High-water mark
670.7656
career-best overall
93.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 670.7656 at Puckaway Pigfest — 93.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Sep 9, 2022
Smoke of Genius
Smoke of Genius is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 15th of 18 at the Saluting with Smoke - Honor Q Reboot (2023). They are ranked #5171 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1459
peak 1503 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
May 25, 2019
latest May 15, 2026 · 7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 77%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
622.62 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 636.23 (-13.61)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±51.63
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 165.12 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.43)
Road miles
1,652
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 239 mi
Schedule strength
75%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1596)
Purse competed for
$59K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
636.23 / 720
10 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1065 (60 pts) | #1141 (60 pts) | — | #1111 (60 pts) | #1102 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #672 (218 pts) | #803 (183 pts) | #756 (233 pts) | #576 (313 pts) | #531 (353 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #548 (325 pts) | #573 (335 pts) | #654 (320 pts) | #511 (395 pts) | #397 (520 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1190 (90 pts) | #1174 (105 pts) | #1227 (105 pts) | #1187 (100 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smoke of Genius, each with one reason worth a look.
122 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,183 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1459
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,161 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1512
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,164 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Smoke of Genius's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#5,191 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1500
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Smoke of Genius's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,190 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
Level with Smoke of Genius on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,187 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1517
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 17% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUE U | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| THE BBQ BUS | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WE WILL ROCK QUE | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| DB BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Second Hand Smoke SLV | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SI2 BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SmokinGhost BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2856 | 145.6800 | 162.54 | top 78% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5256 | 147.4284 | 161.43 | top 73% |
| Pork | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1544 | 149.0856 | 163.29 | top 65% |
| Brisket | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 172.5600 | 149.6340 | 165.12 | top 54% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 84% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 77% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 65% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puckaway Pigfest | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 58% | Sep 5, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
4 contests
Contests a season
2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IN
4 of 10 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
9
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
180
finished ahead 75 times, behind 240
Longest layoff
3.3 yrs
May 25, 2019 → Sep 9, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana
- Most recent contest Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana
20232 milestones
- First call BBCubed - Brighton Barbeque Bash
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.2856 Saluting with Smoke - Honor Q Reboot
20223 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score670.7656 Puckaway Pigfest
- Career-best overall score670.7656 Puckaway Pigfest
- Peak power rating (1503) Puckaway Pigfest
20191 milestone
- First tracked contest Red, White, and BBQ- Day 2
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.7 | Puckaway Pigfest | Sep 9, 2022 |
| +1 | Brighton Barbeque Bash | Aug 22, 2025 |
| +0.5 | Puckaway Pigfest | Sep 5, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana | May 15, 2026 |
| -10.2 | Rocking BBQ Warsaw | May 19, 2023 |
| -8.7 | BBCubed - Brighton Barbeque Bash | Jul 14, 2023 |
| -7.9 | 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ | May 16, 2025 |
| -4.4 | Rockin' BBQ Take 2 | Aug 25, 2023 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 67.6% | 67.6% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 73% | 91.9% | 91.3% |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75% | top 85% | 93.1% | 89.9% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 50% | 93.2% | 93.2% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 65% | 89.6% | 89.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2026 | Rockin' BBQ Warsaw, Indiana 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 35 / 35 (486.7540) | 33 (162.8116) | — | 29 (162.8456) | 31 (161.0968) |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 23 / 35 (661.5768) | 26 (163.9656) | 33 (157.6800) | 22 (167.3712) | 8 (172.5600) |
| Aug 22, 2025 | Brighton Barbeque Bash 🏅 Oshkosh, WI | 18 / 29 (661.5772) | 23 (159.3716) | 13 (166.2400) | 8 (170.8228) | 14 (165.1428) |
| May 16, 2025 | 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 31 / 34 (648.4912) | 30 (165.1200) | 33 (147.4284) | 19 (168.5600) | 19 (167.3828) |
| Sep 16, 2023 | Saluting with Smoke - Honor Q Reboot 🏅 Yorkville, IL | 15 / 18 (654.7080) | 10 (174.2856) | 12 (166.8228) | 15 (163.9656) | 17 (149.6340) |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Rockin' BBQ Take 2 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 18 / 23 (670.1716) | 21 (165.0972) | 21 (166.8228) | 6 (173.1544) | 16 (165.0972) |
| Jul 14, 2023 | BBCubed - Brighton Barbeque Bash 🏅 Oshkosh, WI | 16 / 19 (637.5656) | 16 (159.9772) | 17 (157.0972) | 18 (149.0856) | 3 (171.4056) |
| May 19, 2023 | Rocking BBQ Warsaw 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 33 / 35 (625.6228) | 34 (145.6800) | 31 (158.2744) | 34 (151.3828) | 12 (170.2856) |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 19 / 38 (670.7656) | 16 (169.1200) | 16 (168.5256) | 17 (169.1200) | 25 (164) |
| May 25, 2019 | Red, White, and BBQ- Day 2 🏅 Westmont, IL | 31 / 48 (645.0856) | 35 (160.0116) | 21 (163.9772) | 34 (156.5484) | 22 (164.5484) |