Smoke Busters

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1552

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1561

peak 1584 · rated over 26 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-03

latest 2026-05-29

Best ToY finish

#92

Master 2024

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 30 contests

Avg finish

top 53%

overall standings

Best overall

700.5372 / 720

Master · Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

683.20 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 674.90 (+8.30)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.8572

Chicken · Smokin on the Rez

Consistency

±33.23

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 170.14 · weakest Brisket (167.60)

Road miles

6,616

mi across 30 mapped stops · furthest 414 mi

Schedule strength

79%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1602)

Purse competed for

$346K

listed at 24 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

GCs in 23 state-championship entries

Master avg

674.90 / 720

28 Master contests · 1 GC

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (12 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.

Against the odds

21-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 79 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Roast N Boast (2024-10-18) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 21-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Colorado Bulldawg BBQ.

They almost always walk

63% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 19 of 30 contests

A top-10 category call in 63% of their 30 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

700.5372 career-best overall

97.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 700.5372 at Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival — 97.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
2024-09-27

State champions

1 state championships won

They've taken 1 state championship from 23 entries at contests carrying the title.

23 state-championship entries

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Glamping Grillers has finished one call ahead of Smoke Busters 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2024 1 Grand Championship

2024 was the year it came together: 10 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 30%.

10 contests
7 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 30%

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Rankin County BBQ Company in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

The comeback

8.3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 8.3 years, then back at TN River BBQ Fest (2023-08-25).

last seen 2015-05-01
back 2023-08-25

Chicken nemesis

15 of 21 shared chicken entries lost

Glamping Grillers ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Glamping Grillers has out-cooked them in 15 of 21 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

Piggin' Whiskey has landed one call behind them 3 times.

A September team

Top 34% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 34% across 3 contests, versus top 53% the rest of the year.

3 September contests
top 53% the rest of the year

The long haul

6,616 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,616 miles across 30 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 414 miles to Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival.

30 mapped stops
furthest 414 mi

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.

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

TEXAS WARPIG BBQ

#1550 of the rated field

1561 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 38
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1580

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Smoke Busters)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Smoke Busters has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 33 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

BOARS NIGHT OUT

#1556 of the rated field

1561 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1619

5–0 in 5 shared contests (100% to Smoke Busters)

They've been 1619 at their best, 58 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 39 contests
last seen 2026-04-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Blue Ribbon BBQ NC

#1547 of the rated field

1561 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1591

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 26 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2024-05-17

⚔ Head-to-head

Darty-Q

#1554 of the rated field

1561 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1577

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 33 contests, alongside a 18% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 28 contests
last seen 2025-05-16

⚔ Head-to-head

Hill Billy BBQ

#1548 of the rated field

1561 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1600

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2025-05-16

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKED

#1558 of the rated field

1561 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1583

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 23 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Glamping Grillers	21	4	17	19%	⚔ compare
PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ	18	5	13	28%	⚔ compare
MEMPHIS ORIGINAL BBQ	16	8	8	50%	⚔ compare
RAZORRACKS	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
Kith n' Kin	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
Kermit's Ex	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
Poppa Pig	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
FIRE DANCER BBQ	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
UNCLE FEOL'S TENNESSEE STYLE BBQ	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
TENNESSEE SMOKE SHOWIN	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
JANKY LEG BBQ	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
DANG GOOD BBQ	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
TRIPLE H BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	11	1	3	178.8572	127.3484	170.14	top 45%
Pork Ribs	30	5	0	1	177.7028	133.7028	167.67	top 59%
Pork	28	10	0	5	178.2972	145.0972	169.53	top 49%
Brisket	28	8	1	2	178.8572	147.3944	167.60	top 52%

“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
MS	9	1	top 48%
TN	7	0	top 63%
AL	3	0	top 59%
AR	3	0	top 20%
OK	3	0	top 82%
LA	2	0	top 35%
IL	1	0	top 67%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	1	top 53%
Medium (20–39)	14	0	top 48%
Large (40+)	10	0	top 61%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Southaven Springfest	3	7	top 36%	2026-04-24
VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition	2	6	top 35%	2025-10-24
Poosa Q	2	21	top 54%	2025-06-20
7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025)	2	56	top 80%	2025-05-25

The story so far (20 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 13.1 yrs 2013-05-03 → 2026-05-29

Busiest season 2025 13 contests

Contests a season 4.3 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MS 9 of 30 contests · 7 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 23 4 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 30 entries · 0 wins · 5 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 170.14 · weakest Brisket (167.60)

Walk rate 63% a top-10 call in 19 of 30 contests

Overall top-10 rate 30% 9 of 30 contests

Wins it all 3% 1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve

First title 2024-10-18 Roast N Boast

Best top-10 run 4 straight contests

Master average 674.90 out of 720 · 28 contests · 1 GC

Opponents faced 714 551–846 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 6,616 30 mapped stops · furthest 414 mi

Schedule strength 1602 average field rating faced — tougher than 79% of rated contests

Purse competed for $345,960 listed at 24 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 1 from 23 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 8.3 yrs 2015-05-01 → 2023-08-25

Power rating 1561 peak 1584 · #1552 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
May 3 First tracked contest Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival
2023
Aug 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.5544 TN River BBQ Fest
Nov 11 First call Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival
2024
Apr 26 First overall top-10 Southaven Springfest
Jun 7 First category win (Brisket) Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
Jun 7 10th tracked contest Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest
Sep 27 Career-best overall score700.5372 Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival
Oct 18 First overall podium Roast N Boast
Oct 18 First Grand Championship Roast N Boast
Oct 18 First state championship Roast N Boast
2025
Apr 4 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 Smokin on the Rez
May 2 Peak power rating (1584) Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff and Family Fest
Sep 13 25th tracked contest Trekking for CDH
2026
May 29 Most recent contest Covington World's Oldest Barbeque Contest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.5	Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival	2024-09-27
+16.4	Roast N Boast	2024-10-18
+15.6	Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival	2024-05-17
+14.7	Southaven Springfest	2024-04-26
+13.1	Smoke on the Water	2024-09-20

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.9	Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival	2013-05-03
-9.9	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival	2015-05-01
-7	Poosa Q	2025-06-20
-6.5	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival	2014-05-02
-5.9	Covington World's Oldest Barbeque Contest	2026-05-29

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)
2026	2	0	0	0	50%	top 72%	95.9%	95.5%
2025	13	0	2	0	54%	top 61%	96.6%	94.8%
2024	10	1	7	2	100%	top 30%	97.3%	95.9%
2023	2	0	0	0	50%	top 66%	95.8%	94.4%
2015	1	0	0	0	0%	top 88%	76.9%	76.9%
2014	1	0	0	0	0%	top 74%	83.8%	83.8%
2013	1	0	0	0	0%	top 84%	82.5%	82.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-05-29	Covington World's Oldest Barbeque Contest 🏅 Covington, TN	20 / 25 (690.1828)	11 (176.5600)	22 (169.6800)	15 (173.1200)	17 (170.8228)
2026-04-24	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	21 / 33 (685.0400)	24 (169.1084)	17 (171.9772)	10 (174.2744)	18 (169.6800)
2025-10-24	VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA	17 / 33 (682.7428)	17 (167.3828)	18 (170.2628)	3 (176.5716)	14 (168.5256)
2025-10-17	Roast N Boast 🏅 Columbus, MS	9 / 13 (678.7084)	7 (171.9656)	5 (171.9772)	11 (168.5256)	8 (166.2400)
2025-10-03	Hub City BBQ Fest (formerly TN River BBQ Fest) 🏅 Jackson, TN	13 / 25 (679.3144)	5 (175.4056)	20 (167.9888)	6 (175.4172)	19 (160.5028)
2025-09-13	Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL	18 / 27 (687.3372)	21 (170.8228)	19 (170.8344)	8 (174.2628)	14 (171.4172)
2025-09-13	Trekking for CDH (ONE MEAT RIBS) Pierron, IL	—	—	14 (169.1200)	—	—
2025-06-20	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	30 / 42 (678.7428)	29 (170.8228)	18 (171.9656)	19 (173.1544)	38 (162.8000)
2025-05-25	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	56 / 70 (680.9940)	20 (176.5600)	68 (165.0856)	45 (171.9656)	61 (167.3828)
2025-05-24	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	84 / 106 (674.7084)	46 (173.1200)	102 (163.3828)	34 (174.2628)	90 (163.9428)
2025-05-23	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	—	—	39 (167.3828)	—	—
2025-05-02	Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff and Family Fest 🏅 Brookhaven, MS	14 / 27 (689.0628)	13 (174.2628)	13 (172.5600)	3 (177.7144)	21 (164.5256)
2025-04-25	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	7 / 34 (695.3600)	10 (175.4056)	27 (169.6800)	2 (178.2972)	14 (171.9772)
2025-04-04	Smokin on the Rez 🏅 Ridgeland, MS	13 / 17 (678.7772)	3 (178.8572)	17 (155.3828)	6 (176.0116)	11 (168.5256)
2025-03-14	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	54 / 100 (682.1600)	46 (173.1200)	45 (170.8228)	48 (170.8344)	59 (167.3828)
2024-10-25	VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA	6 / 31 (692.4800)	1 (177.7144)	15 (173.1200)	16 (170.8228)	11 (170.8228)
2024-10-18	Roast N Boast 🏅 Columbus, MS	1 / 15 (699.9312)	4 (174.2628)	3 (176.5600)	3 (173.7028)	2 (175.4056)
2024-10-04	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	21 / 59 (685.6112)	15 (174.2628)	8 (174.8572)	55 (160.4912)	7 (176.0000)
2024-09-27	Downtown Jonesboro BBQ Festival 🏅 Jonesboro, AR	4 / 27 (700.5372)	8 (173.1084)	8 (174.2744)	2 (178.2972)	7 (174.8572)
2024-09-20	Smoke on the Water 🏅 Pine Bluff, AR	9 / 42 (686.7884)	27 (166.8456)	16 (170.2628)	12 (173.1200)	4 (176.5600)
2024-06-07	Hayden West's Delta Smoke BBQ Contest 🏅 Wynne, AR	8 / 33 (694.8000)	13 (173.1200)	13 (172.5600)	14 (170.2628)	1 (178.8572)
2024-05-17	Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival 🏅 Sevierville, TN	7 / 31 (694.7656)	8 (174.2628)	13 (173.1200)	10 (174.2628)	12 (173.1200)
2024-05-03	Hog Wild BBQ & Family Fest 🏅 Brookhaven, MS	15 / 25 (678.7316)	2 (178.8572)	11 (173.1084)	13 (169.6916)	23 (157.0744)
2024-04-26	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	10 / 44 (693.0740)	7 (174.8456)	6 (177.7028)	30 (168.5600)	15 (171.9656)
2024-04-12	Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL	22 / 31 (677.0172)	14 (175.4172)	24 (167.3944)	30 (161.0856)	9 (173.1200)
2023-11-11	Biloxi Blues & BBQ Festival 🏅 Biloxi, MS	11 / 19 (689.6112)	5 (175.4056)	11 (173.1200)	14 (166.8228)	6 (174.2628)
2023-08-25	TN River BBQ Fest 🏅 Saltillo, TN	17 / 23 (669.5544)	18 (168.5372)	13 (166.2400)	18 (167.3828)	11 (167.3944)
2015-05-01	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival Bixby, OK	71 / 81 (553.5428)	76 (127.3484)	79 (133.7028)	73 (145.0972)	63 (147.3944)
2014-05-02	Bixby BBQ'N Blues Festival Bixby, OK	59 / 80 (603.3140)	66 (148.0000)	58 (152.0000)	61 (151.9884)	51 (151.3256)
2013-05-03	Bixby BBQ & Blues Festival Bixby, OK	74 / 88 (594.2858)	75 (148.5714)	80 (144.0000)	78 (150.8572)	64 (150.8572)

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
2026 ↗	Master	#670 (153 pts)	#691 (183 pts)	#777 (163 pts)	#592 (233 pts)	#654 (183 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#227 (971 pts)	#194 (1156 pts)	#278 (921 pts)	#105 (1506 pts)	#253 (911 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#92 (1526 pts)	#66 (1692 pts)	#125 (1371 pts)	#133 (1266 pts)	#55 (1712 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#1135 (88 pts)	#1228 (83 pts)	#1238 (108 pts)	#1199 (83 pts)	#1059 (118 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1970 (75 pts)	#2073 (75 pts)	#2043 (75 pts)	#2080 (75 pts)	#2034 (75 pts)