LIBERTY BBQ

LIBERTY BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 23 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 27 at the Downtown BBQ Showdown (2014), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1428 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,428

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1570

peak 1589 · rated over 23 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 7, 2014

latest Oct 28, 2022 · 8.6 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#398

Master 2014 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

30% of 23 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

695.3484 / 720

Master · Downtown BBQ Showdown

Perfect 180s

Current form

658.70 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 668.99 (-10.29)

Walk rate

52%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.2972

Brisket · Hammond BBQ

Consistency

±15.23

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 167.67 · weakest Brisket (166.30)

Road miles

4,909

across 23 mapped stops · furthest 458 mi

Schedule strength

51%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1566)

Purse competed for

$4,750

listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 1 state-championship entry

Master avg

668.99 / 720

23 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

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

The heartbreaker

2.9260 points from the title

Came within 2.9260 points of the Grand Championship at Downtown BBQ Showdown (Oct 3, 2014).

High-water mark

695.3484 career-best overall

96.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 695.3484 at Downtown BBQ Showdown — 96.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 3, 2014

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SMOKIN TRIGGERS has finished one call ahead of LIBERTY BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2014 their best year

2014 was the year it came together: 8 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 31%.

8 contests
5 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 31%

A tough matchup

11–1 behind in the head-to-head

CAJUN BLAZE ahead in 92% of their meetings

CAJUN BLAZE has come out ahead in 11 of their 12 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of JERRY KING MIDLAND TX in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The comeback

4.6 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.6 years, then back at Back The Blue BBQ (Oct 28, 2022).

last seen Mar 23, 2018
back Oct 28, 2022

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

PORK CHOPITOULAS BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

The long haul

4,909 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,909 miles across 23 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 458 miles to Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash.

23 mapped stops
furthest 458 mi

The metronome

±2.11% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.11% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.9% of a perfect score
23 contests

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
2017 ↗	Master	#1592 (148 pts)	#1465 (188 pts)	#1548 (178 pts)	#1412 (198 pts)	#1419 (198 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#761 (490 pts)	#767 (515 pts)	#752 (530 pts)	#980 (380 pts)	#774 (490 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#647 (567 pts)	#690 (547 pts)	#586 (662 pts)	#671 (562 pts)	#859 (417 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#398 (949 pts)	#535 (729 pts)	#484 (824 pts)	#401 (929 pts)	#494 (764 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to LIBERTY BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

SWEET DREAMS BBQ

#1,432 of the rated field

1569 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1569

6–1 in 7 shared contests (86% to LIBERTY BBQ)

These two have cooked 7 of the same contests — LIBERTY BBQ ahead 6–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 27 contests
last seen Oct 20, 2017

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' HOT PIGGIES

#1,431 of the rated field

1569 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1573

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 23 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Jul 9, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

SMOKEY BEAR'S BBQ NEBRASKA

#1,433 of the rated field

1569 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1569

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 4 years before LIBERTY BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 22 contests

⚔ Compare careers

HUNTER'S HOT ASH BBQ

#1,427 of the rated field

1570 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 32%
Peak: 1570

Careers of much the same size, 19 contests to 23, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Jun 12, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

YELLOW JACKET BBQ

#1,425 of the rated field

1570 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1570

19 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 21% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Oct 4, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

THE DUTCH BBQ CREW

#1,423 of the rated field

1570 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1570

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Sep 7, 2019
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN' SOBER...SOMETIMES	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
BAYOU BOOGIE BBQ	13	3	10	23%	⚔ compare
THE BLUE BLOODS	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
CAJUN BLAZE	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
GIVE IT TO GOD	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
FIRE DANCER BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
BOOTYQUE	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
CUZ'S CUSTOM COOKING	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
BBQR'S DELIGHT	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
LOTTA BULL BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
RED EYED SMOKERS	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
WILD BUNCH BUTT BURNERS	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
COCHON 225	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
C4-Que	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
SWEET DREAMS BBQ	7	6	1	86%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	23	4	1	1	175.4056	156.5372	167.60	top 49%
Pork Ribs	23	7	0	2	176.5600	152.5256	167.67	top 41%
Pork	23	6	0	0	173.7028	153.6800	167.42	top 43%
Brisket	23	6	0	0	178.2972	157.0740	166.30	top 47%

“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)	10	0	top 42%
Large (40+)	13	0	top 44%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
LA	9	top 46%
MS	8	top 32%
FL	2	top 28%
TX	2	top 58%
AL	1	top 64%
TN	1	top 78%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Hammond BBQ	3	8	top 52%	Mar 23, 2018
Smokin In The Square	2	11	top 28%	Mar 18, 2016
Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	2	27	top 58%	Feb 25, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2014 8 contests

Contests a season 3.8 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in LA 9 of 23 contests · 6 states in all

Contests visited 19 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 494 finished ahead 538 times, behind 382

Longest layoff 4.6 yrs Mar 23, 2018 → Oct 28, 2022

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

20221 milestone

Oct 28 Most recent contest Back The Blue BBQ

20161 milestone

Oct 7 Peak power rating (1589) Downtown BBQ Throwdown

20151 milestone

Mar 6 10th tracked contest Smokin In The Square

20149 milestones

Mar 7 First tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 7 First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 7 First overall top-10 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score670.2396 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 21 Career-best single call (Brisket)178.2972 Hammond BBQ
Oct 3 First category win (Chicken) Downtown BBQ Showdown
Oct 3 First overall podium Downtown BBQ Showdown
Oct 3 First Reserve Championship Downtown BBQ Showdown
Oct 3 Career-best overall score695.3484 Downtown BBQ Showdown

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15	Hammond BBQ	Mar 21, 2014
+12.8	Downtown BBQ Showdown	Oct 3, 2014
+12.3	Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge	May 2, 2014
+11.5	Stand By Your Grill	Aug 15, 2014
+9.7	Smokin In The Square	Mar 18, 2016

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.3	Hammond BBQ	Mar 23, 2018
-7.8	Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash	Jul 25, 2014
-5.6	Back The Blue BBQ	Oct 28, 2022
-4.6	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	Feb 25, 2016
-3.5	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Jun 23, 2017

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)
2022	1	0	0	0%	top 64%	90.9%	90.9%
2018	1	0	0	0%	top 85%	89.5%	89.5%
2017	2	0	0	50%	top 60%	93.8%	93.3%
2016	5	0	0	40%	top 45%	94.9%	92.4%
2015	6	2	0	67%	top 40%	95%	92.5%
2014	8	5	1	63%	top 31%	96.6%	94.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 28, 2022	Back The Blue BBQ 🏅 Vidalia, LA	14 / 22 (654.7540)	12 (161.7028)	13 (167.3712)	14 (163.4172)	15 (162.2628)
Mar 23, 2018	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	41 / 48 (644.3652)	46 (156.5372)	28 (164.5256)	25 (166.2284)	43 (157.0740)
Jun 23, 2017	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Birmingham, AL	18 / 28 (675.2796)	10 (173.1084)	24 (162.8000)	12 (168.5256)	9 (170.8456)
Mar 24, 2017	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	31 / 55 (668.3996)	35 (166.8228)	13 (171.4056)	21 (169.6800)	42 (160.4912)
Oct 7, 2016	Downtown BBQ Throwdown Hattiesburg, MS	11 / 26 (650.6968)	8 (165.6800)	11 (162.8228)	25 (155.9312)	9 (166.2628)
May 20, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Southhaven, MS	12 / 29 (683.3256)	12 (173.1084)	11 (171.9772)	15 (167.9656)	15 (170.2744)
Mar 25, 2016	Hamond BBQ Hammond, LA	30 / 58 (669.6456)	36 (166.2628)	34 (165.1200)	18 (169.7028)	29 (168.5600)
Mar 18, 2016	Smokin In The Square Pensacola, FL	11 / 43 (682.7656)	12 (172.5600)	7 (173.1200)	33 (163.3828)	11 (173.7028)
Feb 25, 2016	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	27 / 42 (641.6228)	24 (163.9772)	25 (158.8344)	23 (161.1200)	29 (157.6912)
Oct 9, 2015	Downtown BBQ Showdown Hattiesburg, MS	7 / 26 (675.9312)	15 (167.3828)	6 (172.5716)	6 (172.5484)	14 (163.4284)
Sep 25, 2015	Jim Bowie BBQ Throwdown Vidalia, LA	9 / 45 (683.9312)	7 (174.8456)	15 (169.1200)	15 (169.7028)	14 (170.2628)
May 29, 2015	Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff and Family Festival Brookhaven, MS	17 / 31 (654.2056)	16 (166.8572)	6 (174.2628)	27 (153.6800)	21 (159.4056)
Mar 27, 2015	Smokin Blues & BBQ Hammond, LA	33 / 56 (656.4344)	41 (163.3828)	20 (167.4060)	24 (168.5256)	39 (157.1200)
Mar 6, 2015	Smokin In The Square Pensacola, FL	15 / 48 (680.5144)	13 (173.1428)	11 (170.2744)	7 (172.5600)	30 (164.5372)
Feb 26, 2015	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	31 / 61 (644.5024)	23 (165.1200)	51 (152.5256)	28 (162.8112)	21 (164.0456)
Nov 7, 2014	Country Pleasin Grillin & Chillin BBQ Classic Florence, MS	15 / 29 (671.8740)	19 (168.5256)	14 (167.3712)	13 (167.3828)	12 (168.5944)
Oct 3, 2014	Downtown BBQ Showdown Hattiesburg, MS	2 / 27 (695.3484)	1 (175.4056)	3 (176.5600)	6 (173.1200)	8 (170.2628)
Sep 26, 2014	The Jim Bowie BBQ Throwdown Vidalia, LA	8 / 31 (681.5996)	18 (165.1084)	3 (176.5600)	16 (166.2284)	5 (173.7028)
Aug 15, 2014	Stand By Your Grill Fulton, MS	12 / 65 (681.5880)	24 (170.8112)	34 (166.2284)	15 (173.1200)	19 (171.4284)
Jul 25, 2014	Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash Cleveland, TN	38 / 49 (654.1252)	37 (161.6684)	42 (156.5256)	16 (169.6800)	28 (166.2512)
May 2, 2014	Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge Brandon, MS	6 / 40 (682.8000)	11 (173.1084)	4 (173.1316)	7 (171.4172)	22 (165.1428)
Mar 21, 2014	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	8 / 61 (682.7772)	33 (167.3828)	24 (166.8344)	10 (170.2628)	4 (178.2972)
Mar 7, 2014	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Baton Rouge, LA	9 / 23 (670.2396)	17 (162.2284)	7 (169.1428)	4 (173.7028)	9 (165.1656)

LIBERTY BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

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 (10 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Looking over their shoulder

The long haul

The metronome

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)