Riding a hot streak
Currently on a 5-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 5
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Currently on a 5-contest overall top-10 run.
Came within 2.8456 points of the Grand Championship at Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024-07-20).
In the top 8% of every rated team in the data
A power rating of 1673 puts them #516 of 6,413 rated teams — the top 8% of the field.
Their power rating has climbed 86 points across 16 contests since 2025-09-19 — from 1587 up to 1673.
Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) is their spot: an average finish in the top 14% across 2 visits.
Rudes BBQ has finished one call ahead of Skinny Pig BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
2026 was the year it came together: 19 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 28%.
Rudes BBQ ahead 60% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, Rudes BBQ has out-cooked them in 18 of 30 shared chicken entries.
Runner-up for the whole thing 3 times against 0 Grand Championships — close enough to touch it, over and over.
Field size changes the story: they average a top 31% finish in large fields against top 50% in small ones.
Wapatui Smokers has landed one call behind them 5 times.
Their overall swings ±7.86% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
Something about May: average finish in the top 22% across 3 contests, versus top 39% the rest of the year.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,395 miles across 50 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 596 miles to 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Anything Molasses (Friday, May 23, 2025).
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.
Careers of much the same size, 45 contests to 50, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headThis is the highest they've ever been rated, 90 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2020, 6 years before Skinny Pig BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir rating is built on 4 Grand Championships in 34 contests, alongside a 50% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headThey were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Skinny Pig BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with Skinny Pig BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudes BBQ | 29 | 7 | 22 | 24% | ⚔ compare |
| All Smoked Up BBQ | 23 | 15 | 8 | 65% | ⚔ compare |
| Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | 23 | 14 | 9 | 61% | ⚔ compare |
| WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | 21 | 3 | 18 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Wapatui Smokers | 20 | 15 | 5 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY GQ | 17 | 8 | 9 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 17 | 6 | 10 | 35% | ⚔ compare |
| DAWGS BBQ | 17 | 6 | 11 | 35% | ⚔ compare |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ | 16 | 7 | 9 | 44% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ MIKE | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Bramble BBQ | 15 | 2 | 13 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Shmack Q | 13 | 10 | 3 | 77% | ⚔ compare |
| SmoQued On Main St | 13 | 7 | 6 | 54% | ⚔ compare |
| T Daddys BBQ | 13 | 7 | 6 | 54% | ⚔ compare |
| DB BBQ | 13 | 6 | 6 | 46% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 42 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 178.8572 | 150.2288 | 170.55 | top 37% |
| Pork Ribs | 45 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 178.2972 | 155.3600 | 168.88 | top 43% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 175.4172 | 147.9656 | 162.15 | top 59% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153.0740 | 150.8116 | 151.76 | top 94% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 14 | 0 | top 31% |
| WI | 13 | 0 | top 54% |
| IA | 8 | 0 | top 39% |
| TN | 2 | 0 | top 26% |
| MI | 2 | 0 | top 22% |
| MN | 1 | 0 | top 20% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 0 | top 50% |
| Medium (20–39) | 27 | 0 | top 40% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 0 | top 31% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 5 | 5 | 0 | top 53% | 2026-07-18 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 3 | 5 | 0 | top 40% | 2026-06-13 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 3 | 7 | 0 | top 39% | 2026-06-12 |
| Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2) | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 35% | 2026-08-28 |
| Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 14% | 2026-08-15 |
| Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 31% | 2026-06-19 |
| Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 40% | 2026-04-24 |
| Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 21% | 2026-04-03 |
| Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 37% | 2025-08-16 |
| Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 2 | 0 | top 22% | 2025-07-19 |
| Puckaway Pigfest | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 78% | 2024-09-06 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon II (BACKYARD) | 2 | 22 | 0 | top 110% | 2023-10-15 |
| Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day Two) | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 65% | 2022-06-25 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.5 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2024-06-08 |
| +14.7 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-07-20 |
| +12.6 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-08-22 |
| +12.4 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2025-06-13 |
| +12.4 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-04-25 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2025-07-12 |
| -11.5 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2025-06-14 |
| -10.5 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2023-10-13 |
| -9.8 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day Two) | 2022-06-25 |
| -9.6 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (BACKYARD) | 2023-10-15 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 68% | top 28% | 96.5% | 95.2% |
| 2025 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 56% | top 38% | 96.8% | 91.6% |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 63% | top 33% | 97.1% | 94.3% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 101% | 91.2% | 88.5% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 65% | 89% | 86.9% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2) Cherry Valley, IL | 10 / 25 (345.1200) | 8 (173.1200) | 10 (172.0000) | — | — |
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 1) Cherry Valley, IL | 7 / 24 (345.6800) | 12 (170.2628) | 5 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cherry Valley, IL | — | — | 11 (166.2744) | — | — |
| 2026-08-15 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 4 / 32 (343.3944) | 3 (173.1200) | 6 (170.2744) | — | — |
| 2026-08-14 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) 🏅 Troy, IL | 4 / 26 (335.9200) | 16 (161.6572) | 3 (174.2628) | — | — |
| 2026-07-31 | Cruisin' and BBQin' 🏅 Hampton, IA | 2 / 26 (347.3828) | 2 (175.4172) | 6 (171.9656) | — | — |
| 2026-07-18 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 11 / 28 (345.1088) | 14 (169.6916) | 5 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2026-07-17 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 5 / 27 (347.4172) | 4 (176.0000) | 12 (171.4172) | — | — |
| 2026-06-19 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 15 / 41 (342.8572) | 15 (172.0000) | 18 (170.8572) | — | — |
| 2026-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 8 / 37 (341.6456) | 12 (170.8112) | 8 (170.8344) | — | — |
| 2026-06-12 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 25 / 40 (337.6684) | 25 (166.8228) | 14 (170.8456) | — | — |
| 2026-06-12 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 9 (173.1316) | — | — |
| 2026-05-29 | Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Owatonna, MN | 5 / 25 (344.5716) | 9 (172.0000) | 6 (172.5716) | — | — |
| 2026-05-15 | BBQ Fest - Chippewa Falls, WI (BACKYARD ONLY) Chippewa Falls, WI | 3 / 21 (346.2628) | 1 (176.5600) | 7 (169.7028) | — | — |
| 2026-04-24 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) Stanley, WI | 14 / 24 (333.0512) | 12 (169.6800) | 19 (163.3712) | — | — |
| 2026-04-03 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 8 / 42 (345.0856) | 6 (176.5600) | 20 (168.5256) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Lebanon, TN | — | 7 (178.8572) | — | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 23 / 125 (340.5028) | 22 (171.9772) | 29 (168.5256) | 30 (167.3828) | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 12 (176.0116) | — | — |
| 2025-09-19 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) Loves Park, IL | 2 / 17 (345.0972) | 3 (171.9656) | 1 (173.1316) | — | — |
| 2025-08-22 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 5 / 31 (348.5372) | 9 (175.4056) | 9 (173.1316) | — | — |
| 2025-08-16 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 8 / 20 (334.9144) | 8 (168.0000) | 10 (166.9144) | — | — |
| 2025-07-19 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 6 / 17 (345.0856) | 9 (168.5256) | 2 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2025-07-12 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 14 / 16 (334.7772) | 12 (169.6800) | 12 (165.0972) | — | — |
| 2025-07-11 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 13 / 18 (337.6572) | 9 (170.8112) | 12 (166.8460) | 12 (159.3828) | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 7 / 26 (343.9428) | 6 (173.1200) | 9 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2025-06-20 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 9 / 36 (346.8112) | 16 (169.6684) | 1 (177.1428) | — | — |
| 2025-06-14 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 31 / 36 (169.6800) | 12 (169.6800) | — | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 26 (164.5256) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 7 / 36 (346.8572) | 5 (176.5828) | 11 (170.2744) | — | — |
| 2025-05-25 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | 23 / 70 (342.8232) | 12 (174.2744) | 33 (168.5488) | — | — |
| 2025-05-24 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 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 | — | 21 (172.5484) | — | — | — |
| 2025-05-23 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | — | 33 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2025-04-25 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) Stanley, WI | 5 / 24 (343.9656) | 2 (177.1428) | 13 (166.8228) | — | — |
| 2025-04-04 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 11 / 49 (344.5372) | 5 (175.4172) | 18 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2024-09-06 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 27 / 37 (647.8288) | 13 (171.9772) | 30 (159.3716) | 23 (165.6684) | 35 (150.8116) |
| 2024-08-17 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 9 / 26 (340.5144) | 5 (173.1200) | 13 (167.3944) | — | — |
| 2024-07-20 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 2 / 23 (349.7028) | 11 (171.4056) | 1 (178.2972) | — | — |
| 2024-07-12 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Miles, IA | 5 / 11 (343.9660) | 5 (171.9772) | 5 (171.9888) | 3 (175.4172) | — |
| 2024-06-14 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 8 / 40 (338.2628) | 5 (171.4172) | 15 (166.8456) | — | — |
| 2024-06-08 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 5 / 37 (342.2284) | 5 (173.1084) | 8 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2024-06-07 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 14 / 41 (336.5144) | 13 (170.2628) | 13 (166.2516) | — | — |
| 2024-06-07 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 19 (163.4288) | — | — |
| 2023-10-15 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 22 / 24 (328.4800) | 15 (167.9772) | 19 (160.5028) | — | — |
| 2023-10-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 27 / 21 (314.7428) | 25 (159.3828) | 27 (155.3600) | — | — |
| 2023-09-08 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 23 / 28 (624.4112) | 24 (155.9200) | 21 (158.3204) | 22 (157.0968) | 25 (153.0740) |
| 2022-06-25 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day Two) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 32 / 32 (610.6976) | 32 (150.2288) | 29 (161.0972) | 31 (147.9656) | 31 (151.4060) |
| 2022-06-24 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day One) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 11 / 36 (320.5264) | 10 (158.8576) | 8 (161.6688) | — | — |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #25 (1030 pts) | #15 (1107 pts) | #43 (899 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | — | #729 (165 pts) | #482 (372 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #54 (919 pts) | #47 (998 pts) | #32 (1067 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | #1147 (80 pts) | #1020 (120 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #57 (874 pts) | #68 (814 pts) | #70 (803 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #977 (120 pts) | #943 (141 pts) | #1189 (70 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #236 (154 pts) | #259 (134 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1240 (63 pts) | #1584 (58 pts) | #1379 (73 pts) | #1257 (68 pts) | #1601 (53 pts) |