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
- 2026-06-19
River City Smoque
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1504
peak 1505 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2025-08-22
latest 2026-08-28
Best ToY finish
#92
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
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
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 167.65 · weakest Chicken (165.67)
Road miles
537
mi 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 🏅
GCs in 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.
Storylines (2 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.
A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Skinny Pig BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Skinny Pig BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared 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.
116 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3048 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 10 contests to 7.
⚔ Head-to-head#3041 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2018, 7 years before River City Smoque's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3062 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-head#3039 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1519
No shared contest yet.
Level with River City Smoque on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3040 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before River City Smoque's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3069 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1504
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.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar 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% |
| Pork | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 5 | 0 | top 57% |
| IA | 2 | 0 | top 62% |
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% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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% | 2026-08-28 |
| Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 61% | 2026-08-15 |
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 62% | 2026-07-18 |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
1 yrs
2025-08-22 → 2026-08-28
Busiest season
2026
6 contests
Contests a season
3.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
5 of 7 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
3 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 167.65 · weakest Chicken (165.67)
Walk rate
29%
a top-10 call in 2 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
14%
1 of 7 contests
Backyard average
333.32
out of 360 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
128
91–143 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
537
7 mapped stops · furthest 161 mi
Schedule strength
1587
average field rating faced — tougher than 69% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$36,350
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Power rating
1504
peak 1505 · #3060 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2025
- 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)
- 2026
- 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)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.2 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2026-06-19 |
| +3.9 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2026-08-28 |
| +2.4 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | 2026-07-17 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -3 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) | 2026-08-14 |
| -1.9 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2026-07-18 |
| -1.7 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-08-22 |
| -0.3 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 2026-08-15 |
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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 8 / 16 (337.0856) | 13 (165.0856) | 4 (172.0000) | — | — |
| 2026-08-15 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 17 / 32 (329.0168) | 17 (162.7884) | 14 (166.2284) | — | — |
| 2026-08-14 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) 🏅 Troy, IL | 18 / 26 (323.8856) | 10 (166.2400) | 19 (157.6456) | — | — |
| 2026-07-18 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 19 / 28 (334.8000) | 24 (163.3828) | 11 (171.4172) | — | — |
| 2026-07-17 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 15 / 27 (335.9660) | 19 (166.8344) | 15 (169.1316) | — | — |
| 2026-06-19 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 19 / 41 (341.6684) | 22 (167.9656) | 11 (173.7028) | — | — |
| 2025-08-22 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 21 / 31 (330.8116) | 18 (167.3944) | 20 (163.4172) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #92 (495 pts) | #105 (465 pts) | #79 (645 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #349 (76 pts) | #340 (91 pts) | #361 (81 pts) | — | — |