A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead in 100% of their meetings
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
SPARKY'S BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1472
peak 1503 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2013-05-10
latest 2021-06-04
Best ToY finish
#1970
Master 2013
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 68%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
612.47 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 614.28 (-1.81)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.79
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.85 · weakest Brisket (149.85)
Road miles
2,117
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 1278 mi
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1540)
Purse competed for
$15K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
614.28 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
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.
The weak link
−9.0
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.99 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 149.85
- Pork avg 158.85
- 0 calls in 7 entries
A strong matchup
3–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 75% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of smokey anderson bbq in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
The comeback
2.7 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.7 years, then back at Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off (2021-06-04).
- last seen 2018-09-08
- back 2021-06-04
A May team
Top 52%
average finish in May
Something about May: average finish in the top 52% across 4 contests, versus top 68% the rest of the year.
- 4 May contests
- top 68% the rest of the year
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked BBQ Jamboree every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.
- 4 visits in all
- best finish 29th
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.
135 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4495 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1473
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to SPARKY'S BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SPARKY'S BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4526 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1505 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4535 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4521 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1472
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 8 years after SPARKY'S BBQ did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Head-to-head#4517 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1472
No shared contest yet.
Level with SPARKY'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4527 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1472
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 5 years before SPARKY'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1316 | 141.6572 | 152.55 | top 74% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5600 | 127.3028 | 153.03 | top 64% |
| Pork | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.6056 | 151.4400 | 158.85 | top 55% |
| Brisket | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153.6572 | 142.2744 | 149.85 | top 74% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA | 4 | 0 | top 52% |
| VT | 2 | 0 | top 95% |
| TX | 1 | 0 | top 81% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 95% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 58% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ Jamboree | 4 | 29 | 0 | top 52% | 2016-05-13 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
8.1 yrs
2013-05-10 → 2021-06-04
Busiest season
2021
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 7 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
VA
4 of 7 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 158.85 · weakest Brisket (149.85)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 7 contests
Master average
614.28
out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
243
137–229 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
2,117
7 mapped stops · furthest 1,278 mi
Schedule strength
1540
average field rating faced — tougher than 29% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$15,000
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2.7 yrs
2018-09-08 → 2021-06-04
Power rating
1472
peak 1503 · #4518 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest BBQ Jamboree
- 2014
- Peak power rating (1503) BBQ Jamboree
- 2016
- Career-best overall score638.2172 BBQ Jamboree
- 2021
- Career-best single call (Pork)164.6056 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off
- Most recent contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.6 | BBQ Jamboree | 2014-05-09 |
| +1.5 | BBQ Jamboree | 2016-05-13 |
| +0.2 | BBQ Jamboree | 2013-05-10 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship | 2017-09-09 |
| -10.1 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | 2018-09-08 |
| -7.2 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off | 2021-06-04 |
| -1.7 | BBQ Jamboree | 2015-05-08 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 80% | 80% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 51% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 60% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 45% | 87.1% | 87.1% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 50% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-06-04 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 39 / 48 (622.8684) | 36 (156.5828) | 34 (159.4056) | 30 (164.6056) | 47 (142.2744) |
| 2018-09-08 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Randolph, VT | 30 / 33 (602.1600) | 31 (148.5716) | 29 (151.9084) | 27 (151.4400) | 27 (150.2400) |
| 2017-09-09 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship Randolph, VT | 32 / 32 (576.3544) | 32 (141.6572) | 32 (127.3028) | 29 (156.5600) | 29 (150.8344) |
| 2016-05-13 | BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA | 37 / 72 (638.2172) | 37 (161.1316) | 39 (160.0344) | 22 (164.5256) | 51 (152.5256) |
| 2015-05-08 | BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA | 39 / 65 (622.7656) | 48 (154.2284) | 18 (164.5600) | 32 (156.5372) | 52 (147.4400) |
| 2014-05-09 | BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA | 29 / 64 (626.7660) | 35 (155.9772) | 27 (158.8800) | 32 (158.2516) | 32 (153.6572) |
| 2013-05-10 | BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA | 30 / 60 (610.8574) | 40 (149.7144) | 38 (149.1428) | 13 (160.0002) | 28 (152.0000) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #2084 (75 pts) | #2167 (75 pts) | #2161 (75 pts) | #2172 (75 pts) | #2148 (75 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1970 (75 pts) | #2073 (75 pts) | #2043 (75 pts) | #1726 (135 pts) | #2034 (75 pts) |