Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
Cooklounge BBQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2022
- 2023
FO.G & Smoke 2023
Sep 16–17, 2023 · Spilamberto, It, Italy · ITALY
Reps: Haymo Gutweniger, Luca Famigli
COOKLOUNGE BBQ won Grand Champion at the FO.G & Smoke 2023 on September 16, 2023 in Spilamberto, It, scoring 694.2172 in a field of 15 teams. LUNA SMOKE - Italy took Reserve Grand Champion with 692.4800. Category winners: Chicken — COOKLOUNGE BBQ (178.2972); Pork Ribs — BBQ+ (174.2744); Pork — LUNA SMOKE - Italy (178.8572); Brisket — COOKLOUNGE BBQ (174.2628). This is the 2nd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Cooklounge BBQ; the next was held in 2025.
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.
622.22
median 668.53
694.22 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 178.30
- Pork Ribs 174.27
- Pork 178.86
- Brisket 174.26
145.14
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2022 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
15
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
694.2172
Winning margin
1.7372
GC over RC
Field average
663.80
622.22694.22
median 668.53 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork Ribs
4.5944 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
658.7656
622.22694.22
10th place overall
Field spread
72.0004
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 58%
beats 42% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
75%
9 of 12 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.72 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,559
avg power rating going in · stronger than 45% 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.
A dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
Cooklounge BBQ has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2022
- 2023
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 1–2: BBQ+ and LUNA SMOKE - Italy tied on 174.2744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: WESTSIDE BBQ and SOUTH BRIXIA tied on 163.3828 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 7–8: SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ and Aldo's BBQ tied on 168.5256 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 1–2 · tie
- Pork Ribs 9–10 · tie
- Pork 7–8 · tie
- Brisket 5–6 · tie
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
COOKLOUNGE BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
COOKLOUNGE BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in brisket
174.2628
best brisket ever cooked here
COOKLOUNGE BBQ turned in 174.2628 in brisket — past the 172.5828 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
- old best 172.5828
- across 1 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Cooklounge BBQ (won 2022).
- Cooklounge BBQ · 2022
They keep coming back
75%
of last edition’s field returned
9 of 12 teams from 2022-09-17 came back
9 of the 12 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2022 | Spilamberto, Mo | Spilamberto, Mo | 12 | 697.7372 | Cooklounge BBQ | WESTSIDE BBQ |
| Sep 16, 2023 ← this one | Spilamberto, It | Spilamberto, It | 15 | 694.2172 | Cooklounge BBQ | LUNA SMOKE - Italy |
| Sep 20, 2025 | Spilamberto | Modena | 24 | 697.6456 | Luna Smoke - Italy | Woodquarter Smokerheads |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Spilamberto | Modena | 22 | 705.1088 | Luna Smoke - Italy | Average Joe BBQ Team |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.2972 | 170.8228 | 163.4284 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.2744 | 169.6800 | 163.3828 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 171.9656 | 165.6800 |
| Brisket | 174.2628 | 168 | 164.5828 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
15 entries · top 694.2172 · median 668.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 2 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 3 | BBQ+ | |
| 4 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 5 | WESTSIDE BBQ | |
| 6 | Roast a Piece | |
| 7 | Aldo's BBQ | |
| 8 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 9 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE | |
| 10 | SOUTH BRIXIA | |
| 11 | Lamborvini | |
| 12 | Jack & Place | |
| 13 | Dagh dal fom | |
| 14 | YourPork | |
| 15 | The smokefull 8 |
Chicken
15 entries · top 178.2972 · median 168.5600
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 2 | BBQ+ | |
| 3 | WESTSIDE BBQ | |
| 4 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 5 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 6 | Lamborvini | |
| 7 | Roast a Piece | |
| 8 | Aldo's BBQ | |
| 9 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE | |
| 10 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 11 | SOUTH BRIXIA | |
| 12 | The smokefull 8 | |
| 13 | YourPork | |
| 14 | Jack & Place | |
| 15 | Dagh dal fom |
Pork Ribs
15 entries · top 174.2744 · median 163.4516
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ+ | |
| 2 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 3 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 4 | Aldo's BBQ | |
| 5 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 6 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 7 | Roast a Piece | |
| 8 | Jack & Place | |
| 9 | WESTSIDE BBQ | |
| 10 | SOUTH BRIXIA | |
| 11 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE | |
| 12 | YourPork | |
| 13 | Lamborvini | |
| 14 | Dagh dal fom | |
| 15 | The smokefull 8 |
Pork
15 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168.5256
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 2 | Roast a Piece | |
| 3 | WESTSIDE BBQ | |
| 4 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 5 | BBQ+ | |
| 6 | SOUTH BRIXIA | |
| 7 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 8 | Aldo's BBQ | |
| 9 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE | |
| 10 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 11 | YourPork | |
| 12 | Jack & Place | |
| 13 | Lamborvini | |
| 14 | Dagh dal fom | |
| 15 | The smokefull 8 |
Brisket
15 entries · top 174.2628 · median 166.8800
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ | |
| 2 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 3 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 4 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 5 | WESTSIDE BBQ | |
| 6 | Roast a Piece | |
| 7 | BBQ+ | |
| 8 | Dagh dal fom | |
| 9 | SOUTH BRIXIA | |
| 10 | Aldo's BBQ | |
| 11 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE | |
| 12 | Jack & Place | |
| 13 | Lamborvini | |
| 14 | The smokefull 8 | |
| 15 | YourPork |
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 — Mystery Box
8 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.8514
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ+ | |
| 2 | Jack & Place | |
| 3 | LUNA SMOKE - Italy | |
| 4 | The smokefull 8 | |
| 5 | SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | |
| 6 | BARBECUE MANTUA GANG | |
| 7 | Dagh dal fom | |
| 8 | TSM - TUTTOSIMUOVE |