ALPHA SMOKE

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

Power ranking

#3562

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1492

peak 1510 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-04

latest 2015-05-08

Best ToY finish

#825

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 59%

overall standings

Best overall

678.7772 / 720

Master · Smokin' On The Water

Perfect 180s

Current form

647.67 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 645.37 (+2.30)

Walk rate

25%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.8456

Brisket · Smokin' On The Water

Consistency

±19.21

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 163.06 · weakest Chicken (159.05)

Road miles

554

mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 148 mi

Schedule strength

29%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)

Master avg

645.37 / 720

8 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

678.7772 career-best overall

94.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 678.7772 at Smokin' On The Water — 94.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
2014-05-03

Their season

2014 their best year

2014 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 44%.

4 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 44%

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.0 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.01 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.

Chicken avg 159.05
Pork Ribs avg 163.06
0 calls in 8 entries

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of GRILLIANT FOODS in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

6 of 7 shared pork ribs entries lost

BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ ahead 86% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 7 shared pork ribs entries.

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.

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

BLACK FLAG BBQ

#3554 of the rated field

1492 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1492

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.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2023-04-07

⚔ Head-to-head

GRILLA MANIACS

#3557 of the rated field

1492 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1519

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2015-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

A&R Barbeque

#3567 of the rated field

1491 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1491

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 12 years after ALPHA SMOKE did, first appearing in 2025.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Make BBQ Great Again

#3566 of the rated field

1491 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2025-10-10

⚔ Head-to-head

BROTHA K'S BOARBECUE

#3547 of the rated field

1492 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1516

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2023-04-28

⚔ Head-to-head

Ribs N Whiskey BBQ

#3555 of the rated field

1492 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1505

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2024-09-06

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
HUG HOGS	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
SQUEALERS AWARD WINNING BARBEQUE	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
One2BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
ALL IN QUE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	0	0	169.7028	141.1426	159.05	top 72%
Pork Ribs	8	0	0	170.2744	155.3828	163.06	top 51%
Pork	8	1	0	168.5714	150.8570	160.62	top 64%
Brisket	8	1	1	174.8456	150.2628	162.64	top 48%

“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
IN	7	0	top 62%
IL	1	0	top 38%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 71%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 40%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness	2	19	0	top 59%	2014-06-27
Smokin' On The Water	2	10	0	top 43%	2014-05-03

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2 yrs 2013-05-04 → 2015-05-08

Busiest season 2014 4 contests

Contests a season 2.7 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IN 7 of 8 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 6 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 163.06 · weakest Chicken (159.05)

Walk rate 25% a top-10 call in 2 of 8 contests

Overall top-10 rate 13% 1 of 8 contests

Master average 645.37 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 172 135–169 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 554 8 mapped stops · furthest 148 mi

Schedule strength 1539 average field rating faced — tougher than 29% of rated contests

Power rating 1492 peak 1510 · #3562 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
May 4 First tracked contest Smokin' on the Water
May 4 First call Smokin' on the Water
2014
Apr 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score656.5944 Wabash Ribberfest Barbecue Championship
May 3 First overall top-10 Smokin' On The Water
May 3 Career-best overall score678.7772 Smokin' On The Water
May 3 Career-best single call (Brisket)174.8456 Smokin' On The Water
May 3 Peak power rating (1510) Smokin' On The Water
2015
May 8 Most recent contest Rockin' BBQ for Riley

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.8	Smokin' On The Water	2014-05-03
+5.9	Wabash Ribberfest Barbecue Championship	2014-04-25

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10	Rockin' BBQ for Riley	2015-05-08
-6.5	CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition	2015-04-10
-3.7	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness	2013-06-28
-3.4	Smokin' on the Water	2013-05-04
-0.9	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness	2014-06-27

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2015	2	0	0%	top 86%	87.3%	86.4%
2014	4	1	25%	top 44%	94.3%	92%
2013	2	0	50%	top 62%	88.2%	88.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015-05-08	Rockin' BBQ for Riley Warsaw, IN	25 / 27 (616.4340)	23 (155.3712)	22 (157.1316)	25 (153.6684)	24 (150.2628)
2015-04-10	CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN	31 / 39 (628.4112)	36 (158.2284)	31 (155.3828)	24 (161.6800)	34 (153.1200)
2014-07-18	Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN	30 / 51 (653.1200)	22 (169.7028)	22 (166.8344)	47 (152.0000)	24 (164.5828)
2014-06-27	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	19 / 34 (661.6112)	26 (164.5484)	13 (167.3944)	23 (163.9772)	14 (165.6912)
2014-05-03	Smokin' On The Water Liberty, IN	10 / 43 (678.7772)	20 (167.4172)	12 (170.2744)	24 (166.2400)	2 (174.8456)
2014-04-25	Wabash Ribberfest Barbecue Championship Mt. Carmel, IL	19 / 50 (656.5944)	32 (160.5256)	20 (164.0344)	14 (167.9772)	24 (164.0572)
2013-06-28	Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN	20 / 32 (633.1426)	24 (155.4282)	12 (164.5716)	29 (150.8570)	11 (162.2858)
2013-05-04	Smokin' on the Water Liberty, IN	23 / 37 (634.8566)	36 (141.1426)	21 (158.8570)	8 (168.5714)	13 (166.2856)

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
2015 ↗	Master	#1871 (112 pts)	#1767 (122 pts)	#1749 (127 pts)	#1911 (117 pts)	#1892 (117 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#825 (412 pts)	#1061 (317 pts)	#828 (442 pts)	#1003 (347 pts)	#686 (542 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1457 (154 pts)	#1780 (124 pts)	#1351 (204 pts)	#1276 (214 pts)	#1158 (249 pts)