FIRESTOKERS

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

Power ranking

#2102

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1534

peak 1537 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-03

latest 2018-09-28

Best ToY finish

#1377

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 7 contests

Avg finish

top 39%

overall standings

Best overall

683.4282 / 720

Master · Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

651.42 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 657.04 (-5.62)

Walk rate

29%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7372

Pork · Bikes Blues & BBQ

Consistency

±13.33

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 169.29 · weakest Pork Ribs (160.13)

Road miles

468

mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 120 mi

Schedule strength

36%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1547)

Master avg

657.04 / 720

7 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.

High-water mark

683.4282 career-best overall

94.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 683.4282 at Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival — 94.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
2013-05-03

A tough matchup

6–1 behind in the head-to-head

BIG BUTTS NEED RUBBIN TOO ahead in 86% of their meetings

BIG BUTTS NEED RUBBIN TOO has come out ahead in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−9.2 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 9.17 points below their pork, and turns into a call 14% of the time against 29%.

Pork Ribs avg 160.13
Pork avg 169.29
1 calls in 7 entries

A strong matchup

3–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of MOOCHEWSOOEY in 3 of their 4 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at *Bikes, Blues and BBQ (2018-09-28).

last seen 2016-09-23
back 2018-09-28

A May team

Top 25% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 25% across 3 contests, versus top 39% the rest of the year.

3 May contests
top 39% the rest of the year

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.

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

Drilling And Grilling BBQ Team

#2095 of the rated field

1534 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1547

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2026-07-25

⚔ Head-to-head

10 In The Pit BBQ

#2101 of the rated field

1534 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 71%
Peak: 1534

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 13 years after FIRESTOKERS did, first appearing in 2026.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2026-07-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Belen Grill and Chill

#2098 of the rated field

1534 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1534

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 9 contests, alongside a 44% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2026-03-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Transformer BBQ

#2115 of the rated field

1533 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1540

No shared contest yet.

Level with FIRESTOKERS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-05-17

⚔ Head-to-head

COOK'N WITH WOOD

#2113 of the rated field

1533 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1542

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2019-10-19

⚔ Head-to-head

BUBBA JOE'S SMOKETOWN BBQ

#2094 of the rated field

1534 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1541

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2017-09-22

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BIG BUTTS NEED RUBBIN TOO	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BUFFALO'S BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SPICY SPITFIRE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Three Hog Night Smokers	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	7	0	0	169.7142	155.4060	163.57	top 50%
Pork Ribs	7	1	0	166.8112	152.5144	160.13	top 53%
Pork	7	2	2	177.7372	159.9888	169.29	top 31%
Brisket	7	1	0	174.8572	154.8228	164.05	top 36%

“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
OK	4	0	top 30%
AR	3	0	top 50%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	1	0	top 26%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 41%

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5.4 yrs 2013-05-03 → 2018-09-28

Busiest season 2016 3 contests

Contests a season 1.8 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in OK 4 of 7 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 7 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 7 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 169.29 · weakest Pork Ribs (160.13)

Walk rate 29% a top-10 call in 2 of 7 contests

Overall top-10 rate 29% 2 of 7 contests

Master average 657.04 out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 284 272–141 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 468 7 mapped stops · furthest 120 mi

Schedule strength 1547 average field rating faced — tougher than 36% of rated contests

Longest layoff 2 yrs 2016-09-23 → 2018-09-28

Power rating 1534 peak 1537 · #2102 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
May 3 First tracked contest Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
May 3 First call Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
May 3 First overall top-10 Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
May 3 First overall past 90% of a perfect score683.4282 Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
May 3 Career-best overall score683.4282 Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
2015
Sep 25 Career-best single call (Pork)177.7372 Bikes Blues & BBQ
2016
May 6 Peak power rating (1537) *Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival
2018
Sep 28 Most recent contest *Bikes, Blues and BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.5	Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival	2013-05-03
+9.6	Bikes Blues & BBQ	2015-09-25
+6.7	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival	2015-05-01
+5.5	*Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival	2016-05-06
+1.5	Stillwater Elks Lodge Blazathon	2016-04-01

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-4.5	Bikes Blues and BBQ	2016-09-23

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)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	1	0	0%	top 55%	90.7%	90.7%
2016	3	0	0%	top 50%	90.9%	89.7%
2015	2	1	50%	top 29%	92.4%	92%
2013	1	1	100%	top 9%	94.9%	94.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-09-28	*Bikes, Blues and BBQ Fayetteville, AR	27 / 49 (653.0512)	25 (165.1428)	35 (157.0740)	35 (159.9888)	13 (170.8456)
2016-09-23	Bikes Blues and BBQ Fayetteville, AR	30 / 43 (640.9712)	25 (165.6684)	35 (152.5144)	18 (167.9656)	27 (154.8228)
2016-05-06	*Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival Bixby, OK	27 / 83 (654.1944)	33 (166.2744)	30 (164.5372)	29 (167.4284)	42 (155.9544)
2016-04-01	Stillwater Elks Lodge Blazathon Stillwater, OK	21 / 44 (643.2800)	30 (155.4060)	34 (152.5256)	14 (167.9772)	15 (167.3712)
2015-09-25	Bikes Blues & BBQ Fayetteville, AR	9 / 35 (665.6112)	19 (162.2284)	10 (166.8112)	2 (177.7372)	16 (158.8344)
2015-05-01	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival Bixby, OK	26 / 81 (658.7772)	43 (160.5372)	23 (165.7256)	24 (166.8228)	23 (165.6916)
2013-05-03	Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival Bixby, OK	8 / 88 (683.4282)	20 (169.7142)	44 (161.7140)	2 (177.1428)	4 (174.8572)

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
2013 ↗	Master	#1377 (170 pts)	#1912 (100 pts)	#2043 (75 pts)	#1102 (275 pts)	#1223 (225 pts)