Bad Bears BBQ CA
Rating
1649
peak 1649
Contests
32
in the data
First seen
2022-07-10
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#93
Master 2026
Grand champs
1
3 reserve
Category wins
8
16 podiums
Overall top-10s
17
of 32 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
5 🔥
Current form
690.80 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 674.88 (+15.92)
Walk rate
84%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
5
and counting
Best single call
180.0000 🔥
Consistency
±67.39
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 173.24 · weakest Brisket (169.40)
Road miles
9772
mi across 32 mapped stops · furthest 1896 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
BULL MARKET BBQ has finished one call ahead of Bad Bears BBQ 4 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Small Axe BBQ has landed one call behind them 4 times.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Pops BBQ 22 in 13 of their 16 shared contests.
💔 The heartbreaker
Finished level on points with the champion at Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest (2024-03-15) — the Grand Championship went to the KCBS tiebreaker.
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 30-team field at The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1).
📅 A May team
Something about May: average finish in the top 24% across 6 contests, versus top 36% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) (2025-05-30) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 11-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, GETTIN' BASTED.
📈 Riding a hot streak
Currently on a 5-contest overall top-10 run.
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 32 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 180.0000 🔥 | 160.5372 | 173.24 | top 36% |
| Pork Ribs | 32 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 180.0000 🔥 | 143.3372 | 170.59 | top 42% |
| Pork | 31 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 179.4400 | 162.2400 | 172.34 | top 38% |
| Brisket | 31 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 177.7028 | 161.1312 | 169.40 | top 45% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 22 | 0 | top 42% |
| OR | 5 | 1 | top 12% |
| NV | 3 | 0 | top 42% |
| AZ | 1 | 0 | top 32% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 8% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 50% |
| Medium (20–39) | 23 | 1 | top 35% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 30% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (12 contests)
- Cooks mostly in CA (22 of 32 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (32 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) (2025-05-30)
- Wins it all in 3% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 674.88
- 5 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 696.5600 | 689.93 |
| 2025 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 703.3828 | 686.84 |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 707.4172 | 690.73 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 691.3944 | 676.97 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 303.8744 | 303.87 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 4 / 33 (696.5600) | 7 (174.8456) | 4 (176.5716) | 6 (174.8800) | 16 (170.2628) |
| 2026-04-24 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 8 / 29 (687.9656) | 5 (177.1428) | 16 (169.1428) | 1 (178.8800) | 20 (162.8000) |
| 2026-04-17 | The Downtown Grand Master BBQ Showdown Las Vegas, NV | 10 / 29 (686.7768) | 3 (177.7028) | 25 (166.2628) | 20 (169.1084) | 7 (173.7028) |
| 2026-03-20 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 9 / 27 (686.7540) | 9 (175.4056) | 10 (170.8112) | 10 (172.0000) | 10 (168.5372) |
| 2026-01-30 | The Golden State Battle VIII Riverside, CA | 9 / 41 (695.9316) | 10 (176.5600) | 21 (170.8344) | 17 (173.1200) | 5 (175.4172) |
| 2026-01-16 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 17 / 53 (685.6000) | 16 (173.1200) | 29 (168.5488) | 16 (173.1084) | 17 (170.8228) |
| 2025-11-21 | BBQ Jackpot Las Vegas, NV | 40 / 90 (683.3488) | 13 (176.0000) | 23 (172.5716) | 60 (168.5372) | 66 (166.2400) |
| 2025-10-10 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 7 / 90 (697.1200) | 1 (180.0000) | 7 (178.8572) | 40 (172.5600) | 68 (165.7028) |
| 2025-08-09 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 2) Felton, CA | 8 / 21 (682.2172) | 14 (169.1200) | 8 (170.2628) | 3 (175.4516) | 12 (167.3828) |
| 2025-08-08 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) Felton, CA | 13 / 25 (677.6456) | 8 (173.1200) | 9 (171.9772) | 14 (166.2628) | 16 (166.2856) |
| 2025-07-19 | Sutherlin Throwdown Sutherlin, OR | 4 / 35 (703.3828) | 17 (172.5600) | 1 (180.0000) | 12 (173.1200) | 4 (177.7028) |
| 2025-05-31 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2) Sweet Home, OR | 8 / 28 (694.2172) | 1 (180.0000) | 19 (169.6800) | 7 (176.0000) | 18 (168.5372) |
| 2025-05-30 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) Sweet Home, OR | 1 / 30 (694.8456) | 1 (180.0000) | 6 (175.4056) | 12 (171.4628) | 14 (167.9772) |
| 2025-05-16 | Gold Country Casino Resort BrewFest & State BBQ Championship Oroville, CA | 4 / 19 (691.3712) | 8 (172.5484) | 3 (172.5600) | 3 (177.1428) | 8 (169.1200) |
| 2025-04-25 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 12 / 31 (677.5884) | 9 (174.8456) | 24 (163.9544) | 17 (167.9656) | 10 (170.8228) |
| 2025-03-14 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 18 / 26 (676.5372) | 12 (171.4400) | 18 (166.8572) | 22 (162.2400) | 5 (176.0000) |
| 2025-01-25 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 2) Hollister, CA | 10 / 27 (693.0512) | 14 (173.1200) | 20 (169.6800) | 13 (172.5484) | 1 (177.7028) |
| 2025-01-24 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 1) Hollister, CA | 21 / 31 (670.7428) | 18 (169.6800) | 14 (171.9772) | 26 (162.8456) | 12 (166.2400) |
| 2024-12-06 | BBQ Jackpot Las Vegas, NV | 34 / 74 (679.8856) | 12 (176.5600) | 33 (170.2628) | 49 (167.3944) | 55 (165.6684) |
| 2024-07-20 | The Sutherlin Throwdown Sutherlin, OR | 2 / 30 (707.4172) | 1 (180.0000) | 5 (178.2972) | 2 (178.8572) | 11 (170.2628) |
| 2024-06-28 | 20th Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest Riverside, CA | 9 / 35 (695.9428) | 12 (174.2856) | 8 (174.2744) | 9 (175.4056) | 16 (171.9772) |
| 2024-06-14 | CBCA Clayton BBQ and Brews Festival (MASTERS) Clayton, CA | 2 / 25 (697.0856) | 11 (170.8228) | 2 (176.5600) | 1 (178.8572) | 8 (170.8456) |
| 2024-05-24 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off Felton, CA | 5 / 21 (689.0628) | 7 (173.7028) | 4 (174.8572) | 6 (174.2628) | 12 (166.2400) |
| 2024-04-26 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 14 / 34 (688.0116) | 17 (170.8344) | 7 (176.5716) | 7 (175.4400) | 21 (165.1656) |
| 2024-03-15 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 2 / 27 (698.2744) | 5 (171.4056) | 4 (175.4172) | 4 (176.5600) | 5 (174.8916) |
| 2024-03-01 | The Golden State Battle VI Hollister, CA | 24 / 33 (670.1600) | 3 (178.8572) | 33 (154.2172) | 23 (166.2400) | 16 (170.8456) |
| 2023-11-17 | Golden State Battle of Indio Indio, CA | 12 / 40 (691.3944) | 30 (169.7144) | 34 (166.2400) | 2 (179.4400) | 6 (176.0000) |
| 2023-10-06 | Swanner House Autumn Reata Round Up BBQ Contest San Juan Capistrano, CA | 12 / 17 (679.8972) | 11 (171.9656) | 9 (171.4172) | 8 (172.5716) | 15 (163.9428) |
| 2023-08-04 | Dinuba's Annual BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 11 / 29 (678.2516) | 24 (165.0972) | 4 (173.7144) | 14 (168.0228) | 7 (171.4172) |
| 2023-05-26 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook-Off Felton, CA | 11 / 19 (667.8856) | 9 (170.8344) | 6 (169.1200) | 12 (166.2284) | 16 (161.7028) |
| 2023-04-28 | Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 15 / 27 (667.4172) | 23 (161.7144) | 16 (168.5600) | 4 (176.0116) | 18 (161.1312) |
| 2022-07-10 | CBCA Clayton BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD) Clayton, CA | 16 / 20 (303.8744) | 11 (160.5372) | 17 (143.3372) | — | — |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #93 (928 pts) | #75 (1068 pts) | #173 (698 pts) | #83 (923 pts) | #111 (813 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #120 (1493 pts) | #104 (1532 pts) | #149 (1368 pts) | #152 (1282 pts) | #120 (1458 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #117 (1375 pts) | #145 (1245 pts) | #148 (1265 pts) | #81 (1530 pts) | #207 (1020 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #438 (447 pts) | #539 (362 pts) | #418 (587 pts) | #385 (557 pts) | #467 (427 pts) |