Power Rankings Scoring Model

Effective January 1, 2009 we are tracking all results from contests. We will no longer limit our Power Rankings to Top 10 finishes. As a result of this expanded capability, we've significantly altered the Power Ranking scoring model. As always, The Pickled Pig only factors KCBS sanctioned Open contest results into the rankings.*

For every KCBS sanctioned Open contest in which a team competes, we award teams two type of points (Place and Bonus) in each of five categories: Overall, Chicken, Ribs, Pork, and Brisket. The two point totals are then combined to form the total category points awarded the team in every applicable contest and category completed. The scoring is cumulative for the calendar year and teams are ranked in each category in descending order of points accumulated. Obviously a team that competes in more contests has more opportunity to earn points in our scoring system.

Place Points

We award a set number of points to every team based upon where they place in given category. These points are fixed and do not vary with the size of the contest. As you can see in the table below, the most Place Points a team can earn per category in a contest is 250 (by coming in 1st place). The fewest Place points a team can earn per category in a contest is 25 (for places 25 and below). Teams that compete in smaller contests will tend to score more place points in a season than if they were competing in larger contests.

Bonus Points

We award 1 point for each team the given team places above in a contest and 1 point just for competing. For instance, a team that comes in 1st Overall in a 40 team contest will get 40 Overall Bonus Points, 1 point for each of the 39 teams they beat and 1 point for competing). A team that comes in 20th in Pork in a 25 team contest will get 6 Pork Bonus Points (1 point for each of the 5 teams they beat plus 1 point for competing. Teams that come in last place in any category are awarded 1 Bonus Point in that category just for competing. The most bonus points we award per category for a contest is 100. So a team that finishes 25th in Chicken in a 200 team contest will be awarded 100 Bonus Points. The number of teams for each of the categories in a contest is determined by the number of Overall teams for that contest.

Total Points

The Place Points are combined with the Bonus Points for a total of points awarded to a team for a particular category. For example, suppose a team competes in a 20 team contest and finishes 5th Overall, 10th in Chicken, 12th in Ribs, 3rd in Pork, and 9th in Brisket. That team would earn the points listed in the table below.