jul 29, 2023 | New Freedom, PA | 1 Playground Alley | 40 | 703.9884 | Drilling And Grilling | SWEET BELLY'S BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Series — Chicken | 180 | 177.7144 | 175.4172 |
| Master Series — Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 174.2972 | 173.7028 |
| Master Series — Pork | 178.8572 | 174.2856 | 170.8344 |
| Master Series — Brisket | 177.7144 | 174.8456 | 173.1200 |
| Backyard Series — Chicken | 179.4400 | 174.2628 | 170.8228 |
| Backyard Series — Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 170.8688 | 169.7028 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
51 entries · top 698.8116 · median 671.9084
Chicken
51 entries · top 180 · median 170.2744 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
50 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.8228
Pork
50 entries · top 178.8572 · median 167.4056
Brisket
51 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.3712
Backyard Series
Overall
33 entries · top 353.7144 · median 333.0740
Chicken
33 entries · top 179.4400 · median 167.4172
Pork Ribs
33 entries · top 174.2744 · median 166.2972
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.
Turkey Smoke Series — Turkey Smoke
45 entries · top 178.8572 · median 166.2972