High-water mark
341.6684
career-best overall
94.9% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 341.6684 at Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) — 94.9% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- Jun 19, 2026
River City Smoque
River City Smoque is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 16 at the Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026). They are ranked #3073 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1504
peak 1505 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Aug 22, 2025
latest Aug 28, 2026 · 1 year on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
14% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 59%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
332.15 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 333.32 (-1.17)
Walk rate
29%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.44
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 167.65 · weakest Chicken (165.67)
Road miles
537
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 161 mi
Schedule strength
69%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1587)
Purse competed for
$36K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
333.32 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to River City Smoque, each with one reason worth a look.
120 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,076 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to River City Smoque)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team River City Smoque has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,078 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1504
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before River City Smoque's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,055 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1519
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,061 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1506
They were already cooking in 2015, 10 years before River City Smoque's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,050 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1504
Level with River City Smoque on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,084 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1537
They've been 1537 at their best, 34 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Smoked Up BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Skinny Pig BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.9656 | 162.7884 | 165.67 | top 63% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.7028 | 157.6456 | 167.65 | top 47% |
“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 50% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 46% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 59% | Aug 28, 2026 |
| Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 61% | Aug 15, 2026 |
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 62% | Jul 18, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
6 contests
Contests a season
3.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
5 of 7 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
3 of them more than once
Opponents faced
128
finished ahead 91 times, behind 143
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20266 milestones
- Career-best overall score341.6684 Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.7028 Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1505) Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1)
- First call Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1)
- First overall top-10 Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20252 milestones
- First tracked contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.8116 Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.2 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 19, 2026 |
| +3.9 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 28, 2026 |
| +2.4 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | Jul 17, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -3 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) | Aug 14, 2026 |
| -1.9 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | Jul 18, 2026 |
| -1.7 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 22, 2025 |
| -0.3 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | Aug 15, 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 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 57% | 94.9% | 92.7% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 8 / 16 (337.0856) | 13 (165.0856) | 4 (172) | — | — |
| Aug 15, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 17 / 32 (329.0168) | 17 (162.7884) | 14 (166.2284) | — | — |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) 🏅 Troy, IL | 18 / 26 (323.8856) | 10 (166.2400) | 19 (157.6456) | — | — |
| Jul 18, 2026 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 19 / 28 (334.8000) | 24 (163.3828) | 11 (171.4172) | — | — |
| Jul 17, 2026 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 15 / 27 (335.9660) | 19 (166.8344) | 15 (169.1316) | — | — |
| Jun 19, 2026 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 19 / 41 (341.6684) | 22 (167.9656) | 11 (173.7028) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 21 / 31 (330.8116) | 18 (167.3944) | 20 (163.4172) | — | — |