RJs Smokehouse

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

Power ranking

#1065

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1597

peak 1602 · rated over 25 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2020-02-15

latest 2026-08-22

Best ToY finish

#149

Master 2022

Grand champs

3 reserve

Category wins

17 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 32 contests

Avg finish

top 44%

overall standings

Best overall

701.6684 / 720

Master · 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition

Perfect 180s

6 🔥

Current form

688.15 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 679.96 (+8.19)

Walk rate

78%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Brisket · 8th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition

Consistency

±14.60

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 172.39 · weakest Pork Ribs (168.26)

Road miles

22,877

mi across 32 mapped stops · furthest 2172 mi

Schedule strength

33%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1544)

Purse competed for

$491K

listed at 26 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 25 state-championship entries

Master avg

679.96 / 720

28 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (17 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.

The heartbreaker

1.7144 points from the title

Came within 1.7144 points of the Grand Championship at DuPont-Hudson's Bay BBQ Competition (2023-08-19).

The 180 club

6 perfect 180s

6 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 2 different meats.

Pork ×3
Brisket ×3

A multi-meat day

1 contests with 2+ category wins

They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition (2024-08-24).

Pork 1st
Brisket 1st

They almost always walk

78% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 25 of 32 contests

A top-10 category call in 78% of their 32 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

701.6684 career-best overall

97.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 701.6684 at 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition — 97.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2024-08-24

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

J&C BBQ has finished one call ahead of RJs Smokehouse 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2023 their best year

2023 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 31%.

4 contests
3 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 31%

A tough matchup

8–1 behind in the head-to-head

LC BBQ ahead in 89% of their meetings

LC BBQ has come out ahead in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.1 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.13 points below their pork, and turns into a call 26% of the time against 52%.

Pork Ribs avg 168.26
Pork avg 172.39
8 calls in 31 entries

A strong matchup

12–4 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Old Dirty Basters in 12 of their 16 shared contests.

The comeback

1.5 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.5 years, then back at 4th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff (2021-08-21).

last seen 2020-02-15
back 2021-08-21

Always the bridesmaid

3 reserve championships

Runner-up for the whole thing 3 times against 0 Grand Championships — close enough to touch it, over and over.

0 Grand Championships
32 contests

Looking over their shoulder

4× one call behind them

SMOKIN TIMBERS NORTHWEST has landed one call behind them 4 times.

An August team

Top 25% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 25% across 7 contests, versus top 44% the rest of the year.

7 August contests
top 44% the rest of the year

The long haul

22,877 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 22,877 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 2,172 miles to Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION).

32 mapped stops
furthest 2,172 mi

The metronome

±2.03% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.03% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.4% of a perfect score
32 contests

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay every year from 2022 to 2026 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 2nd

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.

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

Hickory Pit Stop

#1067 of the rated field

1597 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1612

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 33 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 33 contests
last seen 2025-09-12

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ TEAM NAIT

#1062 of the rated field

1598 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1600

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2025-09-27

⚔ Head-to-head

TWO CRACKERS Q-ING

#1066 of the rated field

1597 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1607

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before RJs Smokehouse's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 18 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

CONVICTED PIGS BBQ

#1063 of the rated field

1598 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 56
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 34%
Peak: 1605

No shared contest yet.

56 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 34% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 56 contests
last seen 2026-06-19

⚔ Head-to-head

NORTH MEETS SOUTH BBQ NC

#1064 of the rated field

1597 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 55%
Peak: 1597

No shared contest yet.

5 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2019-10-11

⚔ Head-to-head

1 Bite BBQ

#1074 of the rated field

1596 ▼ 1 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 34%
Peak: 1596

0–3 in 3 shared contests (0% to RJs Smokehouse)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — 1 Bite BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Small Axe BBQ	23	9	14	39%	⚔ compare
J&C BBQ	21	10	11	48%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN TIMBERS NORTHWEST	17	9	8	53%	⚔ compare
Old Dirty Basters	16	12	4	75%	⚔ compare
CROOKED PIGS	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare
Rob's Smokin and Grillin BBQ	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
SLOW PORKIN	13	5	8	38%	⚔ compare
LAKE HOUSE BBQ	12	8	4	67%	⚔ compare
SLO.MO.QUE	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
HOGGERQ	10	7	3	70%	⚔ compare
Alderfire BBQ	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
BAR-B-CUDA BBQ	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
DND BBQ	9	9	0	100%	⚔ compare
503BACKYARDBBQ	9	8	1	89%	⚔ compare
EZ-D'S SMOKE SHACK	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	31	10	1	2	176.5600	146.2400	168.88	top 54%
Pork Ribs	31	8	0	0	176.5600	154.8344	168.26	top 58%
Pork	31	16	4	7	180.0000 🔥	166.2400	172.39	top 37%
Brisket	31	16	5	8	180.0000 🔥	155.3600	170.56	top 38%

“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
OR	16	top 41%
WA	7	top 24%
GA	4	top 72%
KS	2	top 75%
ID	1	top 46%
TN	1	top 65%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	3	top 41%
Medium (20–39)	25	top 41%
Large (40+)	3	top 72%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay	5	2	top 30%	2026-05-23
Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)	3	22	top 73%	2025-10-16
Sutherlin Throwdown	2	11	top 43%	2026-07-18
The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2)	2	22	top 85%	2025-05-31
2024 Icebox Cookoff	2	4	top 39%	2024-07-06

The story so far (19 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 6.5 yrs 2020-02-15 → 2026-08-22

Busiest season 2022 11 contests

Contests a season 4.6 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in OR 16 of 32 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 22 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 31 entries · 1 win · 10 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 172.39 · weakest Pork Ribs (168.26)

Walk rate 78% a top-10 call in 25 of 32 contests

Overall top-10 rate 44% 14 of 32 contests

Best top-10 run 7 straight contests

Master average 679.96 out of 720 · 28 contests · 0 GCs

Perfect 180s 6 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 802 754–892 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 22,877 32 mapped stops · furthest 2,172 mi

Schedule strength 1544 average field rating faced — tougher than 33% of rated contests

Purse competed for $490,750 listed at 26 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 25 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1.5 yrs 2020-02-15 → 2021-08-21

Power rating 1597 peak 1602 · #1065 of 6,413 rated

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

2020
Feb 15 First tracked contest Albany Bacon Championship
Feb 15 First call Albany Bacon Championship
Feb 15 First overall top-10 Albany Bacon Championship
2021
Aug 21 First overall past 90% of a perfect score670.7200 4th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff
2022
May 28 First category win (Chicken) BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
May 28 First overall podium BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
May 28 First Reserve Championship BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
Oct 1 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES
Oct 14 First perfect 180 (Pork) Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY)
2024
Aug 24 First multi-meat day 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition
Aug 24 Career-best overall score701.6684 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition
2025
May 31 25th tracked contest The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2)
Jul 19 5th perfect 180 Sutherlin Throwdown
Aug 16 10th category win 8th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition
2026
May 23 Peak power rating (1602) BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
Aug 22 Most recent contest 9th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.3	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay	2022-05-28
+12.6	Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022	2022-07-02
+12.3	7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition	2024-08-24
+12	DuPont-Hudson's Bay BBQ Competition	2023-08-19
+11.2	Icebox Cookoff	2023-07-01

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.3	The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2)	2025-05-31
-7.5	2024 Icebox Cookoff	2024-07-06
-7.4	The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1)	2025-05-30
-3.1	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay	2025-05-24
-3.1	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay	2024-05-25

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	1	0	100%	top 41%	96.5%	95.2%
2025	7	1	2	57%	top 54%	96.9%	94.5%
2024	5	1	3	100%	top 48%	97.5%	95.2%
2023	4	3	2	100%	top 31%	96.5%	95.9%
2022	11	6	3	64%	top 42%	97.2%	94.1%
2021	1	1	0	100%	top 37%	93.2%	93.2%
2020	1	1	0	100%	top 56%	89.4%	89.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-08-22	9th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition 🏅 DuPont, WA	14 / 27 (677.0512)	9 (171.4172)	21 (165.7028)	3 (176.5600)	21 (163.3712)
2026-07-18	Sutherlin Throwdown 🏅 Sutherlin, OR	16 / 29 (685.0400)	28 (159.9544)	6 (176.5600)	5 (178.8572)	17 (169.6684)
2026-05-23	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR	5 / 33 (694.8228)	19 (167.3828)	12 (173.1544)	3 (177.7028)	3 (176.5828)
2025-10-16	Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA	22 / 36 (689.6228)	22 (175.4056)	31 (167.9772)	12 (175.4172)	20 (170.8228)
2025-08-29	Meat & Tater BBQ Fest 🏅 Meridian, ID	18 / 39 (686.1712)	10 (174.2628)	19 (173.1200)	24 (169.1084)	22 (169.6800)
2025-08-16	8th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition 🏅 DuPont, WA	4 / 30 (697.6456)	9 (174.8572)	10 (174.2628)	20 (168.5256)	1 (180.0000)
2025-07-19	Sutherlin Throwdown 🏅 Sutherlin, OR	11 / 35 (689.6228)	23 (169.1200)	22 (169.6800)	18 (170.8228)	1 (180.0000)
2025-05-31	The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2) 🏅 Sweet Home, OR	27 / 28 (664.3884)	27 (162.2284)	22 (167.4060)	12 (171.9656)	23 (162.7884)
2025-05-30	The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) 🏅 Sweet Home, OR	22 / 30 (666.1600)	13 (171.9656)	29 (154.8344)	5 (173.1200)	19 (166.2400)
2025-05-24	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR	14 / 26 (676.5024)	15 (167.3828)	15 (169.7256)	12 (169.7256)	14 (169.6684)
2024-10-17	Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA	24 / 33 (680.4456)	25 (170.8228)	28 (167.9656)	28 (166.2400)	8 (175.4172)
2024-08-24	7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition 🏅 DuPont, WA	2 / 27 (701.6684)	2 (176.5600)	20 (166.2512)	1 (180.0000)	1 (178.8572)
2024-07-20	The Sutherlin Throwdown 🏅 Sutherlin, OR	12 / 30 (682.7544)	21 (166.2516)	15 (167.9772)	12 (173.1084)	5 (175.4172)
2024-07-06	2024 Icebox Cookoff 🏅 Sweet Home, OR	25 / 37 (677.0512)	33 (164.5256)	33 (163.9772)	1 (180.0000)	20 (168.5484)
2024-05-25	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR	14 / 27 (681.0968)	17 (170.8228)	17 (163.9884)	17 (166.2856)	2 (180.0000)
2023-10-20	Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA	30 / 35 (673.5656)	34 (162.8000)	33 (164.5372)	32 (168.5256)	5 (177.7028)
2023-08-19	DuPont-Hudson's Bay BBQ Competition 🏅 DuPont, WA	2 / 30 (691.9428)	16 (169.1200)	7 (171.9772)	6 (174.2856)	2 (176.5600)
2023-07-01	Icebox Cookoff 🏅 Sweet Home, OR	4 / 38 (694.8000)	20 (170.8228)	9 (173.1544)	9 (173.1200)	1 (177.7028)
2023-05-27	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR	5 / 25 (685.7256)	16 (165.7372)	6 (174.8456)	12 (169.1428)	1 (176.0000)
2022-10-21	Royal Oak Invitational Only (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Roswell, GA	24 / 35 (683.8856)	20 (172.5600)	29 (168.5372)	24 (168.5256)	14 (174.2628)
2022-10-14	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) unrated Lynchburg, TN	54 / 83 (670.1712)	73 (162.2400)	42 (170.8228)	1 (180.0000)	78 (157.1084)
2022-10-07	Hermiston Fall Fest, BBQ, Brews, & More 🏅 Hermiston, OR	8 / 19 (671.8968)	4 (172.5600)	12 (167.4172)	10 (169.1084)	11 (162.8112)
2022-10-01	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
2022-09-29	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST unrated Kansas City, KS	246 / 249 (645.0060)	208 (165.6916)	244 (155.9888)	172 (167.9656)	243 (155.3600)
2022-09-29	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	258 / 505 (666.7428)	194 (169.6800)	282 (166.2628)	244 (167.4172)	295 (163.3828)
2022-08-20	5th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff 🏅 DuPont, WA	4 / 29 (699.9884)	5 (176.5600)	10 (174.2972)	5 (175.4056)	5 (173.7256)
2022-07-02	Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 🏅 Sweet Home, OR	4 / 34 (698.2744)	13 (172.0000)	5 (176.5600)	1 (179.4400)	11 (170.2744)
2022-05-28	BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR	2 / 27 (689.0168)	1 (176.5600)	13 (169.6684)	8 (169.6800)	4 (173.1084)
2022-02-05	Outdoor Cooking BBQ Championship 🏅 Puyallup, WA	8 / 22 (669.0744)	9 (168.5716)	12 (167.4400)	11 (166.8228)	7 (166.2400)
2022-01-08	Willamette Sportsman Show Cookoff 2022 🏅 Albany, OR	4 / 16 (678.2288)	7 (166.8344)	4 (170.8572)	2 (177.1428)	8 (163.3944)
2021-08-21	4th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff 🏅 DuPont, WA	10 / 27 (670.7200)	4 (174.2744)	21 (161.6800)	7 (171.9656)	16 (162.8000)
2020-02-15	Albany Bacon Championship 🏅 Albany, OR	9 / 16 (643.3484)	14 (146.2400)	11 (159.3828)	8 (168.0000)	4 (169.7256)

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 ↗	Master	#404 (389 pts)	#556 (279 pts)	#490 (364 pts)	#269 (639 pts)	#417 (399 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#329 (659 pts)	#376 (614 pts)	#455 (519 pts)	#344 (654 pts)	#258 (894 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#389 (539 pts)	#451 (479 pts)	#623 (334 pts)	#287 (774 pts)	#290 (794 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#331 (640 pts)	#647 (280 pts)	#499 (470 pts)	#479 (430 pts)	#268 (815 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#149 (1257 pts)	#179 (1167 pts)	#252 (957 pts)	#161 (1207 pts)	#213 (1032 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#636 (126 pts)	#803 (96 pts)	#771 (111 pts)	#651 (136 pts)	#549 (191 pts)