PELLETHEADS.COM

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

Power ranking

#3734

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1488

peak 1515 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-06-21

latest 2017-05-06

Best ToY finish

#1397

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 60%

overall standings

Best overall

652.4568 / 720

Master · 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open

Perfect 180s

Current form

609.71 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 626.07 (-16.36)

Walk rate

11%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4400

Pork Ribs · 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open

Consistency

±39.49

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 166.29 · weakest Brisket (151.58)

Road miles

5,038

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 1833 mi

Schedule strength

37%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)

Master avg

626.07 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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 one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

LIBERTY INDIANA LIONS CLUB BBQ TEAM has finished one call ahead of PELLETHEADS.COM 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

5–1 behind in the head-to-head

Its 5 Oclock Somewhere ahead in 83% of their meetings

Its 5 Oclock Somewhere has come out ahead in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−14.7 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 14.71 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 11%.

Brisket avg 151.58
Pork Ribs avg 166.29
0 calls in 9 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of DUSTY ROADS BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

4 of 6 shared pork ribs entries lost

Its 5 Oclock Somewhere ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Its 5 Oclock Somewhere has out-cooked them in 4 of 6 shared pork ribs entries.

An October team

Top 31% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 31% across 3 contests, versus top 60% the rest of the year.

3 October contests
top 60% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,038 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,038 miles across 9 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,833 miles to The Great American Cookoff.

9 mapped stops
furthest 1,833 mi

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.

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

KEGGER'S

#3711 of the rated field

1489 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1512

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to PELLETHEADS.COM)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team PELLETHEADS.COM has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2016-07-08

⚔ Head-to-head

RING OF FIRE BBQ

#3729 of the rated field

1488 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1488

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2023-01-27
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

SUGAR BABY BBQ

#3723 of the rated field

1489 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1489

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2019-06-14

⚔ Head-to-head

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO BBQ

#3743 of the rated field

1488 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1488

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 3 years before PELLETHEADS.COM's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 9 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Grill Em All

#3708 of the rated field

1489 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1489

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after PELLETHEADS.COM did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2025-01-24

⚔ Head-to-head

FOUR KING BBQ

#3747 of the rated field

1488 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1506

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2019-05-31

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Its 5 Oclock Somewhere	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SQUEALERS AWARD WINNING BARBEQUE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	0	170.2628	141.1200	158.37	top 75%
Pork Ribs	9	1	175.4400	159.4172	166.29	top 39%
Pork	9	0	170.2628	154.2400	161.88	top 59%
Brisket	9	0	165.0972	121.0288	151.58	top 66%

“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
IN	4	top 84%
MO	3	top 31%
CA	1	top 64%
NC	1	top 53%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	3	0	top 82%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 50%

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

On the trail 3.9 yrs 2013-06-21 → 2017-05-06

Busiest season 2013 3 contests

Contests a season 1.8 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IN 4 of 9 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 9 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 166.29 · weakest Brisket (151.58)

Walk rate 11% a top-10 call in 1 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 11% 1 of 9 contests

Master average 626.07 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 1,190 1,254–679 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 5,038 9 mapped stops · furthest 1,833 mi

Schedule strength 1548 average field rating faced — tougher than 37% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2016-04-22 → 2017-05-05

Power rating 1488 peak 1515 · #3734 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Jun 21 First tracked contest Peak City Pig Fest
2014
Oct 2 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.4568 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
Oct 2 Career-best overall score652.4568 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
2015
Oct 3 First overall top-10 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
Oct 3 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)175.4400 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
Oct 3 Peak power rating (1515) 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
2017
May 6 First call Smoke on the Water
May 6 Most recent contest Smoke on the Water

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+17.8	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open	2015-10-03
+5.1	34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open	2013-10-03
+0.8	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open	2014-10-02

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.4	Smoke on the Water Day 1	2017-05-05
-10	Smoke on the Water	2017-05-06
-5.8	Smokin' On The River	2015-06-12
-3	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition	2016-04-22
-3	The Great American Cookoff	2013-07-26

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)
2017	2	0	50%	top 96%	87.4%	85.3%
2016	1	0	0%	top 67%	90.4%	90.4%
2015	2	1	0%	top 38%	89.5%	80.7%
2014	1	0	0%	top 53%	90.6%	90.6%
2013	3	0	0%	top 52%	89.8%	88.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-05-06	Smoke on the Water Liberty, IN	24 / 26 (629.0056)	22 (163.9428)	10 (172.0344)	19 (161.6684)	26 (131.3600)
2017-05-05	Smoke on the Water Day 1 Liberty, IN	27 / 27 (599.2116)	20 (163.3828)	23 (160.5600)	26 (154.2400)	27 (121.0288)
2016-04-22	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN	33 / 49 (650.7768)	44 (159.9312)	31 (159.4172)	22 (167.4056)	23 (164.0228)
2015-10-03	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO	6 / 606 (517.6456)	457 (157.6684)	24 (175.4400)	388 (161.0856)	384 (157.7028)
2015-06-12	Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN	44 / 59 (644.3768)	50 (154.7884)	25 (165.6800)	47 (158.8112)	30 (165.0972)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	294 / 552 (652.4568)	371 (161.0856)	98 (170.8572)	128 (170.2628)	459 (150.2512)
2013-10-03	34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	202 / 535 (646.7996)	66 (170.2628)	119 (166.2856)	218 (162.8456)	434 (147.4056)
2013-07-26	The Great American Cookoff Woodlake, CA	34 / 53 (623.4056)	49 (141.1200)	17 (162.3428)	33 (156.5600)	14 (163.3828)
2013-06-21	Peak City Pig Fest Apex, NC	19 / 36 (645.1420)	33 (153.1424)	15 (164.0000)	18 (163.9998)	15 (163.9998)

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	#1397 (166 pts)	#1681 (136 pts)	#1264 (226 pts)	#1458 (171 pts)	#1183 (241 pts)