Small Axe BBQ OR
Rating
1685
peak 1685
Contests
50
in the data
First seen
2022-01-08
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#58
Master 2026
Grand champs
3
3 reserve
Category wins
12
33 podiums
Overall top-10s
28
of 50 contests
Avg finish
top 31%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Current form
691.01 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 683.23 (+7.78)
Walk rate
78%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
best run (overall)
Consistency
±27.67
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.37 · weakest Brisket (167.95)
Road miles
39794
mi across 50 mapped stops · furthest 2528 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Bad Bears BBQ has finished one call ahead of Small Axe BBQ 4 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Chompa Q has landed one call behind them 4 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
GETTIN' BASTED has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Old Dirty Basters in 13 of their 13 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
BBQ Jackpot is their spot: an average finish in the top 4% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.5484 points of the Grand Championship at BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay (2024-05-25).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 37-team field at 2024 Icebox Cookoff.
📅 A July team
Something about July: average finish in the top 13% across 5 contests, versus top 31% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship (2024-04-26) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 22-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Meat Candy Q.
Teams like this (closest power rating, OR first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 44 | 21 | 2 | 8 | 180.0000 🔥 | 158.2284 | 172.37 | top 39% |
| Pork Ribs | 49 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 179.4400 | 158.2400 | 172.01 | top 35% |
| Pork | 45 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 177.7028 | 153.0968 | 170.79 | top 42% |
| Brisket | 45 | 25 | 4 | 11 | 180.0000 🔥 | 20.0000 | 167.95 | top 34% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OR | 14 | 2 | top 24% |
| CA | 6 | 1 | top 24% |
| AZ | 6 | 0 | top 32% |
| TN | 6 | 0 | top 63% |
| WA | 5 | 0 | top 33% |
| NV | 2 | 0 | top 4% |
| ID | 2 | 0 | top 26% |
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 46% |
| HI | 1 | 0 | top 17% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 4 | 0 | top 34% |
| Medium (20–39) | 28 | 3 | top 24% |
| Large (40+) | 12 | 0 | top 48% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (14 contests)
- Cooks mostly in OR (14 of 50 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (49 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 (2022-07-02)
- Wins it all in 6% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 683.23
- 4 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 702.8116 | 687.15 |
| 2025 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 702.8228 | 688.95 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 706.8800 | 677.49 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 689.6800 | 683.26 |
| 2022 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 704.5712 | 677.41 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 3 / 33 (697.6456) | 2 (178.8572) | 17 (170.2628) | 4 (177.7028) | 15 (170.8228) |
| 2026-04-24 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 14 / 29 (678.1716) | 16 (169.6800) | 14 (170.2744) | 11 (171.9772) | 18 (166.2400) |
| 2026-03-27 | Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition Lake Havasu City, AZ | 2 / 33 (702.8116) | 11 (174.2628) | 5 (176.5716) | 15 (171.9772) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2026-03-20 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 10 / 27 (686.2400) | 5 (177.1428) | 21 (163.9888) | 18 (168.5484) | 2 (176.5600) |
| 2026-02-27 | BBQ & Brew Festival Yuma, AZ | 5 / 25 (690.1712) | 7 (173.1084) | 6 (173.1200) | 8 (173.1200) | 10 (170.8228) |
| 2026-01-16 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 39 / 53 (667.8628) | 20 (172.5716) | 47 (158.2400) | 17 (173.1084) | 37 (163.9428) |
| 2025-11-21 | BBQ Jackpot Las Vegas, NV | 4 / 90 (698.8460) | 6 (177.7144) | 13 (174.8572) | 17 (174.8572) | 35 (171.4172) |
| 2025-10-10 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 54 / 90 (682.7884) | 48 (171.9656) | 48 (171.9772) | 71 (166.8572) | 35 (171.9884) |
| 2025-08-29 | Meat & Tater BBQ Fest Meridian, ID | 13 / 39 (690.2056) | 13 (174.2628) | 20 (172.5600) | 30 (166.2284) | 4 (177.1544) |
| 2025-08-16 | 8th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition DuPont, WA | 9 / 30 (690.7768) | 14 (173.1084) | 3 (177.1428) | 16 (169.6684) | 13 (170.8572) |
| 2025-07-19 | Sutherlin Throwdown Sutherlin, OR | 5 / 35 (702.8228) | 1 (180.0000) | 4 (176.5944) | 8 (174.2628) | 8 (171.9656) |
| 2025-05-31 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2) Sweet Home, OR | 9 / 28 (693.6572) | 15 (172.5600) | 7 (174.2744) | 8 (174.2628) | 10 (172.5600) |
| 2025-05-30 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) Sweet Home, OR | 25 / 30 (665.0628) | 22 (166.8228) | 21 (166.2744) | 17 (167.4056) | 22 (164.5600) |
| 2025-05-24 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 4 / 26 (689.0628) | 2 (176.5600) | 5 (174.2972) | 14 (168.5256) | 13 (169.6800) |
| 2025-05-16 | Gold Country Casino Resort BrewFest & State BBQ Championship Oroville, CA | 6 / 19 (690.1940) | 4 (177.1428) | 2 (172.5600) | 8 (169.6684) | 6 (170.8228) |
| 2025-04-25 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 3 / 31 (697.6800) | 10 (174.2744) | 7 (174.8456) | 2 (176.0000) | 5 (172.5600) |
| 2025-03-28 | Q's & Brews Lake Havasu, AZ | 6 / 26 (686.7768) | 19 (168.5256) | 12 (167.4056) | 6 (175.4056) | 3 (175.4400) |
| 2025-03-14 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 3 / 26 (695.9544) | 6 (174.2744) | 1 (178.2972) | 16 (167.3828) | 3 (176.0000) |
| 2025-02-21 | Best in the Southwest Yuma, AZ | 14 / 29 (679.8740) | 10 (174.2628) | 20 (165.0856) | 19 (168.5600) | 10 (171.9656) |
| 2025-01-17 | 10th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 11 / 48 (681.6116) | 31 (166.2400) | 28 (166.2400) | 18 (170.2744) | 1 (178.8572) |
| 2024-12-06 | BBQ Jackpot Las Vegas, NV | 3 / 74 (697.6916) | 25 (173.1428) | 2 (176.0116) | 4 (177.7028) | 26 (170.8344) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 128 / 169 (676.4684) | 132 (167.9656) | 63 (173.1200) | 137 (167.3828) | 117 (168.0000) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 70 / 444 (691.3252) | 192 (170.8112) | 39 (176.5600) | 50 (176.0000) | 210 (167.9540) |
| 2024-10-11 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 86 / 87 (519.8852) | 53 (168.5256) | 36 (172.5484) | 79 (158.8112) | 87 (20.0000) |
| 2024-08-24 | 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition DuPont, WA | 8 / 27 (686.1712) | 1 (180.0000) | 9 (170.8344) | 17 (167.9540) | 13 (167.3828) |
| 2024-07-20 | The Sutherlin Throwdown Sutherlin, OR | 3 / 30 (706.8800) | 5 (177.7028) | 6 (177.7144) | 7 (175.4400) | 4 (176.0228) |
| 2024-07-06 | 2024 Icebox Cookoff Sweet Home, OR | 1 / 37 (699.9656) | 3 (178.2972) | 14 (173.1200) | 26 (169.1084) | 1 (179.4400) |
| 2024-06-28 | Smoke-N-Wings Blackfoot, ID | 5 / 28 (693.6572) | 13 (170.8228) | 9 (173.1316) | 4 (177.7028) | 7 (172.0000) |
| 2024-05-25 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 2 / 27 (696.0116) | 3 (176.5600) | 3 (175.4516) | 14 (169.7256) | 6 (174.2744) |
| 2024-04-26 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 1 / 34 (700.5028) | 6 (176.5600) | 4 (177.7144) | 14 (173.1084) | 11 (173.1200) |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 37 / 93 (683.8856) | 24 (174.2744) | 23 (172.5600) | 61 (167.3828) | 44 (169.6684) |
| 2023-11-11 | Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" (ONE MEAT BRISKET) Honolulu, HI | — | — | — | 5 (153.0968) | 1 (172.5600) |
| 2023-11-10 | Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" Honolulu, HI | 3 / 18 (689.0744) | 5 (173.1200) | 6 (170.8228) | 2 (177.7028) | 6 (167.4288) |
| 2023-11-10 | Warrior BBQ's "The Great Hawaiian Smokeout" (ONE MEAT RIBS) Honolulu, HI | — | — | 6 (172.5716) | — | — |
| 2023-10-13 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 47 / 81 (677.6684) | 76 (158.8344) | 38 (172.0000) | 42 (169.6912) | 6 (177.1428) |
| 2023-08-19 | DuPont-Hudson's Bay BBQ Competition DuPont, WA | 7 / 30 (681.6916) | 6 (176.5600) | 20 (163.4172) | 10 (172.5600) | 7 (169.1544) |
| 2023-07-01 | Icebox Cookoff Sweet Home, OR | 13 / 38 (682.7544) | 19 (170.8228) | 17 (168.5256) | 15 (170.2744) | 7 (173.1316) |
| 2023-05-27 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 4 / 25 (689.6800) | 9 (170.8344) | 2 (178.2972) | 18 (166.8456) | 3 (173.7028) |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN | 36 / 80 (678.7084) | 51 (169.6684) | 51 (165.0972) | 34 (169.6800) | 14 (174.2628) |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (One Meat Ribs) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 29 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2022-11-12 | Warrior BBQ Ribs Championship - Ribs 2 (One Meat Ribs ) Honolulu, HI | — | — | 1 (176.0116) | — | — |
| 2022-11-12 | Warrior BBQ Ribs Championship - Ribs 3 (One Meat Ribs) Honolulu, HI | — | — | 1 (177.1428) | — | — |
| 2022-11-11 | Warrior BBQ Ribs Championship - Ribs 1 (One Meat Ribs) Honolulu, HI | — | — | 2 (174.2972) | — | — |
| 2022-10-14 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 62 / 83 (666.2168) | 72 (162.2972) | 48 (169.7028) | 69 (163.4056) | 31 (170.8112) |
| 2022-10-07 | Hermiston Fall Fest, BBQ, Brews, & More Hermiston, OR | 7 / 19 (673.0856) | 9 (169.7028) | 4 (173.1200) | 7 (170.2856) | 13 (159.9772) |
| 2022-08-20 | 5th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff DuPont, WA | 2 / 29 (701.6684) | 2 (180.0000) | 16 (170.8228) | 10 (173.7028) | 3 (177.1428) |
| 2022-07-02 | Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 Sweet Home, OR | 1 / 34 (704.5712) | 14 (171.9884) | 1 (179.4400) | 5 (177.1428) | 2 (176.0000) |
| 2022-05-28 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 5 / 27 (682.2512) | 23 (162.2284) | 18 (164.5828) | 1 (176.5828) | 2 (178.8572) |
| 2022-02-05 | Outdoor Cooking BBQ Championship Puyallup, WA | 16 / 22 (654.7540) | 19 (158.2284) | 1 (178.2972) | 4 (170.2856) | 21 (147.9428) |
| 2022-01-08 | Willamette Sportsman Show Cookoff 2022 Albany, OR | 8 / 16 (659.2916) | 3 (171.9772) | 11 (162.8228) | 7 (167.9772) | 12 (156.5144) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #58 (1172 pts) | #73 (1077 pts) | #144 (807 pts) | #92 (872 pts) | #78 (977 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #72 (1811 pts) | #98 (1570 pts) | #57 (1916 pts) | #111 (1471 pts) | #58 (1814 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #64 (1774 pts) | #85 (1559 pts) | #111 (1438 pts) | #163 (1159 pts) | #71 (1596 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #374 (540 pts) | #476 (455 pts) | #153 (1306 pts) | #519 (385 pts) | #328 (665 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #187 (1092 pts) | #277 (852 pts) | #228 (1047 pts) | #190 (1082 pts) | #218 (1017 pts) |