A 2 Z

A 2 Z is a competition barbecue team with 24 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 21st of 23 at the Pit at the Park (2016). They are ranked #6464 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,464

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1346

peak 1346 · rated over 23 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 6, 2013

latest Oct 8, 2021 · 8.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#788

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

0% of 24 contests

Avg finish

top 88%

overall standings

Best overall

632.5144 / 720

Master · Que for the Troops

Perfect 180s

Current form

603.35 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 598.02 (+5.33)

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

168.5484

Chicken · The Ironman

Consistency

±19.96

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 155.32 · weakest Brisket (144.83)

Road miles

1,609

across 24 mapped stops · furthest 113 mi

Schedule strength

41%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1554)

Purse competed for

$45K

listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 9 state-championship entries

Master avg

598.02 / 720

23 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

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

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

4 BOXERS Q has finished one call ahead of A 2 Z 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2016 their best year

2016 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 77%.

4 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 77%

A tough matchup

17–0 behind in the head-to-head

DRILLING & GRILLING ahead in 100% of their meetings

DRILLING & GRILLING has come out ahead in 17 of their 17 shared contests.

The weak link

−10.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 10.48 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.

Brisket avg 144.83
Chicken avg 155.32
0 calls in 24 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of QUE KINGS OF QUEENS in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

15 of 17 shared chicken entries lost

DRILLING & GRILLING ahead 88% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, DRILLING & GRILLING has out-cooked them in 15 of 17 shared chicken entries.

A June team

Top 79% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 79% across 3 contests, versus top 88% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 88% the rest of the year

Show 1 more storyline

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked The Ironman every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 37th

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
2021 ↗	Master	#788 (172 pts)	#769 (197 pts)	#813 (187 pts)	#704 (222 pts)	#823 (172 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1226 (180 pts)	#1195 (210 pts)	#1285 (180 pts)	#1236 (200 pts)	#1277 (180 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1142 (230 pts)	#1190 (230 pts)	#1218 (230 pts)	#1200 (230 pts)	#1195 (230 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1392 (180 pts)	#1493 (180 pts)	#1363 (220 pts)	#1489 (180 pts)	#1476 (180 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1454 (180 pts)	#1200 (275 pts)	#1289 (245 pts)	#1564 (180 pts)	#1503 (180 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1676 (120 pts)	#1778 (120 pts)	#1715 (135 pts)	#1790 (120 pts)	#1763 (120 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#2084 (75 pts)	#2167 (75 pts)	#2161 (75 pts)	#2172 (75 pts)	#2148 (75 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#2640 (56 pts)	#2650 (56 pts)	#2646 (56 pts)	#2645 (56 pts)	#2656 (56 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to A 2 Z, each with one reason worth a look.

DUNN UP BBQ

#6,463 of the rated field

1346 power rating

Contests: 58
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 2%
Peak: 1346

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 58 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 58 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

PAPA BEAR BAR-B-QUE

#6,462 of the rated field

1347 ▲ 1 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1347

Careers of much the same size, 23 contests to 24, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Sep 13, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

smokey anderson bbq

#6,461 of the rated field

1347 ▲ 1 power rating

Contests: 68
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 1%
Peak: 1347

68 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 1% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 68 contests
last seen Jul 25, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

SILVER FOX BBQ

#6,458 of the rated field

1348 ▲ 2 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1348

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 24 contests
last seen Oct 15, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

3 THIRDS BBQ

#6,459 of the rated field

1348 ▲ 2 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1348

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 3 years before A 2 Z's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 24 contests

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Lord Of The Ribs BBQ

#6,460 of the rated field

1348 ▲ 2 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1348

Rated 2 points above A 2 Z.

rated over 22 contests
last seen Apr 24, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
DRILLING & GRILLING	17	0	17	0%	⚔ compare
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	15	0	15	0%	⚔ compare
DEAD ON Q	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
Smokestack Redemption	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
PIG PEN BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN GNOME BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
REDNECK SMOKE CLUB	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
HAWG NATION BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
WILBUR'S REVENGE	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
PIGHEADED BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKEN DUDES BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	24	0	168.5484	134.7656	155.32	top 73%
Pork Ribs	24	1	166.2400	129.6800	150.73	top 77%
Pork	24	0	165.1428	125.6340	147.15	top 85%
Brisket	24	0	154.7772	133.6456	144.83	top 87%

“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)	6	0	top 95%
Large (40+)	17	0	top 86%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
PA	22	0	top 88%
NJ	1	0	top 98%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship	4	26	top 94%	Oct 8, 2021
The Ironman	4	37	top 77%	Apr 5, 2019
Keystone Classic Barbeque	3	47	top 90%	Oct 2, 2015
New Holland Summer Fest	2	35	top 88%	Aug 27, 2021
Pit at the Park	2	21	top 96%	Aug 3, 2018
Que for the Troops	2	53	top 92%	Jun 1, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 4 contests

Contests a season 2.7 across 9 seasons in the data

Most contests held in PA 22 of 24 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 12 6 of them more than once

Opponents faced 406 finished ahead 146 times, behind 937

Longest layoff 1 yrs Oct 4, 2019 → Oct 16, 2020

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

20211 milestone

Oct 8 Most recent contest Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship

20171 milestone

Mar 31 10th tracked contest The Ironman

20163 milestones

Apr 1 Career-best single call (Chicken)168.5484 The Ironman
Jun 3 Career-best overall score632.5144 Que for the Troops
Aug 5 First call Pit at the Park

20132 milestones

Sep 6 First tracked contest 5th Annual Southern York County BBQ Cookoff
Sep 6 Peak power rating (1486) 5th Annual Southern York County BBQ Cookoff

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+3	Que for the Troops	Jun 3, 2016
+0.8	The Ironman	Mar 31, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.3	5th Annual Southern York County BBQ Cookoff	Sep 6, 2013
-13.4	Keystone Classic Barbeque	Oct 3, 2014
-10.5	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition & Festival	May 8, 2015
-10.3	Keystone Classic Barbeque	Oct 4, 2013
-9.9	Que for the Troops	Jun 1, 2018

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	3	0%	top 88%	84.6%	83.9%
2020	2	0%	top 98%	85.1%	85.1%
2019	3	0%	top 92%	85.4%	83.9%
2018	4	0%	top 95%	85%	80.7%
2017	3	0%	top 80%	86.9%	85.2%
2016	4	25%	top 77%	87.8%	85.3%
2015	2	0%	top 90%	84.2%	81.7%
2014	1	0%	top 98%	80.3%	80.3%
2013	2	0%	top 91%	80.1%	79.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 8, 2021	Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA	26 / 27 (603.2684)	26 (144.5372)	22 (157.6800)	25 (153.6684)	25 (147.3828)
Aug 27, 2021	New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA	35 / 44 (608.9600)	42 (149.6456)	34 (152.5260)	15 (165.1428)	40 (141.6456)
May 14, 2021	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	40 / 46 (599.2576)	20 (163.4400)	34 (152.5372)	36 (150.8000)	40 (145.6688)
Oct 17, 2020	Red White & Que: Day 2 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Jackson, NJ	39 / 40 (612.3888)	34 (161.7260)	39 (145.0400)	35 (153.1200)	36 (152.5028)
Oct 16, 2020	Red White & Que: Day 1 CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Jackson, NJ	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 4, 2019	Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA	33 / 36 (614.7776)	30 (155.4172)	35 (147.4060)	21 (161.1428)	33 (150.8116)
Aug 23, 2019	New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA	63 / 65 (591.8056)	19 (167.4172)	61 (143.3828)	64 (143.3600)	64 (137.6456)
Apr 5, 2019	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	37 / 42 (604.9828)	39 (151.4056)	33 (153.6800)	37 (151.3944)	37 (148.5028)
Oct 5, 2018	Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA	41 / 42 (595.2800)	37 (153.0972)	40 (149.6344)	36 (153.1656)	41 (139.3828)
Aug 3, 2018	Pit at the Park Macungie, PA	25 / 25 (542.5936)	25 (134.7656)	25 (144.5256)	25 (125.6340)	25 (137.6684)
Jun 1, 2018	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	61 / 61 (575.8168)	61 (143.9884)	60 (142.8000)	61 (134.2512)	47 (154.7772)
Apr 6, 2018	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	49 / 60 (611.8284)	36 (161.1656)	55 (142.7544)	48 (153.6684)	42 (154.2400)
Oct 6, 2017	Keystone Classic BBQ Harrisburg, PA	36 / 39 (609.1312)	37 (151.4172)	24 (157.7256)	33 (154.2856)	34 (145.7028)
Jun 2, 2017	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	53 / 63 (606.1600)	32 (162.8344)	61 (141.6572)	43 (154.2856)	51 (147.3828)
Mar 31, 2017	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	38 / 59 (625.6460)	48 (153.6916)	18 (163.4288)	41 (154.8228)	39 (153.7028)
Oct 7, 2016	Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA	42 / 47 (607.9084)	26 (165.1428)	37 (156.5600)	47 (138.1828)	38 (148.0228)
Aug 5, 2016	Pit at the Park Macungie, PA	21 / 23 (600.5144)	19 (153.7028)	10 (161.7372)	23 (141.6572)	21 (143.4172)
Jun 3, 2016	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	36 / 67 (632.5144)	16 (166.8800)	41 (156.5600)	34 (158.2400)	47 (150.8344)
Apr 1, 2016	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	39 / 54 (615.8052)	15 (168.5484)	12 (166.2400)	53 (130.7656)	40 (150.2512)
Oct 2, 2015	Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA	49 / 57 (606.2288)	36 (160.0572)	22 (162.8800)	53 (145.6456)	55 (137.6460)
May 8, 2015	Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition & Festival Green Lane, PA	54 / 57 (569.5772)	50 (147.9884)	45 (149.7028)	54 (137.6688)	55 (134.2172)
Oct 3, 2014	Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA	52 / 53 (578.1024)	41 (151.9768)	41 (149.6800)	52 (138.7656)	49 (137.6800)
Oct 4, 2013	Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA	47 / 55 (576.3884)	46 (147.9656)	43 (146.8000)	48 (147.9772)	50 (133.6456)
Sep 6, 2013	5th Annual Southern York County BBQ Cookoff York, PA	30 / 31 (570.7316)	26 (150.8456)	31 (129.6800)	26 (150.8228)	30 (139.3832)

A 2 Z

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

Storylines (8 found in their record)

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

A June team

A standing appointment

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)