Salted Anchor

Salted Anchor is a competition barbecue team with 42 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2020 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 48 at the GLBBQA Spring Fling (2026). They are ranked #977 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#977

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1608

peak 1610 · rated over 37 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 7, 2020

latest Aug 21, 2026 · 6 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#229

Master 2026 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

12 podiums

Overall top-10s

24% of 42 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 44%

overall standings

Best overall

703.4060 / 720

Master · GLBBQA Spring Fling

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

680.95 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 680.09 (+0.86)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork · GLBBQA Spring Fling

Consistency

±10.38

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 170.36 · weakest Pork Ribs (169.47)

Road miles

11,868

across 42 mapped stops · furthest 749 mi

Schedule strength

73%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1592)

Purse competed for

$550K

listed at 35 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 37 state-championship entries

Master avg

680.09 / 720

37 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (13 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.

Pork ×1

Happy hunting ground

Top 9% average finish here

The Buckeye BBQ Classic is their spot: an average finish in the top 9% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 3rd
average top 9%

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 27 of 42 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 42 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

703.4060 career-best overall

97.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 703.4060 at GLBBQA Spring Fling — 97.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 17, 2026

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

LOOT N' BOOTY BBQ has finished one call ahead of Salted Anchor 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

13–4 behind in the head-to-head

SmokinGhost BBQ ahead in 76% of their meetings

SmokinGhost BBQ has come out ahead in 13 of their 17 shared contests.

A strong matchup

9–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 82% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Brisket Bones n Brews in 9 of their 11 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

Chicken nemesis

14 of 20 shared chicken entries lost

Shiggin aint easy ahead 70% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Shiggin aint easy has out-cooked them in 14 of 20 shared chicken entries.

Built for the big stage

Top 39% average finish in large fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 39% finish in large fields against top 66% in small ones.

Large (40+): top 39% (18)
Small (<20 teams): top 66% (4)

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

M R BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An April team

Top 25% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 25% across 3 contests, versus top 44% the rest of the year.

3 April contests
top 44% the rest of the year

The long haul

11,868 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 11,868 miles across 42 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 749 miles to BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport.

42 mapped stops
furthest 749 mi

The metronome

±1.44% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.44% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.5% of a perfect score
42 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
2026 ↗	Master	#229 (832 pts)	#328 (637 pts)	#274 (827 pts)	#251 (787 pts)	#195 (932 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#311 (694 pts)	#350 (659 pts)	#367 (704 pts)	#369 (614 pts)	#239 (959 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#346 (630 pts)	#449 (480 pts)	#313 (805 pts)	#351 (640 pts)	#307 (755 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#243 (874 pts)	#264 (854 pts)	#286 (849 pts)	#189 (1,039 pts)	#194 (1,039 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#433 (502 pts)	#372 (632 pts)	#363 (702 pts)	#466 (482 pts)	#494 (457 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#476 (376 pts)	#449 (436 pts)	#495 (406 pts)	#469 (396 pts)	#403 (501 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#803 (80 pts)	#807 (95 pts)	#900 (65 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#773 (105 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Salted Anchor, each with one reason worth a look.

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

MEMPHIS ORIGINAL BBQ

#979 of the rated field

1607 power rating

Contests: 111
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 41%
Peak: 1673

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to Salted Anchor)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — MEMPHIS ORIGINAL BBQ ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 107 contests
last seen Sep 11, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

IT'S BBQ TIME

#980 of the rated field

1607 power rating

Contests: 43
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 26%
Peak: 1624

Careers of much the same size, 43 contests to 42, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 43 contests
last seen Jun 13, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Pistol Packin' Piggies

#973 of the rated field

1608 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 42%
Peak: 1608

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 25 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 25 contests
last seen May 29, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

GEORGIA BOYS BBQ TEAM

#975 of the rated field

1608 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 52%
Peak: 1608

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Salted Anchor's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 21 contests

⚔ Compare careers

BULL RUSH BBQ

#976 of the rated field

1608 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1614

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 23 contests, alongside a 17% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 20 contests
last seen Mar 23, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

NU BETA GAMMA

#981 of the rated field

1607 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1607

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

rated over 14 contests
last seen Apr 27, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Shiggin aint easy	20	8	12	40%	⚔ compare
BooyaQ	18	6	12	33%	⚔ compare
Sailor Nicks BBQ	18	6	12	33%	⚔ compare
SmokinGhost BBQ	17	4	13	24%	⚔ compare
THE BBQ BUS	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
TIRE SMOKE BBQ	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
Bleacher Bums BBQ	15	8	7	53%	⚔ compare
BBQ Maestros	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
iBQ'n	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
WE WILL ROCK QUE	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
Brisket Bones n Brews	11	9	2	82%	⚔ compare
UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
Q-JITSU	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	37	10	1	2	178.8572	161.6456	170.36	top 48%
Pork Ribs	38	12	2	4	177.7144	155.9200	169.47	top 47%
Pork	36	11	1	2	180 🔥	159.3828	169.90	top 45%
Brisket	37	17	1	4	179.4400	150.2284	170.29	top 37%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	top 66%
Medium (20–39)	15	top 45%
Large (40+)	18	top 39%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	8	top 51%
OH	7	top 36%
IN	6	top 44%
MI	3	top 25%
TN	3	top 60%
OK	3	top 53%
TX	3	top 40%
KY	2	top 55%
AL	1	top 24%
CO	1	top 43%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship	3	30	top 60%	Mar 20, 2026
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	3	84	top 29%	Sep 27, 2023
Grizzly BBQ Brawl	2	14	top 48%	Jun 26, 2026
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2	198	top 53%	Nov 5, 2025
GLBBQA Spring Fling	2	8	top 34%	Apr 18, 2025
The Buckeye BBQ Classic	2	3	top 9%	Jul 19, 2024

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 8 contests

Contests a season 6 across 7 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 12 of 42 contests · 10 states in all

Contests visited 29 6 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 38 entries · 2 wins · 12 calls

Opponents faced 1,551 finished ahead 2,123 times, behind 1,694

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

20263 milestones

Apr 17 Career-best overall score703.4060 GLBBQA Spring Fling
Jul 17 Peak power rating (1610) Buckeye BBQ Classic
Aug 21 Most recent contest City of Madison BBQ Party (formerly Madison Ribberfest)

20242 milestones

Apr 19 First perfect 180 (Pork) GLBBQA Spring Fling
Sep 6 25th tracked contest Grizzly BBQ Brawl

20231 milestone

Jul 21 First overall podium The Buckeye BBQ Classic

20222 milestones

Mar 19 First category win (Pork Ribs) Inaugural Yellow City BBQ Shootout
Oct 1 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES

20212 milestones

Aug 20 First call Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championship
Oct 15 First overall top-10 Harper County Bullseye BBQ

20202 milestones

Aug 7 First tracked contest 15th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ
Aug 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score671.4396 15th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.4	The Buckeye BBQ Classic	Jul 21, 2023
+15.2	The Buckeye BBQ Classic	Jul 19, 2024
+14	GLBBQA Spring Fling	Apr 17, 2026
+13	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	Sep 29, 2022
+11.8	GLBBQA Spring Fling	Apr 18, 2025

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.7	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship	Mar 15, 2024
-9.1	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship	Mar 20, 2026
-7.9	Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana	May 15, 2026
-7.2	Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 2	Nov 5, 2022
-5.4	Beats, Brews, & BBQ	Jun 11, 2021

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	7	2	0	71%	top 45%	97.7%	94.9%
2025	8	2	0	75%	top 36%	96.7%	95.4%
2024	8	1	3	50%	top 48%	96.2%	94.1%
2023	6	1	0	67%	top 38%	95.8%	94.7%
2022	8	3	2	75%	top 50%	95.5%	94%
2021	4	1	0	50%	top 50%	96.1%	93.5%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 39%	93.3%	93.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 21, 2026	City of Madison BBQ Party (formerly Madison Ribberfest) 🏅 Madison, IN	18 / 39 (678.7316)	34 (161.6456)	4 (177.7144)	11 (174.2744)	26 (165.0972)
Jul 24, 2026	Fire on the Mountain BBQ 🏅 Leburn, KY	13 / 22 (678.7316)	18 (165.0856)	8 (174.2744)	21 (161.6688)	2 (177.7028)
Jul 17, 2026	Buckeye BBQ Classic 🏅 Hillsboro, OH	8 / 30 (692.5376)	10 (174.2744)	19 (170.8344)	5 (175.4172)	7 (172.0116)
Jun 26, 2026	Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wellington, OH	14 / 39 (682.1600)	29 (165.0972)	9 (173.1200)	14 (173.1200)	13 (170.8228)
May 15, 2026	Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana 🏅 Warsaw, IN	23 / 35 (672.5832)	27 (166.2972)	30 (165.7372)	17 (169.7144)	17 (170.8344)
Apr 17, 2026	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Coldwater, MI	3 / 48 (703.4060)	5 (176.5716)	12 (176)	10 (173.1200)	5 (177.7144)
Mar 20, 2026	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	90 / 125 (673.5884)	88 (168.5256)	103 (162.8000)	52 (172.5600)	64 (169.7028)
Nov 5, 2025	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 5, 2025	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	198 / 401 (678.1828)	168 (171.9656)	286 (165.1200)	146 (171.9772)	167 (169.1200)
Sep 5, 2025	Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wellington, OH	25 / 42 (674.7544)	5 (178.2972)	36 (155.9200)	23 (169.6800)	9 (170.8572)
Aug 15, 2025	Madison Ribberfest 🏅 Madison, IN	12 / 45 (692.4800)	10 (175.4056)	23 (169.6800)	10 (176.5600)	16 (170.8344)
Jun 20, 2025	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	10 / 42 (693.6688)	17 (173.1316)	21 (170.8572)	24 (171.9656)	2 (177.7144)
May 16, 2025	11th Annual Rockin' BBQ 🏅 Warsaw, IN	17 / 34 (679.9316)	31 (162.8000)	14 (173.1200)	10 (172.5716)	10 (171.4400)
Apr 18, 2025	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI	8 / 56 (696.5028)	25 (173.1200)	2 (177.1428)	19 (173.1200)	15 (173.1200)
Mar 14, 2025	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	30 / 100 (690.2056)	33 (174.8572)	40 (171.4056)	75 (166.2400)	9 (177.7028)
Oct 30, 2024	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 30, 2024	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	247 / 444 (672.9940)	228 (169.1084)	262 (167.9656)	225 (168.5372)	219 (167.3828)
Sep 6, 2024	Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wadsworth, OH	15 / 30 (671.8972)	25 (164.5600)	21 (164.5256)	17 (168.5372)	4 (174.2744)
Jul 19, 2024	The Buckeye BBQ Classic 🏅 Hillsboro, OH	3 / 33 (692.5140)	11 (171.9656)	4 (173.7028)	22 (167.4056)	1 (179.4400)
May 17, 2024	Rockin' BBQ Warsaw 🏅 Warsaw, IN	14 / 32 (684.4224)	13 (174.2628)	1 (177.7028)	23 (162.7884)	19 (169.6684)
Apr 19, 2024	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI	33 / 62 (676.9940)	46 (166.8228)	53 (159.3484)	1 (180)	26 (170.8228)
Mar 15, 2024	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	73 / 93 (667.3028)	56 (170.8112)	29 (171.4516)	65 (166.2400)	81 (158.8000)
Mar 15, 2024	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN	—	—	52 (163.3944)	—	—
Oct 13, 2023	BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport 🏅 Wadsworth, OH	12 / 20 (676.5716)	16 (163.9428)	12 (165.1772)	2 (173.7372)	6 (173.7144)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	174 / 487 (679.9200)	11 (178.8572)	279 (166.8228)	267 (166.8572)	239 (167.3828)
Sep 8, 2023	Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY	17 / 33 (677.1088)	14 (170.8344)	20 (165.1316)	4 (173.1428)	17 (168)
Aug 18, 2023	Madison Ribberfest BBQ Blues 🏅 Madison, IN	14 / 41 (686.7312)	26 (169.6800)	18 (170.8228)	15 (171.9656)	7 (174.2628)
Jul 21, 2023	The Buckeye BBQ Classic 🏅 Hillsboro, OH	3 / 32 (689.7032)	22 (166.2744)	3 (176.5716)	11 (170.2744)	2 (176.5828)
Nov 5, 2022	Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 2 🏅 Harper, KS	8 / 9 (687.9204)	8 (173.1200)	7 (171.9888)	5 (173.1200)	7 (169.6916)
Nov 4, 2022	Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 1 🏅 Harper, KS	8 / 10 (674.7660)	1 (177.7028)	8 (163.4288)	8 (162.8232)	5 (170.8112)
Oct 21, 2022	OKC BBQ Fest 🏅 Oklahoma City, OK	14 / 35 (686.1944)	4 (176.5600)	18 (170.8344)	14 (171.4172)	20 (167.3828)
Oct 1, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	84 / 505 (686.2284)	37 (177.1428)	311 (165.1200)	190 (169.6800)	51 (174.2856)
Aug 19, 2022	Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX	21 / 59 (661.6000)	10 (172.5716)	5 (175.4172)	26 (163.3828)	43 (150.2284)
Aug 5, 2022	Beat the Heat BBQ & Brews 🏅 Alamosa, CO	15 / 35 (681.6572)	19 (166.8572)	18 (169.6800)	9 (173.1544)	9 (171.9656)
Mar 19, 2022	Inaugural Yellow City BBQ Shootout 🏅 Amarillo, TX	8 / 17 (656.9596)	8 (166.2400)	1 (171.4056)	13 (159.3828)	12 (159.9312)
Oct 15, 2021	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	8 / 16 (691.9432)	3 (176.5600)	6 (173.7260)	10 (168.5372)	6 (173.1200)
Sep 16, 2021	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	158 / 467 (670.2516)	201 (167.4288)	49 (174.8456)	195 (166.2972)	274 (161.6800)
Aug 20, 2021	Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championship 🏅 Lubbock, TX	16 / 43 (669.0856)	19 (162.2860)	17 (165.6684)	12 (170.3084)	6 (170.8228)
Jun 11, 2021	Beats, Brews, & BBQ 🏅 Wagoner, OK	20 / 25 (661.5540)	21 (162.7884)	17 (164.5372)	16 (166.8572)	13 (167.3712)
Aug 7, 2020	15th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ 🏅 Enid, OK	21 / 54 (671.4396)	18 (169.7028)	24 (166.8456)	—	16 (168.6056)

Salted Anchor

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)

Perfect scores on the board

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Built for the big stage

Looking over their shoulder

An April 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)