BONES BRIGADE

BONES BRIGADE is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 8th of 44 at the Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL) (2017). They are ranked #4022 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#4,022

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1483

peak 1483 · rated over 10 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 16, 2013

latest May 24, 2019 · 5.8 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#2603

Master 2013 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

10% of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

679.9544 / 720

Master · Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)

Perfect 180s

Current form

646.47 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 629.21 (+17.27)

Walk rate

20%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1428

Pork · Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)

Consistency

±33.16

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 159.88 · weakest Pork (155.58)

Road miles

3,457

across 10 mapped stops · furthest 547 mi

Schedule strength

44%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1557)

Purse competed for

$8,000

listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 1 state-championship entry

Master avg

629.21 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

314.24 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.

Storylines (7 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

High-water mark

679.9544 career-best overall

94.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 679.9544 at Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL) — 94.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
May 5, 2017

A tough matchup

5–0 behind in the head-to-head

THE SMOKING HILLS ahead in 100% of their meetings

THE SMOKING HILLS has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.3 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.30 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 22% of the time against 0%.

Pork avg 155.58
Pork Ribs avg 159.88
2 calls in 9 entries

The comeback

2.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.1 years, then back at Red, White, and BBQ Day 1 (May 24, 2019).

last seen May 5, 2017
back May 24, 2019

Pork Ribs nemesis

5 of 5 shared pork ribs entries lost

913 BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, 913 BBQ has out-cooked them in 5 of 5 shared pork ribs entries.

A May team

Top 44% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 44% across 3 contests, versus top 66% the rest of the year.

3 May contests
top 66% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,457 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,457 miles across 10 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 547 miles to Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge.

10 mapped stops
furthest 547 mi

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
2015 ↗	Master	#2769 (56 pts)	#2768 (56 pts)	#2775 (56 pts)	#2167 (71 pts)	#2136 (71 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#2603 (58 pts)	#2618 (58 pts)	#2484 (68 pts)	#2616 (58 pts)	#2565 (63 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BONES BRIGADE, each with one reason worth a look.

143 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

SALT CREEK SMOKERS

#4,020 of the rated field

1483 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1483

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to BONES BRIGADE)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team BONES BRIGADE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Jul 30, 2021

⚔ Head-to-head

Three Little Pigs

#4,030 of the rated field

1483 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1483

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to BONES BRIGADE)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2021

⚔ Head-to-head

Midwest Meat Masters

#4,023 of the rated field

1483 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1483

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to BONES BRIGADE)

Fewer contests behind them than BONES BRIGADE has cooked, 5 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Sep 15, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

Lefties BBQ

#4,028 of the rated field

1483 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1508

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to BONES BRIGADE)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 5 years before BONES BRIGADE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 5 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Bar Down BBQ

#4,037 of the rated field

1483 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1526

They turned up 9 years after BONES BRIGADE did, first appearing in 2022.

rated over 10 contests
last seen May 23, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

HOG BUSTERS

#4,041 of the rated field

1482 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

Level with BONES BRIGADE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Sep 20, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
B & C SMOKERS	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
PELLET ENVY	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
OLD STYLE BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Backdraft BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
THUMP & STRUM BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Theslabs.com	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Four Men and A Pig	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
HIGH i QUE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKING HILLS	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
913 BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	0	0	0	169.1200	141.1312	156.85	top 69%
Pork Ribs	10	0	0	0	168.0572	146.2628	159.88	top 58%
Pork	9	2	1	1	177.1428	123.2000	155.58	top 64%
Brisket	9	2	0	0	172.5600	142.2172	156.62	top 60%

“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)	2	0	top 94%
Large (40+)	8	0	top 60%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	4	top 49%
CO	3	top 91%
MO	2	top 78%
IL	1	top 40%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge	3	27	0	top 91%	Aug 14, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2014 3 contests

Contests a season 1.7 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 4 of 10 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 1,054 finished ahead 408 times, behind 1,151

Longest layoff 2.1 yrs May 5, 2017 → May 24, 2019

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20192 milestones

May 24 10th tracked contest Red, White, and BBQ Day 1
May 24 Most recent contest Red, White, and BBQ Day 1

20174 milestones

May 5 First category win (Pork) Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)
May 5 First overall top-10 Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)
May 5 Career-best overall score679.9544 Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)
May 5 Career-best single call (Pork)177.1428 Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)

20162 milestones

Jul 15 First call Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ
Jul 15 First overall past 90% of a perfect score676.5828 Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ

20132 milestones

Aug 16 First tracked contest Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge
Aug 16 Peak power rating (1485) Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.5	Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL)	May 5, 2017
+13	Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ	Jul 15, 2016
+5.8	Red, White, and BBQ Day 1	May 24, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-15.3	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge	Aug 16, 2013
-9.7	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge	Aug 15, 2014
-8.8	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge	Aug 14, 2015
-5.5	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open	Oct 2, 2014
-5.3	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open	Oct 3, 2015

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 40%	87.3%	87.3%
2017	1	1	1	100%	top 18%	94.4%	94.4%
2016	2	0	0	50%	top 52%	94%	91.6%
2015	2	0	0	0%	top 83%	86.7%	85.6%
2014	3	0	0	0%	top 79%	87.4%	86.3%
2013	1	0	0	0%	top 100%	78.8%	78.8%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
May 24, 2019	Red, White, and BBQ Day 1 🏅 Westmont, IL	16 / 40 (314.2400)	14 (157.1544)	18 (157.0856)	—	—
May 5, 2017	Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL) Lawrence, KS	8 / 44 (679.9544)	21 (166.8344)	18 (165.7144)	1 (177.1428)	7 (170.2628)
Oct 7, 2016	Cookin on the Kaw DeSoto, KS	42 / 56 (642.8344)	48 (160)	38 (161.7144)	33 (163.4400)	46 (157.6800)
Jul 15, 2016	Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ Burlington, KS	13 / 46 (676.5828)	24 (166.3200)	33 (161.7028)	5 (176)	5 (172.5600)
Oct 3, 2015	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO	481 / 606 (624.5716)	505 (154.2516)	198 (167.4744)	529 (151.4172)	475 (151.4284)
Aug 14, 2015	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge Conifer, CO	27 / 31 (608.4224)	30 (146.8228)	25 (151.9772)	22 (155.9656)	22 (153.6568)
Oct 2, 2014	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	425 / 552 (629.2000)	491 (151.4284)	173 (168.0572)	511 (147.9772)	278 (161.7372)
Aug 15, 2014	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge Conifer, CO	37 / 43 (605.0628)	33 (155.4056)	21 (161.1772)	37 (146.2628)	38 (142.2172)
May 24, 2014	Sugar Mound BBQ Festival Mound City, KS	64 / 87 (629.1200)	22 (169.1200)	82 (146.2628)	62 (158.8572)	63 (154.8800)
Aug 16, 2013	Conifer Mountain BBQ Challenge Conifer, CO	33 / 33 (567.1080)	33 (141.1312)	23 (157.6568)	33 (123.2000)	24 (145.1200)

BONES BRIGADE

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Storylines (7 found in their record)

High-water mark

A tough matchup

The weak link

The comeback

Pork Ribs nemesis

A May team

The long haul

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)