Their season
2019
their best year
2019 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 72%.
- 3 contests
- 0 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 72%
RUB ME TENDER
RUB ME TENDER is a competition barbecue team with 24 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 24th of 28 at the Smokin' Hot Cars & BBQ (2021). They are ranked #6415 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Rub-Me-Tender”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1388
peak 1388 · rated over 16 contests
Contests
24
in the data
First seen
Mar 15, 2013
latest Jul 23, 2021 · 8.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 24 contests
Avg finish
top 86%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
623.62 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 614.23 (+9.39)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±22.32
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 156.38 · weakest Brisket (148.11)
Road miles
14,922
across 23 mapped stops · furthest 1,668 mi
Schedule strength
32%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1543)
Purse competed for
$31K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
614.23 / 720
16 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
259.19 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1920 (65 pts) | #1884 (85 pts) | #1324 (175 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #2010 (60 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2274 (60 pts) | #2353 (60 pts) | #2349 (60 pts) | #2326 (60 pts) | #2345 (60 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1026 (279 pts) | #1048 (294 pts) | #773 (429 pts) | #1092 (279 pts) | #1019 (294 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to RUB ME TENDER, each with one reason worth a look.
#6,416 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1387
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#6,417 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 4%
- Peak
- 1387
Careers of much the same size, 23 contests to 24, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#6,414 of the rated field
- Contests
- 27
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1388
27 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#6,422 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1386
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to RUB ME TENDER)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team RUB ME TENDER has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,420 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1387
Level with RUB ME TENDER on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#6,413 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1389
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 19 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organizer Portal | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2628 | 106.0116 | 153.44 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 143.9996 | 156.38 | top 62% |
| Pork | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2628 | 141.1428 | 151.83 | top 86% |
| Brisket | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.3828 | 133.0744 | 148.11 | top 83% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 91% |
| Large (40+) | 10 | 0 | top 83% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ-Fest Cooking Contest | 2 | 25 | 0 | top 91% | Jul 20, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2013
6 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TN
5 of 24 contests · 11 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
16
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
705
finished ahead 127 times, behind 810
Longest layoff
1.9 yrs
Aug 31, 2019 → Jul 23, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20211 milestone
- Most recent contest Smokin' Hot Cars & BBQ
20192 milestones
- Career-best overall score646.1832 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.7028 Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge
20141 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series)
20132 milestones
- Peak power rating (1485) Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel
- First call Middletown BBQ Cook Off
—1 milestone
- First tracked contest Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.8 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship | Jul 12, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.6 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel | Mar 15, 2013 |
| -13.2 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | May 10, 2013 |
| -11.5 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel | Mar 13, 2015 |
| -11.4 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel Benefiting Link Centre | Mar 14, 2014 |
| -10.4 | Pork in the Park Barbeque Festival | Apr 19, 2013 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 72% | 72% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 72% | 89.7% | 87.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 79.9% | 79.9% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 88.9% | 85.7% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 83% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 85.5% | 84.2% |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20% | top 95% | 84% | 84% |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 85% | 88.2% | 83.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2021 | Smokin' Hot Cars & BBQ 🏅 Iola, KS | 24 / 28 (643.3028) | 21 (161.1200) | 18 (164) | 27 (150.8000) | 17 (167.3828) |
| Aug 31, 2019 | Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge 🏅 Omaha, NE | 24 / 28 (624.9832) | 25 (153.6456) | 15 (169.7028) | 23 (159.4060) | 28 (142.2288) |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN | 36 / 39 (628.4460) | 35 (160.5600) | 36 (152.5144) | 38 (151.9544) | 21 (163.4172) |
| Jul 12, 2019 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ | 24 / 64 (646.1832) | 20 (166.2628) | 6 (166.8688) | 36 (161.0972) | 45 (151.9544) |
| Jul 20, 2018 | BBQ-Fest Cooking Contest Dyersburg, TN | 25 / 25 (575.1884) | 25 (142.8000) | 23 (149.0856) | 25 (142.8228) | 25 (140.4800) |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Great American BBQ Festival Franklin, TN | 37 / 40 (639.9088) | 40 (152.5372) | 28 (165.7144) | 39 (155.9428) | 27 (165.7144) |
| May 13, 2017 | Smokin Q at Lynnwood Ranch Okotoks, AB | 29 / 34 (593.6688) | 23 (154.8344) | 16 (157.7372) | 26 (148.0228) | 34 (133.0744) |
| Jul 22, 2016 | BBQ Fest Cooking Contest Dyersburg, TN | 39 / 47 (639.8972) | 44 (157.0972) | 42 (154.2400) | 34 (162.2628) | 25 (166.2972) |
| Nov 20, 2015 | Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest 🏅 Plant City, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 31, 2015 | Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest Rossville, KS | 43 / 46 (615.9428) | 36 (160.5828) | 38 (158.2744) | 41 (154.8228) | 45 (142.2628) |
| Mar 13, 2015 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel Tupelo, MS | 93 / 94 (595.8172) | 68 (163.9312) | 93 (145.6800) | 93 (146.8344) | 94 (139.3716) |
| Jan 30, 2015 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 21, 2014 | Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 7, 2014 | Country Pleasin Grillin & Chillin BBQ Classic Florence, MS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 29, 2014 | Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series) Westport, CT | — | 15 (148.5372) | 10 (148) | — | — |
| Mar 14, 2014 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel Benefiting Link Centre Tupelo, MS | 90 / 95 (605.0404) | 94 (145.1544) | 73 (153.7144) | 67 (161.6800) | 89 (144.4916) |
| Jan 23, 2014 | The Tiger Town Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 22, 2013 | Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL | 38 / 53 (634.6972) | 32 (162.2744) | 14 (166.8344) | 42 (156.5372) | 44 (149.0512) |
| Aug 31, 2013 | Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series) Westport, CT | — | 9 (153.7028) | 12 (148.5372) | — | — |
| May 17, 2013 | Middletown BBQ Cook Off Middletown, DE | 43 / 56 (594.8568) | 39 (150.2854) | 4 (164) | 47 (142.8572) | 51 (137.7142) |
| May 10, 2013 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Knoxville, TN | 28 / 29 (611.4276) | 22 (161.1426) | 28 (143.9996) | 27 (149.7140) | 22 (156.5714) |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Pork in the Park Barbeque Festival Salisbury, MD | 90 / 106 (585.1424) | 27 (162.8570) | 83 (145.1428) | 89 (143.4286) | 93 (133.7140) |
| Mar 15, 2013 | Don't Be Cruel BBQ Duel Tupelo, MS | 96 / 100 (593.1428) | 92 (151.9998) | 47 (164) | 99 (141.1428) | 98 (136.0002) |
| — | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 35 / 38 (259.1888) | 36 (106.0116) | 18 (153.1772) | — | — |