PURPLE SHADOW

PURPLE SHADOW is a competition barbecue team with 19 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2020. Their best overall finish is 9th of 21 at the Fire N Up in the Flint Hills (2018). They are ranked #4639 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#4,639

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1470

peak 1534 · rated over 19 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Apr 11, 2014

latest Oct 16, 2020 · 6.5 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#670

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

11% of 19 contests

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

668.5376 / 720

Master · Fire N Up in the Flint Hills

Perfect 180s

Current form

639.87 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 643.59 (-3.71)

Walk rate

47%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4400

Brisket · Smoke in the Spring

Consistency

±16.86

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 162.23 · weakest Chicken (159.88)

Road miles

1,779

across 19 mapped stops · furthest 580 mi

Schedule strength

76%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1597)

Purse competed for

$77K

listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 10 state-championship entries

Master avg

643.59 / 720

19 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (9 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

668.5376 career-best overall

92.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 668.5376 at Fire N Up in the Flint Hills — 92.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 21, 2018

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Crackhouse BBQ has finished one call ahead of PURPLE SHADOW 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

12–0 behind in the head-to-head

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ has come out ahead in 12 of their 12 shared contests.

A strong matchup

5–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKIN CHEESE HEADS in 5 of their 7 shared contests.

The comeback

3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3 years, then back at Smoke in the Spring (Apr 6, 2018).

last seen Apr 10, 2015
back Apr 6, 2018

Pork nemesis

12 of 12 shared pork entries lost

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 12 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

On Q BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Show 2 more storylines

An April team

Top 53% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 53% across 5 contests, versus top 66% the rest of the year.

5 April contests
top 66% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.34% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.34% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 89.4% of a perfect score
19 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
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#584 (175 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#670 (479 pts)	#765 (429 pts)	#657 (519 pts)	#605 (564 pts)	#505 (664 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#682 (499 pts)	#599 (619 pts)	#710 (504 pts)	#639 (584 pts)	#570 (639 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#2158 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2037 (95 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1281 (222 pts)	#968 (362 pts)	#1405 (207 pts)	#1426 (207 pts)	#1211 (252 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to PURPLE SHADOW, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Beantown Smokers

#4,625 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 5%
Peak: 1500

They've been 1500 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Aug 9, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

Pig in a Poke

#4,623 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 5%
Peak: 1522

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

rated over 19 contests
last seen Mar 19, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

SMALLEYWOOD BBQ

#4,647 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1470

17 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jun 21, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

SMOKIN' S'WINE

#4,636 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1515

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 3 years before PURPLE SHADOW's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 16 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Serial Grillers

#4,634 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1470

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

rated over 25 contests
last seen Jun 6, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

All Smoked Up

#4,657 of the rated field

1470 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1470

They turned up 5 years after PURPLE SHADOW did, first appearing in 2019.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Oct 13, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Second Hand Smoke SLV	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
Smokin Highwaymen	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
WICKED SMOKE BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
Littles BBQ Co	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
CRASH TEST SMOKERS	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
T-MAC SMOKIN	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
LEGENDS OF SMOKE - TEAM RED ARROW	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BIG "E" BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BIG HORNED BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
SMOKE INFUSION	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
CHEFS GONE GRILLIN	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
43RD PARALLEL BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
Crackhouse BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	19	3	0	1	174.8800	144	159.88	top 70%
Pork Ribs	19	2	0	0	169.7372	149.6916	160.16	top 63%
Pork	19	3	0	0	172	145.0516	162.23	top 57%
Brisket	19	5	1	1	179.4400	145.6116	161.32	top 55%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 84%
Medium (20–39)	9	top 69%
Large (40+)	9	top 61%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
WI	13	0	top 78%
KS	6	0	top 39%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke in the Spring	3	27	top 48%	Apr 6, 2018
8th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 2)	2	19	top 75%	Aug 24, 2019
7th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 2)	2	23	top 89%	Aug 24, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 9 contests

Contests a season 3.8 across 5 seasons in the data

Most contests held in WI 13 of 19 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 15 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 375 finished ahead 311 times, behind 508

Longest layoff 3 yrs Apr 10, 2015 → Apr 6, 2018

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

20201 milestone

Oct 16 Most recent contest Best of the Midwest BBQ

20191 milestone

Apr 26 10th tracked contest The Great Wisconsin Tune Up BBQ Contest

20184 milestones

Apr 6 First category win (Brisket) Smoke in the Spring
Apr 6 Career-best single call (Brisket)179.4400 Smoke in the Spring
Apr 21 Career-best overall score668.5376 Fire N Up in the Flint Hills
Jun 1 Peak power rating (1534) Big Blue BBQ Championship (TEAMS FULL)

20144 milestones

Apr 11 First tracked contest Smoke In The Spring
Apr 11 First call Smoke In The Spring
Apr 11 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.2404 Smoke In The Spring
Aug 1 First overall top-10 Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11	Big Blue BBQ Championship (TEAMS FULL)	Jun 1, 2018
+10.4	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest	Aug 1, 2014
+5.9	Smoke in the Spring	Apr 10, 2015
+5.7	Smoke In The Spring	Apr 11, 2014
+4.3	Fire N Up in the Flint Hills	Apr 21, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.9	Best of the Midwest	Oct 18, 2019
-8.7	7th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 2)	Aug 24, 2018
-8.6	7th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 1)	Aug 23, 2018
-7.6	Blue Hills Bar-B-Q Fest	May 31, 2019
-6.7	Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off	Oct 19, 2018

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)
2020	1	0	0	100%	top 52%	91.1%	91.1%
2019	9	0	0	22%	top 79%	90.2%	88.4%
2018	6	1	1	67%	top 65%	92.9%	89.5%
2015	1	0	0	0%	top 37%	91.5%	91.5%
2014	2	1	0	100%	top 31%	92.4%	91.6%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 16, 2020	Best of the Midwest BBQ 🏅 Union Grove, WI	26 / 50 (655.8512)	43 (157.1200)	28 (163.3828)	29 (163.3828)	6 (171.9656)
Oct 18, 2019	Best of the Midwest 🏅 Union Grove, WI	48 / 52 (614.2176)	51 (144)	44 (153.0860)	24 (163.4400)	41 (153.6916)
Aug 24, 2019	8th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 2) 🏅 Washington Island, WI	25 / 29 (638.6516)	26 (161.6684)	26 (150.7772)	19 (163.9544)	21 (162.2516)
Aug 23, 2019	8th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 1) 🏅 Washington Island, WI	19 / 30 (649.6344)	23 (158.8456)	9 (168.5488)	18 (164.5600)	25 (157.6800)
Jul 13, 2019	Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat 2 🏅 Green Bay, WI	29 / 36 (641.0056)	27 (162.8572)	20 (163.9656)	27 (160.5600)	31 (153.6228)
Jul 12, 2019	Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat 1 🏅 Green Bay, WI	24 / 37 (649.0744)	33 (154.8000)	13 (169.7372)	14 (166.2628)	25 (158.2744)
May 31, 2019	Blue Hills Bar-B-Q Fest 🏅 Rice Lake, WI	16 / 19 (631.3144)	18 (150.2284)	16 (153.1088)	12 (159.4172)	4 (168.5600)
May 4, 2019	Masters in May Day 2 🏅 Bancroft, WI	34 / 40 (646.8116)	35 (159.4056)	32 (162.2860)	28 (163.9656)	31 (161.1544)
May 3, 2019	Masters In May Day 1 🏅 Bancroft, WI	31 / 42 (648.4456)	31 (159.3828)	27 (164.5488)	37 (157.6684)	14 (166.8456)
Apr 26, 2019	The Great Wisconsin Tune Up BBQ Contest 🏅 Manawa, WI	21 / 26 (609.6004)	25 (147.9544)	24 (149.6916)	16 (154.8344)	14 (157.1200)
Oct 19, 2018	Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off Union Grove, WI	32 / 42 (622.6744)	40 (148.5144)	32 (151.9888)	25 (162.8000)	23 (159.3712)
Aug 24, 2018	7th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 2) Washington Island, WI	24 / 27 (619.7604)	19 (162.2628)	11 (166.8344)	27 (145.0516)	27 (145.6116)
Aug 23, 2018	7th Annual Death Door Barbeque (DAY 1) Washington Island, WI	23 / 26 (642.1488)	15 (166.2744)	24 (155.9544)	8 (168.5372)	25 (151.3828)
Jun 1, 2018	Big Blue BBQ Championship (TEAMS FULL) Marysville, KS	11 / 42 (666.2060)	5 (174.2628)	22 (163.4172)	9 (172)	31 (156.5260)
Apr 21, 2018	Fire N Up in the Flint Hills Council Grove, KS	9 / 21 (668.5376)	9 (168)	9 (166.8688)	10 (166.2744)	10 (167.3944)
Apr 6, 2018	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	71 / 103 (646.2284)	79 (160.5484)	81 (157.6800)	97 (148.5600)	1 (179.4400)
Apr 10, 2015	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	36 / 97 (658.6628)	57 (162.2284)	55 (161.6572)	18 (170.8344)	35 (163.9428)
Aug 1, 2014	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	9 / 37 (665.0628)	15 (164.5600)	11 (163.4172)	11 (170.2512)	8 (166.8344)
Apr 11, 2014	Smoke In The Spring Osage City, KS	27 / 73 (654.2404)	3 (174.8800)	46 (156.0116)	41 (159.9544)	21 (163.3944)

PURPLE SHADOW

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

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 (9 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

An April team

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)