FLAME THROWER BBQ CO.

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

Power ranking

#3484

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1493

peak 1518 · rated over 25 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-05-02

latest 2019-05-31

Best ToY finish

#511

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 25 contests

Avg finish

top 59%

overall standings

Best overall

669.6912 / 720

Master · 3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

636.26 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 638.71 (-2.45)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0000

Pork Ribs · 3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship

Consistency

±19.58

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 163.32 · weakest Brisket (153.30)

Road miles

2,420

mi across 25 mapped stops · furthest 338 mi

Schedule strength

41%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1554)

Purse competed for

$9K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

638.71 / 720

25 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (10 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

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 16 of 25 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 25 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

669.6912 career-best overall

93.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 669.6912 at 3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship — 93.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
2017-09-15

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Ric's Righteous Ribs has finished one call ahead of FLAME THROWER BBQ CO. 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2015 their best year

2015 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 41%.

4 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 41%

A tough matchup

23–1 behind in the head-to-head

Smokey and the Pirate ahead in 96% of their meetings

Smokey and the Pirate has come out ahead in 23 of their 24 shared contests.

The weak link

−10.0 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 10.02 points below their pork, and turns into a call 8% of the time against 40%.

Brisket avg 153.30
Pork avg 163.32
2 calls in 25 entries

A strong matchup

10–4 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKIN' AXE BBQ in 10 of their 14 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

17 of 24 shared pork entries lost

Smokey and the Pirate ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Smokey and the Pirate has out-cooked them in 17 of 24 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

CANYON RIDERS BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 44% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 44% across 4 contests, versus top 59% the rest of the year.

4 August contests
top 59% the rest of the year

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.

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

CHOCOLATE CITY BBQ

#3486 of the rated field

1493 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1526 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 28 contests
last seen 2019-10-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Barking Pig BBQ

#3489 of the rated field

1493 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 34
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1552

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 34 contests to 25, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 30 contests
last seen 2026-07-17

⚔ Head-to-head

Pit Bull Smokers

#3488 of the rated field

1493 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 76%
Peak: 1527

No shared contest yet.

21 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 76% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 19 contests
last seen 2026-08-01
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Whistle Pig BBQ

#3479 of the rated field

1493 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1529

No shared contest yet.

Level with FLAME THROWER BBQ CO. on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 33 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

JUSTCUZ BBQ

#3474 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2022-05-06

⚔ Head-to-head

Fubar-B-Q

#3498 of the rated field

1493 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1524

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1524 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2024-05-31

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Smokey and the Pirate	24	1	23	4%	⚔ compare
PIRATES OF THE PIG	22	3	19	14%	⚔ compare
RBQ	21	6	15	29%	⚔ compare
NUTIN2IT BUT2QIT	19	6	13	32%	⚔ compare
SON OF SMOKE	19	1	18	5%	⚔ compare
BAR-B-Q'S-2GO	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
SMOKED SEDUCTION	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' AXE BBQ	14	10	4	71%	⚔ compare
CANYON RIDERS BBQ	14	7	7	50%	⚔ compare
2 ROLLING BONES	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
BIG B'S DOWN-N-DIRTY BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
ROYAL SMOKIN' HOT	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
The Smoking J's	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
PORK DADDY'S BBQ	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	25	1	0	173.1084	149.1200	160.57	top 60%
Pork Ribs	25	8	2	176.0000	134.8004	161.51	top 46%
Pork	25	10	3	174.3200	142.2856	163.32	top 44%
Brisket	25	2	0	169.1888	141.7144	153.30	top 66%

“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
CA	24	0	top 59%
NV	1	0	top 63%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	12	0	top 61%
Large (40+)	13	0	top 57%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship	2	36	top 79%	2019-04-26
Silicon Valley BBQ Championship	2	18	top 46%	2018-06-22
Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2	23	top 73%	2018-05-04
Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival	2	14	top 40%	2017-07-07
Smoke on the River	2	17	top 57%	2015-09-18

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5.1 yrs 2014-05-02 → 2019-05-31

Busiest season 2017 8 contests

Contests a season 4.2 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CA 24 of 25 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 20 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 25 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 163.32 · weakest Brisket (153.30)

Walk rate 64% a top-10 call in 16 of 25 contests

Overall top-10 rate 8% 2 of 25 contests

Master average 638.71 out of 720 · 25 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 359 420–574 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,420 25 mapped stops · furthest 338 mi

Schedule strength 1554 average field rating faced — tougher than 41% of rated contests

Purse competed for $8,500 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Power rating 1493 peak 1518 · #3484 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
May 2 First tracked contest Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship
2015
Jun 26 First call Silicon Valley BBQ Championships
Aug 7 First overall top-10 Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way
Aug 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.4516 Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way
2016
Aug 26 10th tracked contest Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
2017
Sep 15 Career-best overall score669.6912 3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship
Sep 15 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.0000 3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship
Sep 29 Peak power rating (1518) *Unruly Country Brew N' Que Festival(JUDGES FULL)
2019
May 31 25th tracked contest Throwdown in the Vineyards
May 31 Most recent contest Throwdown in the Vineyards

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.6	Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival	2017-07-07
+9.2	Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way	2015-08-07
+8	Silicon Valley BBQ Championships	2015-06-26
+7.9	Silicon Valley BBQ Championship	2018-06-22
+7.2	3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship	2017-09-15

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.5	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship	2014-05-02
-9	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship	2018-04-20
-8.7	Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships	2016-06-24
-7.4	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2018-05-04
-6	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship	2019-04-26

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)
2019	2	0	50%	top 78%	87.7%	87%
2018	4	0	50%	top 67%	92.4%	88.8%
2017	8	1	88%	top 51%	93%	90.5%
2016	5	0	60%	top 65%	91.1%	87.4%
2015	4	1	75%	top 41%	90.5%	89.9%
2014	2	0	0%	top 77%	86.3%	83.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-05-31	Throwdown in the Vineyards 🏅 Murphy, CA	16 / 20 (621.5996)	17 (156.5484)	14 (158.2628)	18 (147.3828)	10 (159.4056)
2019-04-26	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship 🏅 Lodi, CA	36 / 48 (631.4400)	44 (150.2284)	24 (164.0228)	15 (168.0572)	38 (149.1316)
2018-09-14	4th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA	31 / 43 (643.8972)	30 (163.9656)	40 (150.7656)	29 (159.9772)	7 (169.1888)
2018-06-22	Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA	18 / 49 (665.0860)	13 (173.1084)	5 (170.8572)	35 (159.9660)	25 (161.1544)
2018-05-04	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	27 / 35 (619.2568)	31 (150.7884)	25 (157.0972)	33 (149.1084)	15 (162.2628)
2018-04-20	Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA	40 / 48 (628.5028)	37 (159.9428)	17 (165.1544)	28 (160.0000)	44 (143.4056)
2017-09-29	*Unruly Country Brew N' Que Festival(JUDGES FULL) Sonora, CA	17 / 30 (657.6572)	9 (169.7028)	5 (171.9772)	14 (167.9656)	25 (148.0116)
2017-09-15	3rd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA	18 / 48 (669.6912)	33 (161.7028)	3 (176.0000)	11 (170.2628)	28 (161.7256)
2017-08-25	Grills N Grills penn Valley, CA	13 / 27 (653.6228)	22 (158.8228)	18 (163.9772)	4 (171.4056)	19 (159.4172)
2017-08-11	Ceres Bands Brews & BBQ Throwdown / Formerly Smoke on the River Ceres, CA	10 / 21 (642.7884)	18 (154.8228)	2 (172.0000)	4 (170.8228)	16 (145.1428)
2017-07-07	Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival Petaluma, CA	14 / 50 (666.7656)	14 (170.2628)	6 (173.1428)	8 (170.8228)	37 (152.5372)
2017-06-23	Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA	34 / 62 (645.6000)	37 (158.8228)	31 (161.7144)	22 (166.2400)	31 (158.8228)
2017-05-05	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	23 / 33 (630.2744)	17 (161.1428)	32 (140.5144)	9 (165.1200)	11 (163.4972)
2017-03-24	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Reno, NV	19 / 30 (649.1316)	27 (156.0116)	16 (161.7144)	7 (169.6684)	14 (161.7372)
2016-09-16	2nd Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA	47 / 61 (613.1200)	55 (149.1200)	20 (165.0972)	51 (152.0228)	53 (146.8800)
2016-08-26	Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country) Penn Valley, CA	14 / 28 (644.5256)	12 (164.0000)	4 (170.2856)	8 (166.2628)	26 (143.9772)
2016-07-08	Wine Country Big Q Competition and Festival Petaluma, CA	20 / 38 (624.5028)	18 (158.8572)	20 (154.8228)	8 (166.8228)	30 (144.0000)
2016-06-24	Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships Santa Clara, CA	45 / 54 (607.3720)	34 (156.5372)	51 (134.8004)	3 (174.3200)	47 (141.7144)
2016-04-01	5th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship Arciadia, CA	43 / 72 (655.9312)	56 (161.1772)	30 (166.8228)	22 (169.6800)	51 (158.2512)
2015-10-02	1st Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA	21 / 41 (648.4800)	11 (170.2856)	10 (168.5716)	29 (158.2284)	29 (151.3944)
2015-09-18	Smoke on the River Sacramento, CA	24 / 49 (641.0856)	18 (162.2856)	17 (162.8344)	31 (155.9884)	19 (159.9772)
2015-08-07	Grills N' Grilles- Nevada County United Way Penn Valley, CA	7 / 24 (651.4516)	11 (165.1428)	10 (162.2744)	3 (170.8800)	15 (153.1544)
2015-06-26	Silicon Valley BBQ Championships Santa Clara, CA	16 / 49 (647.4632)	16 (162.2860)	11 (168.0000)	3 (170.8572)	36 (146.3200)
2014-09-05	Smoke on the River Sacramento, CA	17 / 26 (621.1544)	16 (160.5828)	15 (156.5260)	17 (158.8800)	20 (145.1656)
2014-05-02	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	29 / 33 (587.2456)	17 (158.2056)	31 (140.5028)	31 (142.2856)	26 (146.2516)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#1355 (150 pts)	#1459 (145 pts)	#1369 (165 pts)	#1265 (190 pts)	#1277 (180 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1011 (275 pts)	#1013 (300 pts)	#853 (405 pts)	#1159 (240 pts)	#850 (395 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#511 (751 pts)	#593 (676 pts)	#307 (1141 pts)	#299 (1171 pts)	#612 (646 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#912 (373 pts)	#929 (393 pts)	#810 (493 pts)	#597 (673 pts)	#1126 (293 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1014 (299 pts)	#986 (344 pts)	#967 (359 pts)	#1001 (344 pts)	#1188 (249 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1647 (149 pts)	#1477 (194 pts)	#1613 (159 pts)	#1723 (149 pts)	#1817 (134 pts)