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Smoke 44

Smoke 44 is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. They have won 2 Grand Championships, most recently at the ECP BBQ Challenge (2026). They are ranked #1799 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,799
of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1548
peak 1552 · rated over 9 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

12
in the data

First seen

Mar 14, 2025
latest Sep 30, 2026 · 1.5 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#115
Master 2026 · every season

Grand champs

2
0 reserve · wins it all 17% of the time

Category wins

4
8 podiums

Overall top-10s

6
50% of 12 contests

Best top-10 run

3
straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 43%
overall standings

Best overall

701.6912 / 720
Master · ECP BBQ Challenge

Perfect 180s

0

Current form

678.90 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 672.39 (+6.51)

Walk rate

75%
contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4400
Chicken · ECP BBQ Challenge

Consistency

±19.37
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken
avg 171.26 · weakest Brisket (165.80)

Road miles

2,759
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 2,260 mi

Schedule strength

23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)

Purse competed for

$114K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

Master avg

672.39 / 720
10 Master contests · 2 GCs

Storylines (11 found in their record)

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

Against the odds

27-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at ECP BBQ Challenge (Jul 24, 2026) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 27-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Justice BBQ.

On the rise

+36 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 36 points across 8 contests since Jan 24, 2026 — from 1512 up to 1548.

  • 8 contests since Jan 24, 2026
  • now 1548

They almost always walk

75% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 9 of 12 contests

A top-10 category call in 75% of their 12 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

701.6912 career-best overall

97.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 701.6912 at ECP BBQ Challenge — 97.5% of a perfect 720.

  • Master
  • Jul 24, 2026

Their season

2026 2 Grand Championships

2026 was the year it came together: 11 contests, 2 Grand Championships and 4 category wins, at an average finish in the top 45%.

  • 11 contests
  • 5 overall top-10s
  • 4 category wins
  • average top 45%

A tough matchup

8–2 behind in the head-to-head

Justice BBQ ahead in 80% of their meetings

Justice BBQ has come out ahead in 8 of their 10 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.46 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 60% of the time against 73%.

  • Brisket avg 165.80
  • Chicken avg 171.26
  • 6 calls in 10 entries
Show 4 more storylines

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of 88 BBQ in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

8 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

Justice BBQ ahead 73% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Justice BBQ has out-cooked them in 8 of 11 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

5th at their very first contest

Finished 5 of 17 at their very first tracked contest, Masters BBQ Challenge CR (Mar 14, 2025).

  • Mar 14, 2025
  • 17-team field

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Justice BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

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

YearSeriesOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
2026 ↗ Master #115 (1,341 pts) #71 (1,595 pts) #163 (1,191 pts) #118 (1,236 pts) #129 (1,221 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Smoke 44, each with one reason worth a look.

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

PIPKIN CREEK BBQ CO.
#1,797 of the rated field
1548 power rating
Contests
9
GCs
0
Top-10s
78%
Peak
1560

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

  • rated over 9 contests
  • last seen Apr 25, 2026
⚔ Compare careers
Molly s Bbq Smoke House
#1,794 of the rated field
1548 power rating
Contests
9
GCs
0
Top-10s
78%
Peak
1548

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

  • rated over 9 contests
  • last seen Sep 9, 2022
  • on a 4-contest top-10 run
⚔ Compare careers
FAT DAD'S BBQ
#1,806 of the rated field
1547 power rating
Contests
9
GCs
1
Top-10s
33%
Peak
1547

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Smoke 44's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

  • rated over 9 contests
⚔ Compare careers
SOAKED IN SMOKE
#1,808 of the rated field
1547 power rating
Contests
10
GCs
0
Top-10s
10%
Peak
1547

They were already cooking in 2013, 12 years before Smoke 44's first contest.

  • rated over 10 contests
  • last seen Oct 2, 2015
⚔ Compare careers
10 In The Pit BBQ
#1,809 of the rated field
1547 power rating
Contests
8
GCs
0
Top-10s
75%
Peak
1547

Level with Smoke 44 on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

  • rated over 8 contests
  • last seen Oct 10, 2026
⚔ Compare careers
Bourbon Barrel Smokers
#1,804 of the rated field
1548 power rating
Contests
8
GCs
0
Top-10s
0%
Peak
1548

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 Sep 25, 2026
⚔ Compare careers

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

OpponentMeetingsAheadBehindWin rate
Justice BBQ 10 2 8 20% ⚔ compare
Club Carbon CR 9 3 6 33% ⚔ compare
88 BBQ 8 6 2 75% ⚔ compare
Bros & Fire PTY 8 6 2 75% ⚔ compare
DrumQ BBQ Costa Rica 7 6 1 86% ⚔ compare
Pura Vida BBQ 7 5 2 71% ⚔ compare
Fire Family BBQ PTY 7 3 4 43% ⚔ compare
Tiquicia Smokers BBQ 5 5 0 100% ⚔ compare
Los Pinos BBQ Team 5 4 1 80% ⚔ compare

By meat

CategoryEntriesCallsWinsPodiumsBestWorstAverageAvg finish
Chicken 11 8 1 4 179.4400 158.8228 171.26 top 39%
Pork Ribs 10 5 1 1 177.1544 153.6800 167.77 top 56%
Pork 10 6 1 2 179.4400 156.5600 168.21 top 46%
Brisket 10 6 1 1 172.5484 154.8000 165.80 top 49%

“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

FieldContestsGCsAvg finish
Small (<20 teams)72top 32%
Medium (20–39)10top 42%
Large (40+)20top 84%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

WhereContestsGCsAvg finish
KS20top 84%
CR10top 31%
SJ10top 58%

More numbers

Busiest season 2026 11 contests · 2 GCs
Contests a season 6 across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in KS 3 of 12 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited 10 a different one every time
Most-entered meat Chicken 11 entries · 1 win · 8 calls
First title Feb 21, 2026 BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Opponents faced 420 finished ahead 210 times, behind 446

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

20268 milestones
  1. First category win (Brisket) BBQ Fest Costa Rica
  2. First overall podium BBQ Fest Costa Rica
  3. First Grand Championship BBQ Fest Costa Rica
  4. Career-best overall score701.6912 ECP BBQ Challenge
  5. Career-best single call (Chicken)179.4400 ECP BBQ Challenge
  6. Peak power rating (1552) Camino del Fuego 2026
  7. 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides
  8. Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
20254 milestones
  1. First tracked contest Masters BBQ Challenge CR
  2. First call Masters BBQ Challenge CR
  3. First overall top-10 Masters BBQ Challenge CR
  4. First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.9084 Masters BBQ Challenge CR

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

SwingContestDate
+15.9BBQ Fest Costa RicaFeb 21, 2026
+15.6ECP BBQ ChallengeJul 24, 2026
+8.3Masters BBQ Challenge CRMar 14, 2025
+6.8Camino del Fuego 2026Sep 18, 2026
+4Jaco Beach BBQ ChallengeMar 6, 2026

📉 Toughest weekends

SwingContestDate
-4.8American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open ContestSep 30, 2026
-2.5Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026Jun 26, 2026

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

SeasonContestsGCsTop-10sCategory winsWalk rateAvg finishBest overall (% of perfect)Avg overall (% of perfect)
202611254 73% top 45% 97.5% 93.7%
20251010 100% top 29% 90.5% 90.5%

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

DateEventOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
Sep 30, 2026 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS 153 / 158 (647.8284) 125 (167.3828) 155 (158.8000) 154 (158.8456) 141 (162.8000)
Sep 30, 2026 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS 253 / 360 (669.0168) 230 (168.5256) 346 (153.6800) 28 (177.1428) 170 (169.6684)
Sep 30, 2026 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS — — — — —
Sep 18, 2026 Camino del Fuego 2026 San Rafael, Alajuela, Costa Rica 5 / 16 (698.8112) 6 (177.7028) 11 (173.1200) 4 (176) 6 (171.9884)
Sep 18, 2026 Camino del Fuego 2026 (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) San Rafael, Alajuela, Costa Rica — 1 (177.7372) — — —
Jul 24, 2026 ECP BBQ Challenge San Jose 1 / 17 (701.6912) 2 (179.4400) 11 (170.2628) 1 (179.4400) 4 (172.5484)
Jun 26, 2026 Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 Perez Zeldon, SJ 11 / 19 (677.1772) 9 (169.7028) 6 (175.4744) 5 (172.5484) 18 (159.4516)
May 1, 2026 BBQ Fest Parque Tempisque Guanacaste 7 / 14 (674.7884) 3 (173.7372) 7 (168.5600) 10 (166.2284) 7 (166.2628)
Mar 6, 2026 Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge Play Jaco 7 / 16 (678.8460) 10 (169.1544) 1 (177.1544) 16 (160.5372) 6 (172)
Feb 21, 2026 BBQ Fest Costa Rica Alajuela 1 / 18 (682.8232) 2 (175.4172) 10 (167.4516) 3 (170.2744) 1 (169.6800)
Jan 24, 2026 Chiriqui Grill Fest Internacional Chiriqui 13 / 31 (641.0400) 14 (158.8228) 7 (170.8572) 22 (156.5600) 15 (154.8000)
Mar 14, 2025 Masters BBQ Challenge CR San Jose 5 / 17 (651.9084) 7 (166.2628) 12 (162.2972) 6 (164.5484) 9 (158.8000)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

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

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