LIBERTY BBQ

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

Power ranking

#1419

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1569

peak 1589 · rated over 23 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-03-07

latest 2022-10-28

Best ToY finish

#398

Master 2014

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 23 contests

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

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.2972

Brisket · Hammond BBQ

Consistency

±15.23

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 167.67 · weakest Brisket (166.30)

Road miles

4,909

mi across 23 mapped stops · furthest 458 mi

Schedule strength

51%

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

Purse competed for

$5K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

668.99 / 720

23 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (10 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.

The heartbreaker

2.9260 points from the title

Came within 2.9260 points of the Grand Championship at Downtown BBQ Showdown (2014-10-03).

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
2014-10-03

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 wins
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 (2022-10-28).

last seen 2018-03-23
back 2022-10-28

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

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.

58 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

#1423 of the rated field

1569 ▼ 0 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 2017-10-20

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' HOT PIGGIES

#1429 of the rated field

1569 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1572

No shared contest yet.

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 2021-07-09

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKEY BEAR'S BBQ NEBRASKA

#1425 of the rated field

1569 ▼ 0 power rating

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

No shared contest yet.

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

⚔ Head-to-head

YELLOW JACKET BBQ

#1418 of the rated field

1569 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1569

No shared contest yet.

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 2019-10-04

⚔ Head-to-head

PLUM SUPERIOR BBQ

#1428 of the rated field

1569 ▼ 0 power rating

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

No shared contest yet.

19 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 32% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 19 contests
last seen 2015-11-20

⚔ Head-to-head

BOB'S BBQ

#1424 of the rated field

1569 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1569

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2022-03-18

⚔ Head-to-head

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 state / province

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%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	10	0	top 42%
Large (40+)	13	0	top 44%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Hammond BBQ	3	8	top 52%	2018-03-23
Smokin In The Square	2	11	top 28%	2016-03-18
Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	2	27	top 58%	2016-02-25

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 8.6 yrs 2014-03-07 → 2022-10-28

Busiest season 2014 8 contests

Contests a season 3.8 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in LA 9 of 23 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 19 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 23 entries · 1 win · 4 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 167.67 · weakest Brisket (166.30)

Walk rate 52% a top-10 call in 12 of 23 contests

Overall top-10 rate 30% 7 of 23 contests

Best top-10 run 3 straight contests

Master average 668.99 out of 720 · 23 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 496 538–382 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,909 23 mapped stops · furthest 458 mi

Schedule strength 1566 average field rating faced — tougher than 51% of rated contests

Purse competed for $4,750 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 4.6 yrs 2018-03-23 → 2022-10-28

Power rating 1569 peak 1589 · #1419 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
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
2015
Mar 6 10th tracked contest Smokin In The Square
2016
Oct 7 Peak power rating (1589) Downtown BBQ Throwdown
2022
Oct 28 Most recent contest Back The Blue BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15	Hammond BBQ	2014-03-21
+12.8	Downtown BBQ Showdown	2014-10-03
+12.3	Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge	2014-05-02
+11.5	Stand By Your Grill	2014-08-15
+9.7	Smokin In The Square	2016-03-18

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.3	Hammond BBQ	2018-03-23
-7.8	Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash	2014-07-25
-5.6	Back The Blue BBQ	2022-10-28
-4.6	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	2016-02-25
-3.6	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2017-06-23

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	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
2022-10-28	Back The Blue BBQ 🏅 Vidalia, LA	14 / 22 (654.7540)	12 (161.7028)	13 (167.3712)	14 (163.4172)	15 (162.2628)
2018-03-23	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	41 / 48 (644.3652)	46 (156.5372)	28 (164.5256)	25 (166.2284)	43 (157.0740)
2017-06-23	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Birmingham, AL	18 / 28 (675.2796)	10 (173.1084)	24 (162.8000)	12 (168.5256)	9 (170.8456)
2017-03-24	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	31 / 55 (668.3996)	35 (166.8228)	13 (171.4056)	21 (169.6800)	42 (160.4912)
2016-10-07	Downtown BBQ Throwdown Hattiesburg, MS	11 / 26 (650.6968)	8 (165.6800)	11 (162.8228)	25 (155.9312)	9 (166.2628)
2016-05-20	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Southhaven, MS	12 / 29 (683.3256)	12 (173.1084)	11 (171.9772)	15 (167.9656)	15 (170.2744)
2016-03-25	Hamond BBQ Hammond, LA	30 / 58 (669.6456)	36 (166.2628)	34 (165.1200)	18 (169.7028)	29 (168.5600)
2016-03-18	Smokin In The Square Pensacola, FL	11 / 43 (682.7656)	12 (172.5600)	7 (173.1200)	33 (163.3828)	11 (173.7028)
2016-02-25	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	27 / 42 (641.6228)	24 (163.9772)	25 (158.8344)	23 (161.1200)	29 (157.6912)
2015-10-09	Downtown BBQ Showdown Hattiesburg, MS	7 / 26 (675.9312)	15 (167.3828)	6 (172.5716)	6 (172.5484)	14 (163.4284)
2015-09-25	Jim Bowie BBQ Throwdown Vidalia, LA	9 / 45 (683.9312)	7 (174.8456)	15 (169.1200)	15 (169.7028)	14 (170.2628)
2015-05-29	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)
2015-03-27	Smokin Blues & BBQ Hammond, LA	33 / 56 (656.4344)	41 (163.3828)	20 (167.4060)	24 (168.5256)	39 (157.1200)
2015-03-06	Smokin In The Square Pensacola, FL	15 / 48 (680.5144)	13 (173.1428)	11 (170.2744)	7 (172.5600)	30 (164.5372)
2015-02-26	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	31 / 61 (644.5024)	23 (165.1200)	51 (152.5256)	28 (162.8112)	21 (164.0456)
2014-11-07	Country Pleasin Grillin & Chillin BBQ Classic Florence, MS	15 / 29 (671.8740)	19 (168.5256)	14 (167.3712)	13 (167.3828)	12 (168.5944)
2014-10-03	Downtown BBQ Showdown Hattiesburg, MS	2 / 27 (695.3484)	1 (175.4056)	3 (176.5600)	6 (173.1200)	8 (170.2628)
2014-09-26	The Jim Bowie BBQ Throwdown Vidalia, LA	8 / 31 (681.5996)	18 (165.1084)	3 (176.5600)	16 (166.2284)	5 (173.7028)
2014-08-15	Stand By Your Grill Fulton, MS	12 / 65 (681.5880)	24 (170.8112)	34 (166.2284)	15 (173.1200)	19 (171.4284)
2014-07-25	Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash Cleveland, TN	38 / 49 (654.1252)	37 (161.6684)	42 (156.5256)	16 (169.6800)	28 (166.2512)
2014-05-02	Battle of Brandon BBQ Challenge Brandon, MS	6 / 40 (682.8000)	11 (173.1084)	4 (173.1316)	7 (171.4172)	22 (165.1428)
2014-03-21	Hammond BBQ Hammond, LA	8 / 61 (682.7772)	33 (167.3828)	24 (166.8344)	10 (170.2628)	4 (178.2972)
2014-03-07	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)

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
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)