A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
FRED VEGAS SMOKERS ahead in 100% of their meetings
FRED VEGAS SMOKERS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
THE THRILL OF HICKORY, THE AGONY OF MESQUITE
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1493
peak 1493 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2013-10-18
latest 2016-05-13
Best ToY finish
#2274
Master 2016
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
621.98
last 3 Master vs avg 621.98 (+0.00)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±11.38
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 161.31 · weakest Brisket (149.10)
Road miles
151
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 56 mi
Schedule strength
22%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1530)
Master avg
621.98 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (2 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 comeback
1.7 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at BBQ Jamboree (2016-05-13).
- last seen 2014-09-05
- back 2016-05-13
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.
THE THRILL OF HICKORY, THE AGONY OF MESQUITE has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 129 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#3538 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3506 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1493
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 10 years after THE THRILL OF HICKORY, THE AGONY OF MESQUITE did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Head-to-head#3522 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Level with THE THRILL OF HICKORY, THE AGONY OF MESQUITE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3537 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3527 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3542 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 153.7140 | 161.31 | top 42% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7028 | 155.3944 | 158.46 | top 50% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7028 | 143.9884 | 153.11 | top 68% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156.5372 | 143.9540 | 149.10 | top 73% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 67% |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.6 yrs
2013-10-18 → 2016-05-13
Busiest season
2016
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
VA
3 of 3 contests
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 161.31 · weakest Brisket (149.10)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
621.98
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
120
55–86 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
151
3 mapped stops · furthest 56 mi
Schedule strength
1530
average field rating faced — tougher than 22% of rated contests
Longest layoff
1.7 yrs
2014-09-05 → 2016-05-13
Power rating
1493
peak 1493 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Autumnfest
- 2014
- First call 10th Annual Recovery Fest
- 2016
- Career-best overall score637.0624 BBQ Jamboree
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.7028 BBQ Jamboree
- Peak power rating (1493) BBQ Jamboree
- Most recent contest BBQ Jamboree
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | BBQ Jamboree | 2016-05-13 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.2 | Autumnfest | 2013-10-18 |
| -0.3 | 10th Annual Recovery Fest | 2014-09-05 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 54% | 88.5% | 88.5% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 56% | 86% | 86% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 84.7% | 84.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-05-13 | BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA | 39 / 72 (637.0624) | 17 (169.7028) | 34 (161.7028) | 37 (161.7028) | 65 (143.9540) |
| 2014-09-05 | 10th Annual Recovery Fest Richmond, VA | 18 / 32 (619.3140) | 9 (160.5140) | 16 (158.2744) | 26 (143.9884) | 16 (156.5372) |
| 2013-10-18 | Autumnfest Woodstock, VA | 32 / 40 (609.5768) | 30 (153.7140) | 21 (155.3944) | 28 (153.6456) | 32 (146.8228) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2274 (60 pts) | #2124 (100 pts) | #2349 (60 pts) | #2326 (60 pts) | #2345 (60 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #2498 (65 pts) | #2538 (65 pts) | #1979 (85 pts) | #2536 (65 pts) | #2535 (65 pts) |