RUB THIS BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#4278

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1477

peak 1513 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-18

latest 2017-08-04

Best ToY finish

#947

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 12 contests

Avg finish

top 62%

overall standings

Best overall

673.2112 / 720

Master · The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

640.88 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 637.22 (+3.66)

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4286

Pork · The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival

Consistency

±17.66

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 161.74 · weakest Brisket (153.84)

Road miles

1,112

mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 197 mi

Schedule strength

37%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)

Master avg

637.22 / 720

12 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

They almost always walk

67% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 12 contests

A top-10 category call in 67% of their 12 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

673.2112 career-best overall

93.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 673.2112 at The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival — 93.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-07-23

Their season

2013 their best year

2013 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 39%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 39%

A tough matchup

11–0 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 100% of their meetings

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.9 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.90 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 25%.

Brisket avg 153.84
Chicken avg 161.74
2 calls in 12 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of WIZARD OF QZ in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has out-cooked them in 9 of 11 shared chicken entries.

A May team

Top 46% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 46% across 3 contests, versus top 62% the rest of the year.

3 May contests
top 62% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.45% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.45% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.5% of a perfect score
12 contests

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

139 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

OVER-THE-HILL BBQ

#4268 of the rated field

1477 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1509

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1509 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2022-06-03

⚔ Head-to-head

BUBBA'S BACKYARD BBQ

#4263 of the rated field

1477 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2024-02-23

⚔ Head-to-head

QUE TALKIN' TO ME

#4256 of the rated field

1477 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1503

No shared contest yet.

Level with RUB THIS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2021-06-18

⚔ Head-to-head

B Team BBQ MO

#4262 of the rated field

1477 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1477

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 17 contests, alongside a 35% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

Butts on the Barbie

#4291 of the rated field

1477 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1477

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2023-11-17

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke on the Water BBQ

#4288 of the rated field

1477 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1477

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2026-06-12

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Rogue Hog BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
QUE AND A HALF MEN	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
ACK-QUE	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
CAN U SMELL MY PITS BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
INSANE SWINE BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
Smokin Aces	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
STUBBORN BULL BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
MEAT @ SLIMS	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
WIZARD OF QZ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
THE DEVINE SWINE	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
BONEYARD SMOKERS	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
CIDER BOYS BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	12	3	0	0	170.8456	146.8456	161.74	top 53%
Pork Ribs	12	5	1	2	174.8800	145.6916	160.42	top 53%
Pork	12	2	1	1	175.4286	147.3484	158.22	top 62%
Brisket	12	2	0	0	169.1428	137.6228	153.84	top 62%

“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	Avg finish
CT	4	top 70%
VT	2	top 46%
RI	2	top 76%
MA	2	top 23%
NH	1	top 97%
ME	1	top 79%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 65%
Medium (20–39)	8	top 64%
Large (40+)	3	top 57%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival	2	11	0	top 60%	2017-05-06

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 4.2 yrs 2013-05-18 → 2017-08-04

Busiest season 2014 3 contests

Contests a season 2.4 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CT 4 of 12 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 11 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 12 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 161.74 · weakest Brisket (153.84)

Walk rate 67% a top-10 call in 8 of 12 contests

Overall top-10 rate 17% 2 of 12 contests

Master average 637.22 out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 198 150–250 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,112 12 mapped stops · furthest 197 mi

Schedule strength 1548 average field rating faced — tougher than 37% of rated contests

Power rating 1477 peak 1513 · #4278 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
May 18 First tracked contest The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
May 18 First call The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
May 18 First category win (Pork) The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
May 18 First overall top-10 The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
May 18 First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.7140 The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
May 18 Career-best single call (Pork)175.4286 The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival
Sep 14 Peak power rating (1513) Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
2016
Jul 23 10th tracked contest The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival
Jul 23 Career-best overall score673.2112 The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival
2017
Aug 4 Most recent contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.6	The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival	2013-05-18
+8.5	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest	2013-09-14
+1.4	Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival	2017-05-06
+1.3	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	2016-07-23
+1.3	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ	2014-07-25

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.5	Granite State BBQ Championship	2016-06-04
-7.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-08-08
-6.8	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2017-08-04
-6.5	Wakefield Rotary Campus CookOff & State BBQ Championships	2013-07-20
-6.3	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off	2015-07-17

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	2	0	0	100%	top 71%	88%	87.5%
2016	2	1	0	50%	top 68%	93.5%	89.5%
2015	2	0	0	0%	top 77%	88.6%	88.4%
2014	3	0	0	67%	top 65%	88.6%	87.1%
2013	3	1	2	100%	top 39%	91.9%	89.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-08-04	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour South Windsor, CT	26 / 30 (633.5996)	9 (168.5484)	6 (168.5828)	22 (158.8456)	29 (137.6228)
2017-05-06	Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival Ridgefield, CT	21 / 38 (625.6916)	11 (161.6916)	35 (145.6916)	17 (158.3084)	8 (160.0000)
2016-07-23	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival Windsor, VT	10 / 26 (673.2112)	13 (166.8344)	9 (169.1660)	14 (163.4056)	19 (156.5256)
2016-06-04	Granite State BBQ Championship Hancock, NH	31 / 32 (615.9540)	28 (158.2628)	11 (168.0228)	30 (149.6684)	32 (140.0000)
2015-07-17	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off Kingston, RI	30 / 37 (637.5880)	32 (156.5140)	30 (159.4056)	29 (155.9428)	17 (165.7256)
2015-06-13	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	38 / 52 (635.3596)	12 (170.8456)	39 (158.2400)	38 (154.8456)	40 (151.4284)
2014-08-08	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Scarborough, ME	22 / 28 (608.4688)	18 (158.2512)	25 (147.3716)	20 (155.4516)	21 (147.3944)
2014-07-25	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	18 / 34 (637.6452)	21 (159.9768)	30 (149.1428)	10 (164.5484)	13 (163.9772)
2014-05-03	Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival Ridgefield, CT	11 / 17 (634.7772)	6 (166.8228)	5 (160.5600)	13 (157.7144)	12 (149.6800)
2013-09-14	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA	11 / 42 (644.6168)	25 (158.8456)	1 (174.8800)	25 (157.1312)	24 (153.7600)
2013-07-20	Wakefield Rotary Campus CookOff & State BBQ Championships Kingston, RI	33 / 46 (619.3140)	44 (146.8456)	2 (174.3200)	42 (147.3484)	31 (150.8000)
2013-05-18	The Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival Lexington, MA	6 / 31 (661.7140)	4 (167.4284)	25 (149.7142)	1 (175.4286)	5 (169.1428)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

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
2013 ↗	Master	#947 (308 pts)	#1107 (273 pts)	#905 (348 pts)	#919 (348 pts)	#1141 (253 pts)