HELLUVA 'Q

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

Power ranking

#5245

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1456

peak 1456 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-04-04

latest 2017-06-03

Best ToY finish

#1443

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 73%

overall standings

Best overall

650.2516 / 720

Master · Barn Burner BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

622.64 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 619.89 (+2.75)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.1428

Chicken · Barn Burner BBQ

Consistency

±19.77

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 157.28 · weakest Brisket (150.67)

Road miles

4,993

mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 4774 mi

Schedule strength

10%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1514)

Master avg

619.89 / 720

8 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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.

They almost always walk

63% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 5 of 8 contests

A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

A tough matchup

6–0 behind in the head-to-head

FAT WALLY'S FIREHOUSE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

FAT WALLY'S FIREHOUSE BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.6 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.61 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 13% of the time against 38%.

Brisket avg 150.67
Chicken avg 157.28
1 calls in 8 entries

Chicken nemesis

4 of 6 shared chicken entries lost

FAT WALLY'S FIREHOUSE BBQ ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, FAT WALLY'S FIREHOUSE BBQ has out-cooked them in 4 of 6 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

THE SMOKIN' GRILL NEXT DOOR has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An April team

Top 64% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 64% across 3 contests, versus top 73% the rest of the year.

3 April contests
top 73% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,993 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,993 miles across 8 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 4,774 miles to Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition.

8 mapped stops
furthest 4,774 mi

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.

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

Justice is Brined

#5228 of the rated field

1457 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1457

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2023-10-13

⚔ Head-to-head

REFINED REDNECK BBQ

#5253 of the rated field

1456 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2016-04-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Circle W Meats

#5232 of the rated field

1457 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1457

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-04-03

⚔ Head-to-head

Trash Panda BBQ

#5229 of the rated field

1457 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1457

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after HELLUVA 'Q did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2024-10-30

⚔ Head-to-head

UNCOMMON Q

#5230 of the rated field

1457 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1457

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 2023-04-28

⚔ Head-to-head

Bar-B-Que-Skis

#5237 of the rated field

1457 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1514 at their best, 57 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2022-08-05

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
FAT WALLY'S FIREHOUSE BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKIN' GRILL NEXT DOOR	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Buzz Saw BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Rusty's BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	3	1	173.1428	140.5372	157.28	top 64%
Pork Ribs	8	3	0	165.1888	144.5144	156.19	top 63%
Pork	8	2	0	161.7028	150.2740	155.75	top 73%
Brisket	8	1	0	163.4172	135.3484	150.67	top 71%

“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
BC	4	top 68%
WA	2	top 69%
CA	1	top 95%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	3	top 66%
Medium (20–39)	4	top 76%
Large (40+)	1	top 82%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Barn Burner BBQ	2	10	0	top 74%	2017-04-08

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

On the trail 3.2 yrs 2014-04-04 → 2017-06-03

Busiest season 2017 2 contests

Contests a season 2 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in BC 4 of 8 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 7 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 157.28 · weakest Brisket (150.67)

Walk rate 63% a top-10 call in 5 of 8 contests

Overall top-10 rate 25% 2 of 8 contests

Master average 619.89 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 143 50–149 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,993 8 mapped stops · furthest 4,774 mi

Schedule strength 1514 average field rating faced — tougher than 10% of rated contests

Power rating 1456 peak 1456 · #5245 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Apr 4 First tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Apr 25 First call Washington State Spring BBQ Championship
Apr 25 First overall top-10 Washington State Spring BBQ Championship
Apr 25 Peak power rating (1490) Washington State Spring BBQ Championship
2017
Apr 8 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2516 Barn Burner BBQ
Apr 8 Career-best overall score650.2516 Barn Burner BBQ
Apr 8 Career-best single call (Chicken)173.1428 Barn Burner BBQ
Jun 3 Most recent contest Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+3	Washington State Spring BBQ Championship	2014-04-25
+2.6	Barn Burner BBQ	2017-04-08

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.3	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-04-04
-12.8	Barn Burner BBQ	2016-03-19
-7.9	BBQ off the Bypass	2016-09-10
-7.6	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition	2017-06-03
-5.4	Barn Burner BBQ	2015-03-21

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	2	1	50%	top 67%	90.3%	88.9%
2016	2	0	50%	top 89%	85.2%	83.9%
2015	2	0	100%	top 67%	86.8%	85.9%
2014	2	1	50%	top 69%	89.2%	85.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-06-03	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp Netherlands, 2314CG	46 / 56 (630.2176)	52 (157.1772)	47 (153.6688)	44 (158.8344)	32 (160.5372)
2017-04-08	Barn Burner BBQ Chilliwack, BC	10 / 19 (650.2516)	3 (173.1428)	7 (165.1888)	16 (154.8000)	12 (157.1200)
2016-09-10	BBQ off the Bypass Langley, British of Columbia, BC	15 / 18 (613.5772)	13 (153.1200)	14 (153.0972)	7 (161.7028)	13 (145.6572)
2016-03-19	Barn Burner BBQ Chilliwack, British of Columbi, CA	21 / 22 (594.1260)	22 (140.5372)	19 (151.4288)	18 (151.9428)	20 (150.2172)
2015-09-12	BBQ On the Bypass Langley, BC	12 / 19 (625.0516)	7 (161.7372)	18 (144.5144)	14 (155.3828)	10 (163.4172)
2015-03-21	Barn Burner BBQ Yarrow, BC	15 / 21 (612.5144)	13 (158.2972)	9 (161.1428)	10 (157.1200)	18 (135.9544)
2014-04-25	Washington State Spring BBQ Championship Monroe, WA	10 / 22 (642.1372)	7 (166.2628)	5 (162.8228)	19 (155.9428)	11 (157.1088)
2014-04-04	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Renton, WA	28 / 30 (591.2796)	29 (147.9656)	18 (157.6916)	27 (150.2740)	30 (135.3484)

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	#1443 (179 pts)	#1180 (279 pts)	#1406 (209 pts)	#1648 (149 pts)	#1571 (169 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1465 (177 pts)	#1423 (207 pts)	#1195 (262 pts)	#1849 (132 pts)	#1561 (172 pts)