Having been through a number of tie breakers in many different cooking competitions, I really love the finals aspect of this. This way goal 1 is to win your table, then of course goal 2 is to WIN with that 2nd turn-in.
From a judges perspective, the pork and ribs are usually very good. We'll see both MBN style, KCBS style (sans garnish of course), FBA style (usually shredded meat lining the bottom), etc. We will see huge variations on the pork loin though. Always interesting to judge.
Look out for team Holy Smokes (or is it Holy Smokers). Gary is on a roll lately. And Myron's son with Jack's New South has been very consistent in the top 3 or 4.
Good luck all of y'all!!!
If there is a *hint* to give out to the first timers; GBA was founded by and is largely judged by MBN folks. Plenty are certified in multiple sanctioning bodies (KCBS included). 100% CBJ's at all GBA competitions, just a high portion of them you'd also see at every MBN competition around here. The meat in ribs should pull cleanly from the bone with a little resistance (a little different than KCBS). Without garnish, the old addage "fill the box" holds true most of the time.
