LITTLE JOE'S BBQ

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

Power ranking

#5515

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1450

peak 1450 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-03-22

latest 2015-07-17

Best ToY finish

#1139

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 76%

overall standings

Best overall

645.0516 / 720

Master · Rock'N Western Rendezvous

Perfect 180s

Current form

631.41 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 630.35 (+1.05)

Walk rate

60%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.7256

Pork · Griller's Cup

Consistency

±10.68

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 161.68 · weakest Brisket (153.07)

Road miles

2,153

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 401 mi

Schedule strength

29%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)

Master avg

630.35 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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

60% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 6 of 10 contests

A top-10 category call in 60% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

A tough matchup

9–0 behind in the head-to-head

Backdraft BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

Backdraft BBQ has come out ahead in 9 of their 9 shared contests.

The weak link

−8.6 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.62 points below their pork, and turns into a call 10% of the time against 40%.

Brisket avg 153.07
Pork avg 161.68
1 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of WYOMING BS BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

7 of 9 shared pork entries lost

Backdraft BBQ ahead 78% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Backdraft BBQ has out-cooked them in 7 of 9 shared pork entries.

The metronome

±1.48% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.48% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 87.5% of a perfect score
10 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.

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

BBCATS BELGIUM

#5517 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1510 at their best, 60 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2022-03-26

⚔ Head-to-head

MEAT SLINGERS

#5526 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2021-01-29

⚔ Head-to-head

Cookin Possums

#5519 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1511

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2017-05-19

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN WOLVES

#5523 of the rated field

1450 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

Level with LITTLE JOE'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2014-10-02

⚔ Head-to-head

Feelin' Swine BBQ

#5494 of the rated field

1450 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 8% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2024-09-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Avon Purple Cobra's

#5504 of the rated field

1450 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1450

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-07-31

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Backdraft BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
GRILLIN' BEAVERS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
STARS AND STRIPES BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
THE CELTIC PIG	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
3 LIL' MACS BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
JO-BAWB'S BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
CHIBI-Q	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	1	0	167.4284	152.5714	160.49	top 66%
Pork Ribs	10	1	1	172.0000	134.8568	155.12	top 75%
Pork	10	4	0	173.7256	150.8228	161.68	top 57%
Brisket	10	1	0	162.2976	141.1426	153.07	top 74%

“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
CO	4	top 79%
WY	3	top 73%
NE	2	top 73%
UT	1	top 76%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 75%
Medium (20–39)	8	top 75%
Large (40+)	1	top 83%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Griller's Cup	3	19	0	top 73%	2015-07-17

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

On the trail 2.3 yrs 2013-03-22 → 2015-07-17

Busiest season 2015 4 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CO 4 of 10 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 161.68 · weakest Brisket (153.07)

Walk rate 60% a top-10 call in 6 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 10 contests

Master average 630.35 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 173 71–214 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,153 10 mapped stops · furthest 401 mi

Schedule strength 1539 average field rating faced — tougher than 29% of rated contests

Power rating 1450 peak 1450 · #5515 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Mar 22 First tracked contest Heatin' Up the Bricks
Mar 22 Peak power rating (1490) Heatin' Up the Bricks
Apr 5 First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2014
Jul 16 Career-best single call (Pork)173.7256 Griller's Cup
2015
May 30 Career-best overall score645.0516 Rock'N Western Rendezvous
Jul 17 10th tracked contest Griller's Cup
Jul 17 Most recent contest Griller's Cup

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

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10	Heatin' Up the Bricks	2013-03-22
-8.2	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2015-04-17
-7.5	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2013-04-05
-6.5	Griller's Cup	2013-07-19
-5.2	Wild West BBQ	2015-05-08

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2015	4	50%	top 78%	89.6%	87.4%
2014	2	100%	top 69%	88.9%	88.8%
2013	4	50%	top 77%	89%	87.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015-07-17	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	20 / 29 (632.4684)	24 (158.8456)	24 (157.6800)	10 (165.6800)	27 (150.2628)
2015-05-30	Rock'N Western Rendezvous Loveland, CO	27 / 38 (645.0516)	16 (167.4284)	27 (157.6916)	9 (170.8572)	38 (149.0744)
2015-05-08	Wild West BBQ Lamar, CO	21 / 26 (629.5656)	15 (166.2856)	24 (151.9428)	21 (153.0512)	15 (158.2860)
2015-04-17	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Fort Collins, CO	27 / 30 (610.1372)	16 (162.2628)	26 (150.7772)	29 (150.8228)	26 (146.2744)
2014-07-16	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	19 / 26 (639.8056)	23 (154.1940)	19 (158.2172)	5 (173.7256)	19 (153.6688)
2014-04-25	Pony Express BBQ Challenge Gothenburg, NE	18 / 28 (639.3716)	16 (162.8344)	3 (172.0000)	23 (151.9656)	20 (152.5716)
2013-08-23	Bootleggin' BBQ Garden City, CO	12 / 16 (641.0404)	8 (164.5256)	16 (153.1316)	13 (161.0856)	7 (162.2976)
2013-07-19	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	25 / 33 (625.5088)	30 (154.2056)	25 (157.7260)	29 (154.7772)	19 (158.8000)
2013-04-05	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Salt Lake City, UT	22 / 29 (620.5714)	27 (152.5714)	17 (157.1430)	4 (169.7144)	28 (141.1426)
2013-03-22	Heatin' Up the Bricks Kearney, NE	33 / 40 (620.0000)	19 (161.7142)	40 (134.8568)	20 (165.1430)	25 (158.2860)

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
2015 ↗	Master	#1840 (115 pts)	#1384 (205 pts)	#1897 (115 pts)	#1451 (200 pts)	#1909 (115 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1139 (240 pts)	#1075 (285 pts)	#1201 (245 pts)	#831 (395 pts)	#1098 (265 pts)