The heartbreaker
0.5716
points from the title
Came within 0.5716 points of the Grand Championship at I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition (Sep 26, 2026).
Ribs in Peace
Ribs in Peace is a competition barbecue team with 15 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 14 at the I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition (2026), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #2192 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1531
peak 1531 · rated over 9 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
15
in the data
First seen
May 18, 2024
latest Sep 26, 2026 · 2.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
2 reserve
Category wins
3
10 podiums
Overall top-10s
8
53% of 15 contests
Best top-10 run
5
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
Current form
684.00 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 678.88 (+5.12)
Walk rate
100%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.40
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.60 · weakest Brisket (163.97)
Road miles
2,102
across 15 mapped stops · furthest 384 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1549)
Master avg
678.88 / 720
10 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 ↗ | Master | #334 (578 pts) | #353 (603 pts) | #361 (658 pts) | #375 (523 pts) | #427 (448 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #446 (433 pts) | #327 (697 pts) | #489 (467 pts) | #448 (463 pts) | #420 (523 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #464 (416 pts) | #368 (638 pts) | #326 (775 pts) | #502 (401 pts) | #545 (356 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Ribs in Peace, each with one reason worth a look.
80 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,189 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1535
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,187 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1532
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Ribs in Peace's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,200 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1531
Fewer contests behind them than Ribs in Peace has cooked, 7 to 15, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,184 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1532
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before Ribs in Peace's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,195 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1531
Level with Ribs in Peace on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,201 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1540
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 25% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szendo Smoke BBQ Team | 9 | 6 | 3 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Woodquarter Smokerheads | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ Hot Yard | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoky Cotte | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| COOKLOUNGE BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Westside BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 180 🔥 | 166.2628 | 172.60 | top 43% |
| Pork Ribs | 13 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 178.8572 | 163.9544 | 170.27 | top 45% |
| Pork | 10 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 180 🔥 | 165.0856 | 171.24 | top 46% |
| Brisket | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 172.5484 | 155.9316 | 163.97 | top 60% |
“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) | 7 | 0 | top 55% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 37% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
6 contests
Contests a season
5
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
NO
1 of 15 contests
Contests visited
10
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
13 entries · 0 wins · 11 calls
Opponents faced
69
finished ahead 79 times, behind 60
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20265 milestones
- First overall podium Transylvanian Steak & BBQ Fest
- First Reserve Championship Transylvanian Steak & BBQ Fest
- Career-best overall score698.7884 I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1531) I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
20252 milestones
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Wild West Fest on Fire
- 10th tracked contest Wild West Fest on Fire
20245 milestones
- First tracked contest Muehlviertler BBQ Festival (ONE MEAT CHICKEN)
- First call Muehlviertler BBQ Festival (ONE MEAT CHICKEN)
- First category win (Chicken) Muehlviertler BBQ Festival
- First overall top-10 Muehlviertler BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score683.4172 Muehlviertler BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14 | I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition | Sep 26, 2026 |
| +12.2 | Muehlviertler BBQ Festival | May 18, 2024 |
| +11 | Transylvanian Steak & BBQ Fest | May 9, 2026 |
| +8.2 | Wild West Fest on Fire | Aug 9, 2025 |
| +6.9 | Marchfelder Feuerfest | May 3, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11 | Vienna Pet Fair BBQ Contest | Feb 28, 2026 |
| -8.5 | Alps BBQ Days | Jul 20, 2024 |
| -0.9 | V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition | Oct 11, 2025 |
| -0.8 | Vienna BBQ Days | Oct 19, 2024 |
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 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 100% | top 47% | 97.1% | 95.2% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 95.5% | 94.2% |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 100% | top 59% | 94.9% | 93.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition Szerencs | 2 / 14 (698.7884) | 1 (180) | 2 (178.8572) | 6 (171.4056) | 5 (168.5256) |
| Jul 17, 2026 | European Invitational Championship (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Wilhering | 9 / 17 (685.0744) | 13 (170.2628) | 5 (176.5716) | 3 (178.8572) | 16 (159.3828) |
| May 9, 2026 | Transylvanian Steak & BBQ Fest Targu Mures | 2 / 7 (697.6340) | 3 (173.1084) | 2 (175.4172) | 1 (180) | 4 (169.1084) |
| Feb 28, 2026 | Vienna Pet Fair BBQ Contest Vienna | 11 / 12 (660.3656) | 8 (168.5256) | 4 (170.8228) | 10 (165.0856) | 12 (155.9316) |
| Oct 11, 2025 | V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition Szerencs | 12 / 21 (678.1600) | 8 (174.8456) | 18 (163.9544) | 13 (167.3944) | 4 (171.9656) |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Wild West Fest on Fire Medvode | 6 / 20 (687.3140) | 3 (180) | 13 (165.0856) | 10 (169.6800) | 4 (172.5484) |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Wild West Fest on Fire (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Medvode | — | 7 (173.1084) | — | — | — |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Wild West Fest on Fire (ONE MEAT RIBS) Medvode | — | — | 8 (170.8228) | — | — |
| May 3, 2025 | Marchfelder Feuerfest Orth an der Donau, NO | 5 / 12 (669.0512) | 4 (169.1084) | 7 (167.9656) | 2 (175.4172) | 8 (156.5600) |
| Oct 19, 2024 | Vienna BBQ Days Vienna | 9 / 14 (670.2284) | 10 (169.6912) | 9 (169.7028) | 6 (169.1200) | 10 (161.7144) |
| Oct 19, 2024 | Vienna BBQ Days (ONE MEAT RIBS) Vienna | — | — | 9 (166.8344) | — | — |
| Jul 20, 2024 | Alps BBQ Days Reichenau an der Rax | 9 / 10 (658.8000) | 8 (167.4284) | 8 (165.7144) | 8 (166.8228) | 8 (158.8344) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | Alps BBQ Days (ONE MEAT RIBS) Reichenau an der Rax | — | — | 3 (170.8572) | — | — |
| May 18, 2024 | Muehlviertler BBQ Festival Freistadt | 5 / 22 (683.4172) | 1 (178.8572) | 5 (170.8572) | 11 (168.5828) | 12 (165.1200) |
| May 18, 2024 | Muehlviertler BBQ Festival (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Freistadt | — | 10 (166.2628) | — | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.