SAUCE BOSSES

SAUCE BOSSES is a competition barbecue team with 21 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 34 at the Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cook-off Challenge (2023). They are ranked #2556 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,556

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1518

peak 1525 · rated over 19 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 10, 2018

latest Jun 26, 2026 · 7.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#412

Master 2025 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

19% of 21 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 60%

overall standings

Best overall

686.8004 / 720

Master · SJV Winter Rub

Perfect 180s

Current form

674.40 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 663.93 (+10.46)

Walk rate

38%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.2972

Pork · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

Consistency

±20.21

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.92 · weakest Brisket (164.30)

Road miles

1,617

across 21 mapped stops · furthest 168 mi

Schedule strength

82%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1608)

Purse competed for

$204K

listed at 20 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 18 state-championship entries

Master avg

663.93 / 720

19 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (9 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

686.8004 career-best overall

95.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 686.8004 at SJV Winter Rub — 95.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jan 26, 2024

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

TEAM CRAWFORD has finished one call ahead of SAUCE BOSSES 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

12–1 behind in the head-to-head

MAN MEAT BBQ ahead in 92% of their meetings

MAN MEAT BBQ has come out ahead in 12 of their 13 shared contests.

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Broken BBQ in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

The comeback

2.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.1 years, then back at Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge (Sep 4, 2021).

last seen Aug 9, 2019
back Sep 4, 2021

Chicken nemesis

11 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

Damn Fine Beef & Swine ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Damn Fine Beef & Swine has out-cooked them in 11 of 11 shared chicken entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1608 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 82% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1608 power rating — a tougher draw than 82% of every rated contest in the data.

19 rated contests

Show 2 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

FAIRWAY SMOKERS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 48% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 48% across 4 contests, versus top 60% the rest of the year.

4 June contests
top 60% the rest of the year

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	#537 (305 pts)	#575 (315 pts)	#624 (310 pts)	#593 (280 pts)	#515 (350 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#412 (503 pts)	#436 (528 pts)	#458 (508 pts)	#386 (583 pts)	#322 (738 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#436 (465 pts)	#440 (500 pts)	#403 (598 pts)	#378 (580 pts)	#493 (420 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#768 (181 pts)	#698 (246 pts)	#994 (156 pts)	#704 (231 pts)	#804 (186 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#1134 (85 pts)	#1087 (110 pts)	#1202 (90 pts)	#1212 (75 pts)	#1111 (95 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#2549 (54 pts)	#1961 (74 pts)	#2010 (64 pts)	#2545 (54 pts)	#2546 (54 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1870 (75 pts)	#2535 (55 pts)	#1844 (95 pts)	#1923 (80 pts)	#1963 (65 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to SAUCE BOSSES, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Homestead Hawgs

#2,543 of the rated field

1519 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1519

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to SAUCE BOSSES)

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

rated over 5 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG MO FROM AHO

#2,559 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1521

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 20 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 20 contests
last seen Mar 23, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

SLOWLY BUTT SMOKIN

#2,558 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1559

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before SAUCE BOSSES's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 21 contests

⚔ Compare careers

SIPPIN ON SMOKE

#2,549 of the rated field

1519 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1536

Careers of much the same size, 17 contests to 21, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jun 7, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

WATER HAWGS BBQ

#2,562 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1521

15 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 13% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Jul 19, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

MASTERTECH BBQ

#2,551 of the rated field

1519 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1519

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

rated over 15 contests
last seen Aug 25, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MAN MEAT BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
TEAM BREW & QUE	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
Damn Fine Beef & Swine	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
FAIRWAY SMOKERS	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
FINGER LEIKAM GOOD	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
HELPING U BBQ	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
UNFAMOUS DAVE'S	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
WHEN PIGS DIE	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
TEAM CRAWFORD	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
Broken BBQ	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
M2 Smokin' Q	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	19	3	0	0	174.2628	154.2400	166.92	top 60%
Pork Ribs	20	2	0	1	174.2744	158.2400	166.43	top 64%
Pork	19	5	0	0	178.2972	143.3600	166.40	top 58%
Brisket	19	4	1	1	176.5600	146.2172	164.30	top 59%

“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
Medium (20–39)	16	0	top 62%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 47%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	8	top 57%
NE	8	top 63%
IA	3	top 59%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
SJV Winter Rub	3	8	top 66%	Jan 30, 2026
Big Blue BBQ Championship	2	9	top 58%	Jun 6, 2025
Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ	2	10	top 65%	Jul 5, 2024

More numbers

Busiest season 2024 7 contests

Contests a season 3 across 7 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 10 of 21 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 15 3 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 20 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Opponents faced 723 finished ahead 570 times, behind 575

Longest layoff 2.1 yrs Aug 9, 2019 → Sep 4, 2021

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

20261 milestone

Jun 26 Most recent contest The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship

20251 milestone

Jul 11 First category win (Brisket) Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown

20244 milestones

Jan 26 Career-best overall score686.8004 SJV Winter Rub
May 31 Peak power rating (1525) Big Blue BBQ Championship
Aug 31 10th tracked contest Smoke on the River
Oct 30 Career-best single call (Pork)178.2972 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

20232 milestones

Jun 30 First call Ditmars Red White & Blue BBQ
Jun 30 First overall top-10 Ditmars Red White & Blue BBQ

20211 milestone

Sep 4 First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.7200 Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge

20181 milestone

Aug 10 First tracked contest 26th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.9	Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cook-off Challenge	Sep 2, 2023
+11.2	SJV Winter Rub	Jan 26, 2024
+9.8	Big Blue BBQ Championship	Jun 5, 2026
+9.6	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	Jun 26, 2026
+9.4	Big Blue BBQ Championship	May 31, 2024

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.2	GOBS Que	Aug 9, 2019
-9.2	SJV Winter Rub	Jan 30, 2026
-8	Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ	Jul 5, 2024
-6.4	Smoke in the Spring	Apr 11, 2025
-5.8	Smoke on the River	Aug 31, 2024

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — 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	3	0	0	33%	top 54%	94.7%	93.1%
2025	6	0	1	50%	top 67%	95.1%	93.1%
2024	7	2	0	43%	top 55%	95.4%	93%
2023	2	2	0	50%	top 30%	96.7%	94.8%
2021	1	0	0	0%	top 72%	92%	92%
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 93%	83.9%	83.9%
2018	1	0	0	0%	top 70%	88.3%	88.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 26, 2026	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	36 / 157 (675.8856)	102 (161.6572)	29 (172.5600)	38 (171.4056)	38 (170.2628)
Jun 5, 2026	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	11 / 25 (681.5996)	15 (170.2856)	10 (169.6684)	17 (169.6800)	6 (171.9656)
Jan 30, 2026	SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE	36 / 38 (654.1144)	20 (169.1084)	25 (166.2744)	36 (160.5028)	35 (158.2288)
Oct 17, 2025	Happy Basset 5th Annual BBQ Competition 🏅 Topeka, KS	16 / 23 (675.3140)	18 (164.5484)	18 (167.3712)	14 (169.6800)	9 (173.7144)
Jul 18, 2025	Shenandoah ShenDig 🏅 Shenandoah, IA	14 / 30 (685.0740)	22 (167.9656)	21 (167.3828)	4 (177.1428)	7 (172.5828)
Jul 11, 2025	Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown 🏅 Papillion, NE	13 / 24 (676.4344)	10 (169.6800)	19 (166.2400)	19 (163.9544)	1 (176.5600)
Jun 6, 2025	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	23 / 29 (663.8284)	12 (174.2628)	14 (169.1200)	27 (160.4912)	26 (159.9544)
Apr 11, 2025	Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS	72 / 92 (666.1256)	88 (160.4912)	74 (166.2400)	38 (171.9772)	54 (167.4172)
Jan 24, 2025	SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE	23 / 32 (654.7428)	22 (164.5600)	16 (168.5600)	20 (162.8000)	25 (158.8228)
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	176 / 444 (679.9544)	232 (168.5716)	168 (170.8572)	9 (178.2972)	326 (162.2284)
Aug 31, 2024	Smoke on the River 🏅 Burlington, KS	24 / 28 (661.6460)	25 (164)	27 (159.9544)	22 (167.4288)	14 (170.2628)
Aug 31, 2024	Smoke on the River (ONE MEAT RIBS) Burlington, KS	—	—	11 (168.5832)	—	—
Jul 5, 2024	Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ 🏅 Council Bluffs, IA	22 / 26 (635.2572)	13 (167.4400)	22 (158.8000)	22 (159.3600)	25 (149.6572)
May 31, 2024	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	9 / 25 (683.9084)	11 (173.1200)	3 (174.2744)	9 (170.8456)	18 (165.6684)
Jan 26, 2024	SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE	8 / 26 (686.8004)	7 (173.1200)	18 (169.1316)	6 (173.7028)	12 (170.8460)
Sep 2, 2023	Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cook-off Challenge 🏅 Omaha, NE	5 / 34 (347.9656)	22 (168.5488)	34 (159.3484)	19 (168.5256)	23 (165.0972)
Jun 30, 2023	Ditmars Red White & Blue BBQ 🏅 Council Bluffs, IA	10 / 22 (669.5888)	5 (171.9888)	15 (162.8228)	8 (171.9656)	11 (162.8116)
Sep 4, 2021	Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge 🏅 Omaha, NE	18 / 25 (662.7200)	13 (171.4400)	17 (166.2400)	20 (159.3484)	16 (165.6916)
Aug 9, 2019	GOBS Que 🏅 Arlington, NE	27 / 29 (604.3200)	21 (156.5028)	23 (158.2400)	27 (143.3600)	25 (146.2172)
Aug 10, 2018	26th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska Arlington, NE	21 / 30 (635.8860)	26 (154.2400)	17 (166.8800)	20 (161.0972)	23 (153.6688)

SAUCE BOSSES

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 (9 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

They cook the hard rooms

Looking over their shoulder

A June team

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 — 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)