Their season
2014
their best year
2014 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 55%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10
- 1 category win
- average top 55%
HELLFIRE BBQ
HELLFIRE BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2018. Their best overall finish is 10th of 39 at the Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival (2014). They are ranked #4821 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1467
peak 1467 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Apr 19, 2013
latest Sep 14, 2018 · 5.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
643.63 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 633.52 (+10.11)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.40
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 161.70 · weakest Brisket (150.89)
Road miles
2,764
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1,030 mi
Schedule strength
28%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1538)
Master avg
633.52 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #2446 (68 pts) | #2618 (58 pts) | #1901 (103 pts) | #1863 (113 pts) | #2629 (58 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to HELLFIRE BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
138 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,809 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1467
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to HELLFIRE BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team HELLFIRE BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,828 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1511
They've been 1511 at their best, 44 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,832 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1466
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,826 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
They turned up 11 years after HELLFIRE BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Compare careers#4,822 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
Level with HELLFIRE BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,803 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPITFIRE | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| TRUE SMOKE BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 178.8800 | 143.9772 | 161.70 | top 61% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2744 | 154.8570 | 161.33 | top 59% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2400 | 154.7884 | 159.61 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4056 | 138.8574 | 150.89 | top 75% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 61% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 76% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2018
3 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
5 of 8 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Opponents faced
247
finished ahead 105 times, behind 253
Longest layoff
3.7 yrs
Aug 22, 2014 → May 11, 2018
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20181 milestone
- Most recent contest KTD Smokin ' Gobbler Cook-Off
20146 milestones
- First call Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
- First category win (Chicken) Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
- First overall top-10 Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.2516 Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score658.2516 Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8800 Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival
20132 milestones
- First tracked contest New York City BBQ Cookoff
- Peak power rating (1493) New York City BBQ Cookoff
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.1 | Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival | Aug 8, 2014 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.8 | Minnesota in May | May 11, 2018 |
| -8.8 | Crossborder Blues, Brews & Que | Jun 13, 2014 |
| -7.6 | KTD Smokin ' Gobbler Cook-Off | Sep 14, 2018 |
| -6.7 | New York City BBQ Cookoff | Apr 19, 2013 |
| -5.1 | 6th Annual Big Island BBQ | Aug 23, 2013 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 85% | 89.7% | 88.2% |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33% | top 55% | 91.4% | 89.2% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 70% | 88.1% | 85.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2018 | KTD Smokin ' Gobbler Cook-Off Worthington, MN | 22 / 25 (645.5884) | 16 (165.6800) | 21 (160.5716) | 21 (160.5372) | 21 (158.7996) |
| Aug 24, 2018 | 11th Annual Big Island BBQ Alberta Lea, MN | 39 / 49 (636.4228) | 9 (173.7144) | 40 (159.9544) | 34 (159.3712) | 44 (143.3828) |
| May 11, 2018 | Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN | 62 / 70 (622.6056) | 61 (158.2400) | 59 (156.5028) | 31 (166.2400) | 69 (141.6228) |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 32 / 54 (655.2800) | 35 (164.5372) | 19 (168.5488) | 47 (154.7884) | 23 (167.4056) |
| Aug 8, 2014 | Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival N. Tonawanda, NY | 10 / 39 (658.2516) | 1 (178.8800) | 5 (170.2744) | 19 (163.4172) | 35 (145.6800) |
| Jun 13, 2014 | Crossborder Blues, Brews & Que Wilson, NY | 38 / 47 (612.4688) | 41 (143.9772) | 28 (158.8000) | 28 (157.1200) | 30 (152.5716) |
| Aug 23, 2013 | 6th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 35 / 50 (634.1372) | 41 (156.5372) | 32 (161.0972) | 40 (157.7028) | 25 (158.8000) |
| Apr 19, 2013 | New York City BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY | 23 / 33 (603.4286) | 26 (152) | 16 (154.8570) | 14 (157.7142) | 28 (138.8574) |