Perfect scores on the board
3 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 3 different meats.
- Pork Ribs ×1
- Pork ×1
- Brisket ×1
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
3 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 3 different meats.
97.8% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 703.9772 at Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) — 97.8% of a perfect 720.
BrewsCue has finished one call ahead of Shark Q 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
2022 was the year it came together: 8 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 42%.
MAN MEAT BBQ ahead in 87% of their meetings
MAN MEAT BBQ has come out ahead in 34 of their 39 shared contests.
Ahead in 91% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Smoke Wurx BBQ in 10 of their 11 shared contests.
MAN MEAT BBQ ahead 74% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, MAN MEAT BBQ has out-cooked them in 29 of 39 shared chicken entries.
A tougher draw than 83% of rated fields
The fields they enter average a 1609 power rating — a tougher draw than 83% of every rated contest in the data.
LOVE 2 Q has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,952 miles across 48 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 573 miles to 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Anything Molasses (Friday, May 23, 2025).
Their overall lands within ±2.28% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
They've cooked Smoke in the Spring (OPEN FORMAT) every year from 2020 to 2026 — the contest they never miss.
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.
38 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Shark Q has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1632 at their best, 46 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 49 contests to 48, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head53 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 28% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with Shark Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Shark Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 39 | 5 | 34 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | 31 | 10 | 21 | 32% | ⚔ compare |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 27 | 6 | 21 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| LOVE 2 Q | 24 | 8 | 16 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| KC Meat Sweats | 23 | 12 | 11 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| SLAPS BBQ | 23 | 1 | 22 | 4% | ⚔ compare |
| ROCK N BLUES BBQ | 19 | 12 | 7 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Damn Fine Beef & Swine | 19 | 1 | 18 | 5% | ⚔ compare |
| Cow Creek BBQ | 18 | 4 | 14 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Fergolicious BBQ | 18 | 2 | 16 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Cities Edge BBQ | 17 | 8 | 9 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| WOOD HOOK BBQ | 17 | 4 | 13 | 24% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' SAUCED | 16 | 4 | 12 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | 16 | 3 | 13 | 19% | ⚔ compare |
| Barking Dog BBQ | 15 | 5 | 10 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 42 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 177.7144 | 153.6800 | 170.15 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 44 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 180.0000 🔥 | 153.0628 | 169.38 | top 49% |
| Pork | 41 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 149.0856 | 168.05 | top 56% |
| Brisket | 41 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 180.0000 🔥 | 148.5256 | 169.22 | top 44% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| KS | 39 | 0 | top 52% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 73% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 79% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 66% |
| Medium (20–39) | 17 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 21 | 0 | top 56% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke in the Spring (OPEN FORMAT) | 7 | 31 | 0 | top 59% | 2026-04-10 |
| Big Blue BBQ Championship | 4 | 10 | 0 | top 47% | 2025-06-06 |
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2 | 131 | 0 | top 42% | 2025-11-05 |
| Meat Inferno | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 48% | 2025-10-03 |
| Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 68% | 2025-07-26 |
| Smoke on the Water | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 54% | 2024-10-11 |
| Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 30% | 2024-07-27 |
| The National Beef Smokin' Saddles Official BBQ Contest (Day 2) | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 50% | 2023-07-29 |
| Smoke on the Trails | 2 | 28 | 0 | top 68% | 2020-09-11 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.6 | 7th Annual Smoke on the Trails | 2023-09-09 |
| +12.8 | Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest | 2021-07-09 |
| +10.4 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | 2022-06-24 |
| +10.3 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) | 2024-07-26 |
| +9.6 | Smoke in the Spring | 2023-04-07 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.7 | Smoke in the Spring | 2025-04-11 |
| -9.5 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) | 2025-07-25 |
| -9.3 | Smoke In the Springs | 2019-04-12 |
| -5.8 | Smoke on the Trails | 2019-09-27 |
| -5.6 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival | 2026-08-28 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 56% | 95.6% | 94.6% |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 50% | top 61% | 96.2% | 94.5% |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 44% | top 48% | 97.8% | 95.1% |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 67% | top 45% | 96.5% | 95.2% |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 42% | 94.4% | 93.8% |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 50% | 95.5% | 94% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 70% | 93.1% | 92% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 86.2% | 86% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS | 20 / 31 (667.8400) | 21 (162.8000) | 5 (176.5600) | 21 (166.2400) | 20 (162.2400) |
| 2026-07-24 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Comp (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 8 / 13 (687.3024) | 5 (175.4056) | 7 (171.9656) | 12 (164.5256) | 4 (175.4056) |
| 2026-06-05 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 13 / 25 (680.4684) | 13 (170.8344) | 7 (170.8228) | 11 (171.9656) | 21 (166.8456) |
| 2026-04-10 | Smoke in the Spring (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 Osage City, KS | 45 / 101 (688.4912) | 78 (168.5256) | 29 (174.2628) | 40 (172.5600) | 29 (173.1428) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 216 / 401 (675.9316) | 57 (175.4172) | 320 (162.8228) | 58 (175.4400) | 301 (162.2516) |
| 2025-10-03 | Meat Inferno 🏅 Edgerton, KS | 7 / 21 (689.0400) | 10 (169.6800) | 10 (171.9772) | 15 (167.3828) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2025-10-03 | Meat Inferno (One Meat Ribs) Edgerton, KS | — | — | 9 (169.6916) | — | — |
| 2025-07-26 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 11 / 19 (692.4800) | 16 (167.3944) | 1 (178.8572) | 14 (170.8228) | 5 (175.4056) |
| 2025-07-25 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 14 / 18 (685.0284) | 10 (173.1200) | 16 (166.8228) | 13 (173.1200) | 9 (171.9656) |
| 2025-06-06 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 15 / 29 (680.4800) | 9 (174.2744) | 27 (158.2400) | 10 (172.5600) | 6 (175.4056) |
| 2025-05-24 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | 77 / 106 (678.7428) | 93 (167.3944) | 46 (172.5600) | 104 (159.3484) | 3 (179.4400) |
| 2025-05-23 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Anything Molasses (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-05-23 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Chicken (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | 37 (167.3828) | — | — | — |
| 2025-05-23 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | — | 21 (171.9772) | — | — |
| 2025-04-11 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 75 / 92 (661.5544) | 35 (173.1200) | 66 (166.8344) | 89 (153.6228) | 53 (167.9772) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 131 / 444 (685.0284) | 57 (176.5600) | 393 (158.2172) | 62 (175.4056) | 47 (174.8456) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-11 | Smoke on the Water 🏅 Topeka, KS | 20 / 31 (679.3028) | 14 (174.2628) | 16 (170.8228) | 27 (163.9428) | 13 (170.2744) |
| 2024-07-27 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 7 / 20 (698.8000) | 16 (170.2628) | 4 (177.7144) | 2 (180.0000) | 13 (170.8228) |
| 2024-07-26 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 5 / 20 (703.9772) | 9 (174.8572) | 5 (176.5600) | 10 (174.2628) | 2 (178.2972) |
| 2024-06-28 | Happy Basset 4th Annual BBQ Competition 🏅 Topeka, KS | 16 / 28 (687.3140) | 8 (176.5600) | 21 (168.5256) | 20 (167.3828) | 9 (174.8456) |
| 2024-05-31 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 10 / 25 (681.0400) | 17 (165.0972) | 16 (166.8228) | 8 (171.4056) | 1 (177.7144) |
| 2024-04-05 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 68 / 97 (671.8516) | 24 (175.4172) | 90 (159.3600) | 76 (165.0972) | 38 (171.9772) |
| 2024-03-15 | 6th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS | 35 / 58 (671.3256) | 23 (171.9772) | 29 (169.1428) | 51 (161.6456) | 21 (168.5600) |
| 2023-10-13 | Smoke on the Water 🏅 Topeka, KS | 17 / 39 (682.1712) | 34 (164.5256) | 5 (177.7028) | 19 (167.3828) | 10 (172.5600) |
| 2023-09-09 | 7th Annual Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 6 / 38 (694.7772) | 15 (173.1200) | 1 (180.0000) | 15 (169.6800) | 12 (171.9772) |
| 2023-08-11 | 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Mayetta, KS | 73 / 90 (671.2684) | 74 (166.8112) | 56 (170.8228) | 88 (160.5144) | 29 (173.1200) |
| 2023-07-29 | The National Beef Smokin' Saddles Official BBQ Contest (Day 2) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 12 / 27 (691.3372) | 18 (173.1200) | 13 (171.9888) | 15 (171.9656) | 8 (174.2628) |
| 2023-07-28 | The National Beef Smokin' Saddles Official BBQ Contest (Day 1) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 14 / 25 (684.4572) | 3 (177.7144) | 14 (171.9656) | 22 (169.6800) | 19 (165.0972) |
| 2023-04-07 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 31 / 103 (687.3600) | 49 (170.8344) | 26 (173.1428) | 16 (174.2628) | 51 (169.1200) |
| 2022-10-07 | Meat Inferno (JUDGING FULL) 🏅 Edgerton, KS | 18 / 29 (678.7656) | 8 (175.4288) | 7 (174.8456) | 26 (162.2400) | 18 (166.2512) |
| 2022-10-07 | Meat Inferno (ONE MEAT RIBS) (JUDGING FULL) Edgerton, KS | — | — | 12 (165.1428) | — | — |
| 2022-09-09 | 6th Annual Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 19 / 37 (670.1256) | 21 (168.5372) | 8 (175.4056) | 26 (164.5372) | 22 (161.6456) |
| 2022-06-24 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 27 / 164 (675.4056) | 29 (170.8344) | 83 (162.8456) | 29 (171.4628) | 27 (170.2628) |
| 2022-06-03 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 12 / 25 (670.1024) | 11 (168.5256) | 7 (171.9656) | 12 (167.3828) | 19 (162.2284) |
| 2022-04-29 | Red, White, Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Topeka, KS | 29 / 77 (679.8856) | 20 (173.7028) | 48 (163.9544) | 15 (174.2628) | 30 (167.9656) |
| 2022-04-08 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 46 / 94 (675.8968) | 25 (173.7028) | 37 (170.2856) | 85 (158.7884) | 21 (173.1200) |
| 2022-03-18 | Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS | 23 / 71 (678.8000) | 10 (173.7028) | 30 (168.0000) | 39 (168.5372) | 27 (168.5600) |
| 2021-09-10 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 21 / 53 (685.0168) | 23 (170.8228) | 4 (176.5600) | 16 (173.7028) | 30 (163.9312) |
| 2021-07-09 | Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest 🏅 Mayetta, KS | 13 / 43 (687.9544) | 15 (174.2628) | 7 (173.7488) | 8 (175.4172) | 27 (164.5256) |
| 2021-06-04 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 14 / 28 (671.4060) | 18 (166.2744) | 3 (173.7488) | 20 (165.6800) | 18 (165.7028) |
| 2021-04-09 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 56 / 105 (675.9540) | 77 (165.6684) | 70 (165.1200) | 5 (178.8800) | 67 (166.2856) |
| 2021-03-26 | Kickin It Route 66 Barbeque Challenge 🏅 St. Roberts, MO | 41 / 52 (663.3256) | 42 (163.3712) | 50 (153.1200) | 2 (177.7144) | 24 (169.1200) |
| 2020-10-30 | Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS | 76 / 93 (654.7544) | 78 (163.3712) | 69 (162.8228) | 59 (166.2860) | 67 (162.2744) |
| 2020-09-11 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 28 / 48 (670.2056) | 36 (162.2744) | 17 (171.9772) | 33 (164.5484) | 17 (171.4056) |
| 2019-09-27 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 41 / 53 (617.5884) | 39 (153.6800) | 22 (163.9656) | 43 (151.4172) | 41 (148.5256) |
| 2019-04-12 | Smoke In the Springs 🏅 Osage City, KS | 95 / 104 (620.4340) | 62 (165.7256) | 98 (153.0628) | 97 (149.0856) | 85 (152.5600) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #401 (390 pts) | #430 (415 pts) | #370 (545 pts) | #450 (360 pts) | #414 (400 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #332 (647 pts) | #320 (707 pts) | #280 (914 pts) | #370 (607 pts) | #199 (1092 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #275 (804 pts) | #304 (764 pts) | #310 (814 pts) | #269 (824 pts) | #187 (1079 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #338 (617 pts) | #377 (602 pts) | #315 (807 pts) | #405 (532 pts) | #352 (607 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #406 (544 pts) | #354 (689 pts) | #320 (812 pts) | #439 (519 pts) | #453 (504 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #428 (428 pts) | #491 (388 pts) | #290 (723 pts) | #251 (783 pts) | #554 (333 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #655 (120 pts) | #696 (120 pts) | #627 (160 pts) | #706 (120 pts) | #608 (160 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1955 (60 pts) | #2049 (60 pts) | #1930 (75 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #2010 (60 pts) |