BIGBRAD'S BBQ

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

Power ranking

#4372

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1475

peak 1519 · rated over 11 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-05-30

latest 2017-07-21

Best ToY finish

#1215

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 11 contests

Avg finish

top 68%

overall standings

Best overall

672.5600 / 720

Master · Bend of the River CookOut

Perfect 180s

Current form

644.05 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 650.23 (-6.17)

Walk rate

55%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8800

Pork · Smokin in Steele

Consistency

±14.22

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 170.38 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.11)

Road miles

438

mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 73 mi

Schedule strength

68%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)

Master avg

650.23 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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.

High-water mark

672.5600 career-best overall

93.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 672.5600 at Bend of the River CookOut — 93.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-06-12

A tough matchup

9–0 behind in the head-to-head

SHIGGIN & GRINNIN ahead in 100% of their meetings

SHIGGIN & GRINNIN has come out ahead in 9 of their 9 shared contests.

The weak link

−11.3 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 11.27 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 55%.

Pork Ribs avg 159.11
Pork avg 170.38
0 calls in 11 entries

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of 3 THIRDS BBQ in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

6 of 9 shared pork entries lost

LUCKY'S Q ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, LUCKY'S Q has out-cooked them in 6 of 9 shared pork entries.

The metronome

±1.97% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.97% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.3% of a perfect score
11 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.

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

INGLORIOUS BASTERS

#4385 of the rated field

1475 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2020-01-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin Section

#4362 of the rated field

1475 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1510 at their best, 35 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2025-05-24

⚔ Head-to-head

HOG HEADS

#4361 of the rated field

1475 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1475

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2019-08-31

⚔ Head-to-head

Waste Management

#4352 of the rated field

1475 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2017-05-05

⚔ Head-to-head

GOT WOOD

#4360 of the rated field

1475 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke Therapy

#4391 of the rated field

1475 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1475

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2023-10-27

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Hogline	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
CASE OF RIBS	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
PIG APPROVED BBQ	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
CITY SLICKERS BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
QUETOPIA	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
TRUE SMOKE BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
LUCKY'S Q	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
3 THIRDS BBQ	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
LUCKY BRISKET	8	7	1	88%	⚔ compare
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
SPITFIRE	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
WOODWARD BARBEQUE	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
The Q Crew	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
GRUMPY OLD MEN BBQ	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	11	1	0	0	171.4628	147.4056	160.77	top 75%
Pork Ribs	11	0	0	0	166.8800	155.3944	159.11	top 77%
Pork	11	6	2	3	178.8800	161.1656	170.38	top 31%
Brisket	11	0	0	0	168.5828	153.0856	159.97	top 68%

“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	GCs	Avg finish
MN	9	0	top 63%
IA	2	0	top 88%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	4	0	top 85%
Large (40+)	7	0	top 58%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
*Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	2	39	top 88%	2017-07-21
Smokin in Steele	2	31	top 55%	2016-06-03
Bend of the River CookOut	2	10	top 31%	2015-06-12

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.1 yrs 2014-05-30 → 2017-07-21

Busiest season 2016 4 contests

Contests a season 2.8 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MN 9 of 11 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 11 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 170.38 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.11)

Walk rate 55% a top-10 call in 6 of 11 contests

Overall top-10 rate 9% 1 of 11 contests

Master average 650.23 out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 186 174–316 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 438 11 mapped stops · furthest 73 mi

Schedule strength 1586 average field rating faced — tougher than 68% of rated contests

Power rating 1475 peak 1519 · #4372 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
May 30 First tracked contest Smokin in Steele
May 30 First call Smokin in Steele
May 30 First category win (Pork) Smokin in Steele
May 30 First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.9428 Smokin in Steele
May 30 Career-best single call (Pork)178.8800 Smokin in Steele
2015
Jun 12 First overall top-10 Bend of the River CookOut
Jun 12 Career-best overall score672.5600 Bend of the River CookOut
Jun 12 Peak power rating (1519) Bend of the River CookOut
2017
Jun 10 10th tracked contest *Mankato Cookout Day 2
Jul 21 Most recent contest *Up in Smoke BBQ Bash

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.8	Bend of the River CookOut	2015-06-12
+5.6	Bend of the River CookOut	2014-06-27
+3.3	Smokin in Steele	2014-05-30

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.6	*Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	2017-07-21
-8.5	*Mankato Cookout Day 1	2016-06-10
-7.1	*Mankato Cookout Day 1 and (BACKYARD)	2017-06-09
-7	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	2016-07-22
-4.9	*Mankato Cookout Day 2	2017-06-10

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)
2017	3	0	0	33%	top 90%	90.6%	88.4%
2016	4	0	0	25%	top 78%	91.8%	90.1%
2015	2	1	1	100%	top 41%	93.4%	91.7%
2014	2	0	1	100%	top 42%	92.2%	92.2%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-07-21	*Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	46 / 49 (620.4112)	49 (147.4056)	41 (155.3944)	32 (164.5256)	41 (153.0856)
2017-06-10	*Mankato Cookout Day 2 Mankato, MN	28 / 33 (652.4916)	32 (155.4288)	31 (155.3944)	4 (174.2856)	19 (167.3828)
2017-06-09	*Mankato Cookout Day 1 and (BACKYARD) Mankato, MN	32 / 35 (637.1088)	34 (153.6800)	28 (158.8460)	29 (161.1656)	24 (163.4172)
2016-07-22	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	39 / 47 (649.1656)	34 (164.6056)	26 (166.8800)	37 (162.2744)	41 (155.4056)
2016-06-11	*Mankato Cookout Day 2 and( Back Yard) Mankato, MN	24 / 32 (661.0856)	28 (163.3828)	28 (160.0000)	4 (173.7028)	17 (164.0000)
2016-06-10	*Mankato Cookout Day 1 Mankato, MN	29 / 33 (638.8004)	32 (159.9772)	29 (157.7032)	18 (166.2628)	29 (154.8572)
2016-06-03	Smokin in Steele Owatonna, MN	34 / 53 (645.0628)	34 (161.7028)	40 (156.0000)	12 (169.7028)	38 (157.6572)
2015-06-12	Bend of the River CookOut Mankato, MN	10 / 42 (672.5600)	7 (171.4628)	31 (162.2744)	2 (173.1200)	22 (165.7028)
2015-05-29	Smokin' in Steel Owatonna, MN	35 / 60 (647.9084)	44 (159.4172)	41 (157.1544)	1 (176.5600)	44 (154.7768)
2014-06-27	Bend of the River CookOut Mankato, MN	19 / 50 (663.9428)	30 (165.1200)	40 (156.5372)	4 (173.7028)	17 (168.5828)
2014-05-30	Smokin in Steele Owatonna, MN	31 / 67 (663.9428)	39 (166.2628)	41 (164.0000)	1 (178.8800)	50 (154.8000)

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	#1455 (178 pts)	#1538 (178 pts)	#1548 (178 pts)	#1078 (328 pts)	#1368 (213 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1215 (240 pts)	#1327 (235 pts)	#1330 (235 pts)	#806 (485 pts)	#1173 (275 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1321 (195 pts)	#1312 (225 pts)	#1776 (120 pts)	#697 (545 pts)	#1677 (135 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1454 (180 pts)	#1666 (150 pts)	#1653 (150 pts)	#725 (525 pts)	#1466 (190 pts)