RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ

RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition (2023), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #1628 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,628

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1557

peak 1610 · rated over 28 contests4 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 25, 2019

latest Jun 19, 2026 · 7.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#193

Master 2018 · every season

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 3% of the time

Category wins

20 podiums

Overall top-10s

47% of 32 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 45%

overall standings

Best overall

694.2516 / 720

Master · Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke

Perfect 180s

Current form

675.17 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.80 (+13.37)

Walk rate

78%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4400

Pork · New Lowell True North BBQ Bash

Consistency

±14.88

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 167.13 · weakest Brisket (164.53)

Road miles

23,405

across 32 mapped stops · furthest 1,694 mi

Schedule strength

33%

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

Purse competed for

$63K

listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 8 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.80 / 720

31 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

A multi-meat day

1 contest 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 New Lowell True North BBQ Bash (Jun 19, 2026).

Pork Ribs 1st
Pork 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

694.2516 career-best overall

96.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 694.2516 at Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke — 96.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Aug 8, 2025

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

MEAN MOE'S BBQ has finished one call ahead of RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2023 1 Grand Championship

2023 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 31%.

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

The drought

15 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition on Jun 17, 2023 — 15 contests and 3.3 years ago.

last GC Jun 17, 2023
3.3 years ago

A strong matchup

9–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 90% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BBQ Blokes in 9 of their 10 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at Smoke, Wind & Fire (Jul 10, 2021).

last seen Oct 11, 2019
back Jul 10, 2021

Pork Ribs nemesis

9 of 14 shared pork ribs entries lost

MEAN MOE'S BBQ ahead 64% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MEAN MOE'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 9 of 14 shared pork ribs entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BBQ WorX has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 27% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 27% across 5 contests, versus top 45% the rest of the year.

5 September contests
top 45% the rest of the year

The long haul

23,405 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 23,405 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,694 miles to Monterrey BBQ Fest.

32 mapped stops
furthest 1,694 mi

The metronome

±2.22% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.22% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.1% of a perfect score
32 contests

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2025 ↗	Master	#367 (587 pts)	#354 (652 pts)	#359 (727 pts)	#349 (642 pts)	#358 (632 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#494 (380 pts)	#474 (450 pts)	#534 (430 pts)	#593 (310 pts)	#504 (410 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#250 (844 pts)	#326 (704 pts)	#353 (724 pts)	#322 (659 pts)	#259 (834 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#402 (546 pts)	#500 (446 pts)	#479 (521 pts)	#522 (411 pts)	#463 (496 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#468 (387 pts)	#447 (437 pts)	#499 (402 pts)	#451 (417 pts)	#556 (332 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#383 (845 pts)	#327 (955 pts)	#402 (835 pts)	#579 (595 pts)	#273 (1,115 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#193 (1,449 pts)	#219 (1,285 pts)	#142 (1,544 pts)	#140 (1,543 pts)	#174 (1,492 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#241 (1,349 pts)	#149 (1,599 pts)	#201 (1,436 pts)	#323 (1,111 pts)	#214 (1,406 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1105 (282 pts)	#1107 (307 pts)	#968 (377 pts)	#920 (417 pts)	#835 (452 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Que N Cue

#1,623 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1557

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Mar 20, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

BREWS BEFORE Q'S

#1,633 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1563

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ)

Careers of much the same size, 27 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 26 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

KISS MY BBQ

#1,625 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 35
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1572

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 35 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

THE SNORTIN' BOAR

#1,632 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1557

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jul 20, 2019

⚔ Head-to-head

DON'T KNOW JACK BBQ

#1,626 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1559

22 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 9% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 22 contests
last seen May 13, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

RESCUE SMOKERS

#1,619 of the rated field

1557 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 47%
Peak: 1563

They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ's first contest.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jul 21, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MEAN MOE'S BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
HASHTAG BBQ	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
BBQ Blokes	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
BBQ WorX	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare
Rub Sweat and Beers	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
Grillin' & Chillin' Pitmasters	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
What For BBQ	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
CycloneBBQ	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
WINE COUNTRY BARBECUE	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
BEHIND BBQ	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SMELLAQUE	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	31	13	1	5	176.0116	151.9428	165.86	top 51%
Pork Ribs	31	15	2	8	178.8800	155.9772	167.13	top 46%
Pork	30	10	1	2	179.4400	151.9656	164.56	top 55%
Brisket	31	16	3	5	177.7028	153.6916	164.53	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 field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	9	1	top 39%
Medium (20–39)	16	0	top 51%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 39%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
ON	10	1	top 40%
QC	2	0	top 40%
VA	2	0	top 88%
PA	2	0	top 93%
NY	2	0	top 24%
NB	1	0	top 40%
TN	1	0	top 74%
AL	1	0	top 3%
OK	1	0	top 90%
MS	1	0	top 58%
AR	1	0	top 60%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition	2	15	top 74%	May 23, 2026
Smoke on the Mountain	2	28	top 88%	Jul 25, 2025
York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2	19	top 93%	Jun 29, 2024
Jack 9 Memorial	2	4	top 23%	May 25, 2024

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 7 contests

Contests a season 4.6 across 7 seasons in the data

Most contests held in ON 10 of 32 contests · 11 states and provinces in all

Contests visited 27 4 of them more than once

First title Jun 17, 2023 Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition

Opponents faced 647 finished ahead 525 times, behind 521

Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Oct 11, 2019 → Jul 10, 2021

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

20263 milestones

Jun 19 First multi-meat day New Lowell True North BBQ Bash
Jun 19 Career-best single call (Pork)179.4400 New Lowell True North BBQ Bash
Jun 19 Most recent contest New Lowell True North BBQ Bash

20252 milestones

May 24 25th tracked contest Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition
Aug 8 Career-best overall score694.2516 Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke

20241 milestone

May 25 Peak power rating (1610) Jack 9 Memorial

20231 milestone

Jun 17 First Grand Championship Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition

20221 milestone

Aug 13 First Reserve Championship Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival

20211 milestone

Oct 29 10th tracked contest Southaven Springfest

20196 milestones

May 25 First tracked contest Capital BBQ Festival
May 25 First call Capital BBQ Festival
May 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score660.5028 Capital BBQ Festival
Jun 21 First overall top-10 Ayr Charity BBQ
Aug 23 First category win (Brisket) Summer Daze BBQ Classic
Sep 21 First overall podium Oinktoberfest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.9	Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition	Jun 17, 2023
+13.5	Oinktoberfest	Sep 21, 2019
+12.5	Monterrey BBQ Fest	Sep 30, 2022
+10.6	Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival	Aug 13, 2022
+9.6	Capital BBQ Festival	May 25, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-15	JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition	May 23, 2026
-12.9	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	Jun 29, 2024
-12.9	Smoke on the Mountain	Jul 26, 2024
-12.2	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)	Jun 28, 2024
-11.2	Smoke on the Mountain	Jul 25, 2025

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

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	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	0	1	2	100%	top 54%	95.8%	92.8%
2025	5	0	2	1	100%	top 56%	96.4%	93.6%
2024	4	0	1	0	25%	top 73%	93.1%	90.7%
2023	5	1	3	2	80%	top 31%	93.3%	92%
2022	3	0	3	0	67%	top 10%	97.4%	94%
2021	5	0	2	1	60%	top 59%	92%	90.6%
2019	7	0	3	1	100%	top 35%	94.2%	91.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 19, 2026	New Lowell True North BBQ Bash New Lowell, ON	4 / 16 (689.7372)	13 (163.4400)	1 (178.8800)	1 (179.4400)	11 (167.9772)
May 29, 2026	La Classique - L'Entrepot de Viandes Montreal, QC	11 / 24 (667.9540)	15 (166.2628)	2 (173.1200)	20 (161.1428)	13 (167.4284)
May 23, 2026	JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON	18 / 20 (646.2972)	6 (174.8800)	19 (160.5716)	19 (151.9656)	17 (158.8800)
Sep 27, 2025	Spencerville Smoke Ring Spencerville	6 / 14 (686.8000)	11 (167.9772)	1 (178.8572)	11 (166.8228)	4 (173.1428)
Aug 23, 2025	Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle London, ON	11 / 22 (685.0400)	18 (167.3944)	10 (171.9772)	9 (173.1084)	8 (172.5600)
Aug 8, 2025	Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke Keswick, NB	6 / 15 (694.2516)	7 (174.8572)	4 (175.4172)	5 (174.2972)	8 (169.6800)
Jul 25, 2025	Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA	33 / 37 (658.7772)	3 (176.0116)	22 (166.8800)	35 (161.0856)	35 (154.8000)
May 24, 2025	Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON	15 / 26 (643.9428)	19 (158.2744)	20 (155.9772)	5 (168.5484)	14 (161.1428)
Jul 26, 2024	Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA	28 / 32 (653.5432)	16 (169.6800)	29 (159.3944)	27 (163.9660)	27 (160.5028)
Jun 29, 2024	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA	19 / 19 (646.0912)	19 (151.9428)	19 (159.3484)	14 (168.5256)	13 (166.2744)
Jun 28, 2024	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	25 / 29 (642.5824)	29 (157.0628)	20 (168.5256)	24 (160.4912)	26 (156.5028)
May 25, 2024	Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON	4 / 20 (670.1600)	3 (170.8456)	3 (171.9772)	15 (161.0856)	4 (166.2516)
Oct 13, 2023	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) unrated Lynchburg, TN	60 / 81 (671.3488)	67 (163.9772)	61 (167.3944)	38 (170.2856)	42 (169.6916)
Sep 29, 2023	Monterrey BBQ Fest Santiago, N.L.	3 / 22 (645.6576)	9 (158.2288)	4 (168.0228)	5 (165.7028)	9 (153.7032)
Aug 4, 2023	La Classique BBQ Labonte Sainte-Perpetue, QC	11 / 33 (650.7540)	12 (161.7028)	12 (162.2744)	8 (165.1428)	15 (161.6340)
Jun 17, 2023	Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition Seagrave, ON	1 / 15 (671.8624)	7 (160.5140)	2 (171.4056)	5 (165.6800)	1 (174.2628)
May 27, 2023	Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON	5 / 19 (671.3600)	2 (172.5716)	13 (162.8000)	12 (161.7028)	1 (174.2856)
Nov 11, 2022	4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Gadsden, AL	3 / 91 (175.4056)	57 (169.6916)	59 (167.3944)	53 (168.5372)	63 (166.2284)
Sep 30, 2022	Monterrey BBQ Fest San Pedro Garza Garcia	2 / 25 (648.5256)	4 (165.7144)	3 (169.6800)	12 (153.0512)	3 (160.0800)
Aug 13, 2022	Atlantic Canada Championship BBQ Festival Nova Scotia	2 / 11 (680.4800)	4 (169.1316)	2 (174.2972)	2 (169.6684)	3 (167.3828)
Nov 11, 2021	3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open unrated Shawnee, OK	100 / 111 (651.8628)	105 (157.6916)	74 (166.8228)	54 (171.4056)	104 (155.9428)
Nov 11, 2021	3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Ancillary unrated Shawnee, OK	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 29, 2021	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	21 / 36 (662.6972)	26 (165.1088)	20 (167.9772)	6 (175.4172)	33 (154.1940)
Sep 11, 2021	Jack 9 Memorial Delhi, ON	10 / 16 (646.7200)	1 (174.2628)	9 (164.5256)	14 (154.2400)	10 (153.6916)
Jul 10, 2021	Smoke, Wind & Fire Lethbridge	4 / 16 (647.3712)	11 (160.5716)	4 (164.5484)	7 (161.0740)	6 (161.1772)
Oct 11, 2019	BBQ & Blues on the Levee 🏅 Helena, AR	12 / 20 (678.1484)	17 (165.6684)	8 (168.5372)	11 (166.2400)	4 (177.7028)
Sep 21, 2019	Oinktoberfest 🏅 Clarence, NY	3 / 43 (665.7028)	17 (164.5256)	27 (158.2628)	24 (161.1200)	8 (169.7028)
Aug 23, 2019	Summer Daze BBQ Classic Niagara Falls, ON	8 / 23 (652.4112)	20 (154.2056)	7 (166.2400)	17 (156.5256)	1 (175.4400)
Jul 20, 2019	Ribs and Rhythm & Blues 🏅 Auburn, NY	14 / 34 (659.3376)	13 (167.9772)	21 (164.0116)	20 (160.5144)	6 (166.8344)
Jun 21, 2019	Ayr Charity BBQ Ayr Ontario	9 / 23 (659.9316)	3 (173.1772)	3 (174.2744)	21 (154.7772)	15 (157.7028)
Jun 15, 2019	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton	14 / 44 (646.2056)	9 (167.4284)	13 (165.1200)	—	22 (157.7144)
May 25, 2019	Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON	12 / 43 (660.5028)	4 (170.8800)	29 (156.5600)	14 (165.0972)	9 (167.9656)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

A multi-meat day

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

The drought

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork Ribs nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The long haul

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)