Riding a hot streak
7
straight overall top-10s
Currently on a 7-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 7
Smoke324
Smoke324 is a competition barbecue team with 25 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2026. They have won 3 Grand Championships, most recently at the 4th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff (2021), and finished Reserve Grand Champion 3 times. They are ranked #486 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1679
peak 1679 · rated over 21 contests4 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
25
in the data
First seen
May 27, 2017
latest Sep 4, 2026 · 9.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
3
3 reserve · wins it all 12% of the time
Category wins
11
25 podiums
Overall top-10s
18
72% of 25 contests
Best top-10 run
7
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 22%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Current form
689.66 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 687.51 (+2.14)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.85
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 172.97 · weakest Pork Ribs (170.67)
Road miles
12,852
across 25 mapped stops · furthest 1,532 mi
Schedule strength
35%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1547)
Purse competed for
$254K
listed at 13 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
2 🏅
won from 15 state-championship entries
Master avg
687.51 / 720
25 Master contests · 3 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #595 (280 pts) | #512 (395 pts) | #806 (230 pts) | #705 (230 pts) | #679 (250 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #368 (620 pts) | #462 (485 pts) | #482 (515 pts) | #385 (620 pts) | #431 (535 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #588 (277 pts) | #869 (157 pts) | #671 (252 pts) | #643 (252 pts) | #620 (277 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #476 (216 pts) | #621 (156 pts) | #520 (216 pts) | #537 (191 pts) | #478 (241 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #719 (434 pts) | #897 (334 pts) | #996 (294 pts) | #584 (589 pts) | #667 (504 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #472 (754 pts) | #928 (349 pts) | #477 (779 pts) | #566 (664 pts) | #584 (624 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #572 (688 pts) | #697 (578 pts) | #563 (713 pts) | #721 (568 pts) | #670 (593 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smoke324, each with one reason worth a look.
#485 of the rated field
- Contests
- 116
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1747
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Smoke324)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Smoke324 has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#489 of the rated field
- Contests
- 34
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 35%
- Peak
- 1679
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 32 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#487 of the rated field
- Contests
- 42
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 57%
- Peak
- 1679
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 42 contests to 25.
⚔ Compare careers#488 of the rated field
- Contests
- 82
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 48%
- Peak
- 1722
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 82 contests, alongside a 48% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#481 of the rated field
- Contests
- 40
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1692
0–3 in 3 shared contests (0% to Smoke324)
Level with Smoke324 on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#492 of the rated field
- Contests
- 86
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1700
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Smoke324)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Smoke324's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOOTIES BBQ | 13 | 11 | 2 | 85% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN TIMBERS NORTHWEST | 12 | 9 | 3 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| J&C BBQ | 11 | 10 | 1 | 91% | ⚔ compare |
| CROOKED PIGS | 10 | 8 | 2 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| 503BACKYARDBBQ | 9 | 9 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SLO.MO.QUE | 9 | 7 | 2 | 78% | ⚔ compare |
| RJs Smokehouse | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| SLOW PORKIN | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Old Dirty Basters | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| JERIMIAH JOHNSON MOUNTAIN MAN BBQ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Small Axe BBQ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| 4 LEGS UP BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| CLARK CREW BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 25 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 180 🔥 | 163.9428 | 171.14 | top 35% |
| Pork Ribs | 25 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 178.8800 | 161.1200 | 170.67 | top 37% |
| Pork | 25 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 178.8572 | 165.6684 | 172.97 | top 27% |
| Brisket | 25 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 180 🔥 | 163.3828 | 172.74 | top 27% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 4 | 0 | top 18% |
| Medium (20–39) | 13 | 3 | top 15% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 0 | top 34% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay | 5 | 2 | 0 | top 19% | May 23, 2026 |
| 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) | 2 | 46 | 0 | top 37% | Sep 1, 2017 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
6 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
2.8
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
OR
10 of 25 contests · 7 states in all
Contests visited
20
2 of them more than once
First title
Sep 7, 2018
Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival
Opponents faced
1,027
finished ahead 1,282 times, behind 621
Longest layoff
1.7 yrs
Aug 24, 2024 → May 23, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 25th tracked contest Meat & Tater BBQ Fest
- Peak power rating (1679) Meat & Tater BBQ Fest
- Most recent contest Meat & Tater BBQ Fest
20231 milestone
- 10th category win BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
20221 milestone
- Career-best overall score702.8572 Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022
20192 milestones
- 10th tracked contest BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
- First state championship 3rd Annual Hudson Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff
20184 milestones
- First Reserve Championship BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First Grand Championship Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival
- First multi-meat day Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival
20176 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First call BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First overall top-10 BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First overall podium BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score685.0628 BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL)
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Wild West BBQ Shoot Out
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.8 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) | May 27, 2017 |
| +14.2 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) | May 26, 2018 |
| +13.1 | Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival | Sep 7, 2018 |
| +12.7 | Wild West BBQ Shoot Out | Aug 25, 2017 |
| +12.2 | Rock'n Brews & BBQ Festival | Sep 15, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -1.9 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay | May 27, 2023 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 21% | 97.1% | 96.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 22% | 96.2% | 96.2% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100% | top 31% | 95.6% | 95.1% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100% | top 9% | 97.6% | 96.3% |
| 2021 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33% | top 35% | 97.4% | 95.7% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 19% | 95.7% | 95.7% |
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 83% | top 21% | 95.5% | 94.8% |
| 2018 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 100% | top 9% | 97.2% | 96.3% |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 60% | top 24% | 96.3% | 95% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2026 | Meat & Tater BBQ Fest 🏅 Meridian, ID | 8 / 52 (698.7768) | 2 (180) | 27 (171.4056) | 24 (171.9656) | 8 (175.4056) |
| May 23, 2026 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR | 9 / 33 (687.9084) | 4 (176) | 25 (167.9772) | 11 (174.2628) | 18 (169.6684) |
| Aug 24, 2024 | 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition 🏅 DuPont, WA | 6 / 27 (692.5372) | 11 (173.1428) | 1 (178.8572) | 6 (177.1544) | 22 (163.3828) |
| Jul 1, 2023 | Icebox Cookoff 🏅 Sweet Home, OR | 8 / 38 (688.5484) | 13 (171.9884) | 11 (172.5600) | 10 (172.5600) | 10 (171.4400) |
| May 27, 2023 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR | 10 / 25 (680.5140) | 1 (180) | 15 (166.8572) | 16 (167.9656) | 12 (165.6912) |
| Jul 2, 2022 | Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 🏅 Sweet Home, OR | 2 / 34 (702.8572) | 6 (174.8572) | 2 (177.7372) | 3 (177.7028) | 6 (172.5600) |
| Jan 8, 2022 | Willamette Sportsman Show Cookoff 2022 🏅 Albany, OR | 2 / 16 (684.5600) | 9 (165.7256) | 8 (165.7028) | 1 (178.8572) | 2 (174.2744) |
| Nov 13, 2021 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Master Invitational unrated Shawnee, OK | 47 / 92 (688.5256) | 60 (170.8684) | 40 (173.7144) | 45 (171.9772) | 40 (171.9656) |
| Nov 11, 2021 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open unrated Shawnee, OK | 55 / 111 (678.1944) | 12 (176.5600) | 83 (165.6916) | 60 (170.2628) | 78 (165.6800) |
| Aug 21, 2021 | 4th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff 🏅 DuPont, WA | 1 / 27 (701.0972) | 7 (170.2628) | 2 (174.2744) | 2 (177.7028) | 1 (178.8572) |
| Feb 15, 2020 | Albany Bacon Championship 🏅 Albany, OR | 3 / 16 (689.0856) | 6 (166.2400) | 3 (174.2972) | 4 (173.1084) | 2 (175.4400) |
| Sep 12, 2019 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 111 / 468 (676.4912) | 109 (170.8228) | 242 (165.1428) | 151 (169.1200) | 100 (171.4056) |
| Sep 12, 2019 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- INVITATIONAL CONTEST 🏅 unrated Kansas City, KS | 54 / 135 (685.6112) | 122 (163.9428) | 83 (169.1084) | 20 (174.8572) | 9 (177.7028) |
| Aug 17, 2019 | 3rd Annual Hudson Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff 🏅 DuPont, WA | 1 / 27 (686.2284) | 3 (173.1428) | 13 (164.5484) | 9 (168.5372) | 1 (180) |
| Jul 5, 2019 | Smoke on the Dragon BBQ-N-Brew 🏅 Dallas, OR | 4 / 16 (680.5484) | 7 (170.2856) | 5 (167.9884) | 5 (166.8572) | 3 (175.4172) |
| May 25, 2019 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay 🏅 North Bend, OR | 5 / 34 (687.9540) | 8 (172.5600) | 14 (164.5484) | 2 (175.4400) | 4 (175.4056) |
| Jan 18, 2019 | Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge 🏅 Bullhead City, AZ | 11 / 63 (678.2056) | 34 (168) | 25 (166.2400) | 5 (174.2856) | 19 (169.6800) |
| Sep 7, 2018 | Rockn & BBQ Brew Festival Boise, ID | 1 / 25 (700) | 14 (163.9772) | 1 (178.8800) | 1 (177.1428) | 1 (180) |
| Jul 13, 2018 | The Great Northwest Barbecue & Beer Festival Coeur d' Alene, ID | 3 / 19 (690.2744) | 9 (166.8460) | 3 (174.8800) | 2 (177.1428) | 8 (171.4056) |
| May 26, 2018 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) North Bend, OR | 2 / 35 (690.2400) | 14 (166.2400) | 1 (178.3200) | 9 (172.5600) | 4 (173.1200) |
| Sep 15, 2017 | Rock'n Brews & BBQ Festival Boise, ID | 5 / 28 (684.5712) | 16 (163.9656) | 4 (174.8800) | 12 (168.0228) | 1 (177.7028) |
| Sep 1, 2017 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 152 / 407 (669.0284) | 148 (169.6800) | 274 (161.1200) | 214 (165.6684) | 51 (172.5600) |
| Aug 31, 2017 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS | 46 / 129 (687.9200) | 70 (171.4056) | 93 (167.3944) | 33 (174.8572) | 37 (174.2628) |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Wild West BBQ Shoot Out West Wendover, NV | 8 / 37 (693.1088) | 12 (175.4172) | 1 (177.1544) | 9 (173.1200) | 21 (167.4172) |
| May 27, 2017 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) North Bend, OR | 3 / 37 (685.0628) | 3 (176.5716) | 16 (167.3828) | 5 (173.1200) | 14 (167.9884) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.