ESS Pit Crew BBQ

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

Rating

1529

peak 1529 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-08-31

latest 2015-09-04

Best ToY finish

#1479

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 4 contests

Avg finish

top 30%

overall standings

Best overall

665.5768 / 720

Master · City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

652.85

last 4 Master vs avg 652.85 (-0.00)

Walk rate

25%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5600

Pork Ribs · City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

Consistency

±10.87

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 167.11 · weakest Brisket (155.81)

Road miles

mi across 4 mapped stops

Schedule strength

13%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1519)

Master avg

652.85 / 720

4 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (3 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

665.5768 career-best overall

92.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 665.5768 at City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival — 92.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-09-04

A tough matchup

3–0 behind in the head-to-head

BUTCHER BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BUTCHER BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of OUTTA THE BOX BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared 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.

ESS Pit Crew BBQ has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 79 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.

The Chopping Block

#2250 of the rated field

1528 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1542

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 6 contests to 4.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

UNCLE JOHNS PRIDE

#2233 of the rated field

1529 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1529

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 5 contests, alongside a 40% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2023-01-27

⚔ Head-to-head

Hot Dog BBQ

#2244 of the rated field

1529 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1529

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 5 years after ESS Pit Crew BBQ did, first appearing in 2018.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2022-09-16

⚔ Head-to-head

QUENIVOROUS

#2242 of the rated field

1529 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1529

No shared contest yet.

Level with ESS Pit Crew BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2013-10-04

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKED TO THE BONE

#2245 of the rated field

1529 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1539

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2013-05-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Totally Bodacious BBQ

#2246 of the rated field

1529 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1529

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 9 contests to 4.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	4	0	0	168.5828	164.5372	166.55	top 30%
Pork Ribs	4	1	1	176.5600	157.6572	167.11	top 29%
Pork	4	0	0	170.2628	155.9312	163.38	top 34%
Brisket	4	0	0	161.6800	147.3944	155.81	top 56%

“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 contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	1	0	top 55%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 21%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	3	7	0	top 21%	2015-09-04

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2 yrs 2013-08-31 → 2015-09-04

Busiest season 2014 2 contests

Contests a season 1.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TX 4 of 4 contests

Contests visited 2 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 167.11 · weakest Brisket (155.81)

Walk rate 25% a top-10 call in 1 of 4 contests

Overall top-10 rate 25% 1 of 4 contests

Master average 652.85 out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 182 200–60 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 26 4 mapped stops

Schedule strength 1519 average field rating faced — tougher than 13% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2014-08-30 → 2015-09-04

Power rating 1529 peak 1529 · #null of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Aug 31 First tracked contest City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 31 First call City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 31 First overall top-10 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 31 First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7312 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 31 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5600 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2015
Sep 4 Career-best overall score665.5768 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Sep 4 Peak power rating (1529) City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Sep 4 Most recent contest City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.2	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2013-08-31
+10.3	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2015-09-04
+5.1	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2014-08-30

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-1	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-03-14

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)
2015	1	0	0%	top 20%	92.4%	92.4%
2014	2	0	0%	top 45%	90.4%	89.4%
2013	1	1	100%	top 8%	91.5%	91.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015-09-04	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	14 / 70 (665.5768)	26 (166.2512)	18 (167.3828)	12 (170.2628)	33 (161.6800)
2014-08-30	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	27 / 76 (650.7200)	21 (166.8228)	20 (166.8228)	13 (169.6800)	64 (147.3944)
2014-03-14	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Fort Worth, TX	16 / 29 (636.3656)	13 (164.5372)	18 (157.6572)	13 (157.6456)	14 (156.5256)
2013-08-31	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	7 / 89 (658.7312)	11 (168.5828)	2 (176.5600)	51 (155.9312)	40 (157.6572)

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
2015 ↗	Master	#1840 (115 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2002 (95 pts)	#1757 (125 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1479 (174 pts)	#1418 (209 pts)	#1490 (189 pts)	#1267 (249 pts)	#1500 (184 pts)