They almost always walk
64%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 9 of 14 contests
A top-10 category call in 64% of their 14 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
BAD BRAD'S BBQ
BAD BRAD'S BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 14 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 6th of 26 at the Honeybee BBQ Competition (2025). They are ranked #2520 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1519
peak 1551 · rated over 14 contests
Contests
14
in the data
First seen
Jun 23, 2023
latest Sep 25, 2026 · 3.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
3
21% of 14 contests
Avg finish
top 51%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
339.15 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 337.51 (+1.63)
Walk rate
64%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.12
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 169.16 · weakest Brisket (155.85)
Road miles
1,131
across 14 mapped stops · furthest 143 mi
Schedule strength
70%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1589)
Purse competed for
$134K
listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 14 state-championship entries
Master avg
648.87 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
337.51 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #123 (367 pts) | #154 (287 pts) | #115 (482 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #648 (204 pts) | #715 (199 pts) | #600 (314 pts) | #684 (204 pts) | #699 (189 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #177 (271 pts) | #198 (236 pts) | #178 (306 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1072 (81 pts) | #863 (156 pts) | #1163 (101 pts) | #1166 (66 pts) | #1487 (51 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #351 (85 pts) | #377 (60 pts) | #306 (125 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1480 (58 pts) | #1512 (58 pts) | #1571 (58 pts) | #1491 (58 pts) | #1480 (58 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to BAD BRAD'S BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
78 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,509 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1534
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before BAD BRAD'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,518 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1543
Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,507 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1531
15 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 27% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#2,516 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 15%
- Peak
- 1533
They were already cooking in 2014, 9 years before BAD BRAD'S BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,523 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 46%
- Peak
- 1554
They've been 1554 at their best, 34 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#2,508 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 42%
- Peak
- 1522
Level with BAD BRAD'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 12 | 2 | 10 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 11 | 3 | 7 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| ZIPS BBQ | 10 | 7 | 3 | 70% | ⚔ compare |
| CHOOCHOO BBQ | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Wine Me, Dine Me and Swine Me | 9 | 7 | 2 | 78% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44% | ⚔ compare |
| Glamping Grillers | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Peckerwood Country Club | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| COOL HAND QUE | 8 | 5 | 2 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Blue Smoke Q | 8 | 4 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| FRED VEGAS SMOKERS | 8 | 4 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Wiggle Butts BBQ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| RUNNING STYLE BBQ - GA | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 157.0628 | 165.10 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 161.6800 | 169.16 | top 39% |
| Pork | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 175.4056 | 157.6572 | 165.44 | top 59% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.4172 | 151.3600 | 155.85 | top 94% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 34% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | 3 | 8 | 0 | top 26% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | 3 | 10 | 0 | top 23% | Nov 14, 2025 |
| Big BBQ Bash | 3 | 19 | 0 | top 83% | Jun 20, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
5 contests
Contests a season
3.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
7 of 14 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
8
3 of them more than once
Opponents faced
335
finished ahead 452 times, behind 332
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1551) Smoke on the Falls
- Most recent contest Big BBQ Bash
20252 milestones
- Career-best overall score661.5772 Big BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Chicken)175.4172 Big BBQ Bash
20234 milestones
- First tracked contest Big BBQ Bash
- First call Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
- First overall top-10 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score338.2400 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.5 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 17, 2023 |
| +11.9 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 6, 2026 |
| +11 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 15, 2024 |
| +9.3 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 7, 2025 |
| +8.7 | Honeybee BBQ Competition | May 30, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13 | Battle of the Blue Ridge | Aug 7, 2026 |
| -12.5 | BBQ for Bravery | Jun 19, 2026 |
| -8.4 | Big BBQ Bash | Jun 23, 2023 |
| -7.7 | Big BBQ Bash | Jun 21, 2024 |
| -6 | Big BBQ Bash | Sep 25, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60% | top 64% | 96.2% | 92.6% |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 38% | 94.1% | 93.1% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 47% | 94.3% | 91.1% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 54% | 94% | 90.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Townsend, TN | 22 / 30 (658.6856) | 24 (163.9428) | 6 (173.7144) | 26 (163.3828) | 27 (157.6456) |
| Aug 7, 2026 | Battle of the Blue Ridge 🏅 Swannanoa, NC | 39 / 41 (647.8400) | 38 (159.9428) | 34 (163.3944) | 34 (165.0856) | 39 (159.4172) |
| Jun 19, 2026 | BBQ for Bravery 🏅 Alcoa, TN | 19 / 19 (656.4460) | 18 (168.5372) | 17 (165.1544) | 16 (165.6684) | 19 (157.0860) |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 12 / 36 (339.3944) | 18 (166.2400) | 6 (173.1544) | — | — |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 8 / 44 (346.2284) | 12 (170.8228) | 6 (175.4056) | — | — |
| Nov 14, 2025 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 17 / 56 (338.8228) | 21 (165.7028) | 9 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 19 / 26 (661.5772) | 7 (175.4172) | 15 (169.6916) | 22 (162.8116) | 25 (153.6568) |
| May 30, 2025 | Honeybee BBQ Competition 🏅 Lafayette, GA | 6 / 26 (334.7656) | 8 (167.3828) | 5 (167.3828) | 2 (175.4056) | — |
| Mar 7, 2025 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 11 / 45 (336.5144) | 15 (167.3944) | 11 (169.1200) | 6 (170.8344) | — |
| Nov 15, 2024 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cuming, GA | 13 / 58 (339.3716) | 16 (168.5372) | 9 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 28 / 33 (636.3424) | 28 (157.0740) | 27 (163.9656) | 27 (163.9428) | 31 (151.3600) |
| Mar 1, 2024 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 20 / 59 (326.7544) | 27 (159.3600) | 12 (167.3944) | 18 (165.6800) | — |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 10 / 60 (338.2400) | 20 (163.9656) | 6 (174.2744) | 15 (163.9428) | — |
| Jun 23, 2023 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 33 / 36 (632.3084) | 33 (157.0628) | 29 (161.6800) | 34 (157.6572) | 32 (155.9084) |