THE BBQ SHERPAS

THE BBQ SHERPAS is a competition barbecue team with 20 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2017. Their best overall finish is 5th of 35 at the 10th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (2015). They are ranked #1387 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,387

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1572

peak 1579 · rated over 20 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 12, 2014

latest Oct 20, 2017 · 3.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#496

Master 2017 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

35% of 20 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 40%

overall standings

Best overall

673.0168 / 720

Master · Central Illinois Bragging Rights

Perfect 180s

Current form

650.03 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 658.43 (-8.40)

Walk rate

70%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7028

Brisket · Central Illinois Bragging Rights

Consistency

±9.53

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 165.97 · weakest Pork (162.97)

Road miles

3,597

across 20 mapped stops · furthest 353 mi

Schedule strength

40%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)

Master avg

658.43 / 720

20 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (9 found in their record)

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

They almost always walk

70% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 14 of 20 contests

A top-10 category call in 70% of their 20 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

673.0168 career-best overall

93.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 673.0168 at Central Illinois Bragging Rights — 93.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 9, 2015

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ has finished one call ahead of THE BBQ SHERPAS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

11–1 behind in the head-to-head

QUAU ahead in 92% of their meetings

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

A strong matchup

7–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

Brisket nemesis

8 of 12 shared brisket entries lost

QUAU ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, QUAU has out-cooked them in 8 of 12 shared brisket entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

JAMBRIE SMOKE BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Show 2 more storylines

The long haul

3,597 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,597 miles across 20 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 353 miles to 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN).

20 mapped stops
furthest 353 mi

The metronome

±1.32% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.32% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.4% of a perfect score
20 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	#496 (759 pts)	#760 (524 pts)	#383 (989 pts)	#624 (649 pts)	#439 (899 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#787 (472 pts)	#820 (472 pts)	#777 (512 pts)	#911 (422 pts)	#900 (397 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#710 (500 pts)	#704 (535 pts)	#1086 (305 pts)	#866 (420 pts)	#580 (650 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1140 (260 pts)	#1219 (260 pts)	#921 (395 pts)	#1243 (255 pts)	#1548 (175 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

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

HOLLA-N-SWALLA

#1,390 of the rated field

1572 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1572

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to THE BBQ SHERPAS)

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

rated over 19 contests
last seen Jun 15, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN DAN

#1,388 of the rated field

1572 power rating

Contests: 79
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1632

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to THE BBQ SHERPAS)

They've been 1632 at their best, 60 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 79 contests
last seen May 20, 2023

⚔ Head-to-head

ROYAL SMOKERS

#1,386 of the rated field

1573 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1579

Careers of much the same size, 26 contests to 20, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 26 contests
last seen Sep 28, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

WARPIG BBQ & SAUSAGE CO.

#1,389 of the rated field

1572 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1572

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 14 contests, alongside a 50% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Nov 10, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

RETIRED AND RUBBIN' IT

#1,384 of the rated field

1573 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1585

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

rated over 33 contests
last seen Sep 24, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

Nuts & Butts

#1,385 of the rated field

1573 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1583

They turned up 5 years after THE BBQ SHERPAS did, first appearing in 2019.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Apr 25, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
QUAU	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
One2BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO.	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
BIG "E" BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA	7	7	0	100%	⚔ compare
BOSS HAWG BBQ	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
CHANNABILLY BBQ	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKE HUNTERS	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
JH OLD SCHOOL	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
RACK MASTERS BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
Its 5 Oclock Somewhere	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
SMOKE FREAKS	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
D.F.G.'S BBQ	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
NUTTHIN BUT PORK	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	20	4	0	0	176	149.6572	163.69	top 54%
Pork Ribs	20	8	0	1	174.8572	157.6456	165.81	top 39%
Pork	20	5	0	0	172.5600	150.7656	162.97	top 52%
Brisket	20	6	1	2	177.7028	153.7028	165.97	top 36%

“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 35%
Large (40+)	10	0	top 45%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
IL	13	top 37%
MI	3	top 50%
WI	2	top 35%
KY	1	top 58%
KS	1	top 42%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Heritage Days BBQ Showdown	2	9	0	top 40%	Jun 23, 2017
Central Illinois Bragging Rights	2	9	0	top 24%	Oct 9, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 7 contests

Contests a season 5 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IL 13 of 20 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 18 2 of them more than once

Opponents faced 941 finished ahead 779 times, behind 536

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

20172 milestones

Aug 25 Peak power rating (1579) Grill Games
Oct 20 Most recent contest Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off

20161 milestone

Jul 22 10th tracked contest EffingHAM Jam

20153 milestones

Oct 9 First category win (Brisket) Central Illinois Bragging Rights
Oct 9 Career-best overall score673.0168 Central Illinois Bragging Rights
Oct 9 Career-best single call (Brisket)177.7028 Central Illinois Bragging Rights

20144 milestones

Sep 12 First tracked contest Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
Sep 12 First call Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
Sep 12 First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.3600 Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
Oct 10 First overall top-10 Central Illinois Bragging Rights

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.8	10th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q	Oct 16, 2015
+10	Central Illinois Bragging Rights	Oct 10, 2014
+9.6	Grill Games	Aug 25, 2017
+9.6	Central Illinois Bragging Rights	Oct 9, 2015
+9.5	Windy City BBQ Classic	Sep 11, 2015

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.8	CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ	Oct 14, 2016
-4.8	Murphysboro BBQ Cookoff	Sep 23, 2016
-2.5	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 15, 2017
-1.7	Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off	Oct 20, 2017
-1.7	Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival	Sep 8, 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)
2017	7	2	0	71%	top 44%	92.1%	90.5%
2016	5	2	0	40%	top 48%	92.2%	91.4%
2015	6	2	1	83%	top 32%	93.5%	92.6%
2014	2	1	0	100%	top 31%	92.4%	91.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 20, 2017	Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off Union Grove, WI	28 / 52 (640.4460)	48 (149.6572)	18 (165.6800)	35 (156.5372)	13 (168.5716)
Oct 6, 2017	Harbor-Que Winthrop Harbor, IL	11 / 23 (639.2456)	10 (163.4056)	7 (165.6916)	22 (150.7656)	12 (159.3828)
Sep 15, 2017	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	19 / 33 (653.4852)	25 (162.8228)	7 (171.9656)	29 (157.0628)	16 (161.6340)
Sep 8, 2017	Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Silver Lake, MI	16 / 28 (653.6000)	16 (165.7028)	21 (157.6456)	22 (158.2628)	6 (171.9888)
Aug 25, 2017	Grill Games Kenosha, WI	6 / 39 (663.3716)	26 (157.6916)	2 (174.8572)	7 (166.2628)	14 (164.5600)
Aug 19, 2017	McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ McHenry, IL	9 / 36 (655.9772)	24 (160.5600)	10 (162.8456)	6 (169.1660)	6 (163.4056)
Jun 23, 2017	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL	22 / 42 (652.9484)	31 (159.9428)	15 (166.8228)	26 (161.0972)	16 (165.0856)
Oct 29, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	235 / 557 (659.8740)	358 (161.1084)	288 (164.5372)	185 (168)	205 (166.2284)
Oct 14, 2016	CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ Authur, IL	43 / 55 (644.9940)	53 (152.4912)	22 (167.4288)	39 (161.6684)	37 (163.4056)
Sep 23, 2016	Murphysboro BBQ Cookoff Murphysboro, IL	42 / 64 (657.0172)	61 (154.8000)	47 (161.1316)	16 (172.5600)	25 (168.5256)
Jul 22, 2016	EffingHAM Jam Effingham, IL	8 / 29 (663.9428)	14 (163.9656)	4 (173.1544)	18 (160)	10 (166.8228)
Jun 24, 2016	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL	9 / 33 (662.8000)	5 (173.7028)	14 (166.8800)	15 (163.9772)	19 (158.2400)
Oct 16, 2015	10th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q Libertyville, IL	5 / 35 (672.4572)	12 (167.9772)	20 (162.2516)	10 (167.9656)	3 (174.2628)
Oct 9, 2015	Central Illinois Bragging Rights Arthur, IL	11 / 48 (673.0168)	33 (159.9428)	16 (166.8456)	13 (168.5256)	1 (177.7028)
Sep 25, 2015	Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-Off Murphysboro, IL	28 / 55 (658.1484)	23 (169.1084)	39 (157.6684)	41 (158.8000)	6 (172.5716)
Sep 11, 2015	Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL	13 / 61 (669.0512)	11 (172)	17 (166.8112)	41 (161.1200)	12 (169.1200)
Jul 17, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Auburn Hills, MI	16 / 28 (655.3484)	17 (164.5600)	10 (167.4400)	20 (159.3828)	15 (163.9656)
May 1, 2015	Route 66 Smoke Out (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) Dwight, IL	10 / 40 (672.5032)	4 (176)	28 (157.6688)	7 (170.8688)	14 (167.9656)
Oct 10, 2014	Central Illinois Bragging Rights Arthur, IL	9 / 37 (665.0628)	14 (166.8572)	6 (166.8344)	5 (169.1428)	16 (162.2284)
Sep 12, 2014	Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Mears, MI	16 / 43 (655.3600)	10 (171.4172)	4 (172)	30 (158.2400)	31 (153.7028)

THE BBQ SHERPAS

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

Master avg

Storylines (9 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Brisket nemesis

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)