DARKNESS BBQ

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

Rating

1485

peak 1485 · rated over 2 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-05-16

latest 2014-08-08

Best ToY finish

#1716

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 2 contests

Avg finish

top 78%

overall standings

Best overall

641.0512 / 720

Master · Med City BBQ & Musicfest

Perfect 180s

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

165.6800

Chicken · Med City BBQ & Musicfest

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 162.02 · weakest Brisket (142.55)

Road miles

mi across 2 mapped stops · furthest 39 mi

Master avg

624.78 / 720

2 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

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.

DARKNESS BBQ has 2 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 154 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.

CORNFIELD BBQ

#3889 of the rated field

1485 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1485

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to DARKNESS BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team DARKNESS BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2018-03-02

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin' Barrel BBQ

#3890 of the rated field

1485 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1485

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 2.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2026-07-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Hillbilly Hot Butts

#3881 of the rated field

1485 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 9 years after DARKNESS BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2025-11-14

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokey Bandits

#3879 of the rated field

1485 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1506

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2025-06-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Big Fig BBQ

#3911 of the rated field

1485 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 2.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2025-04-11

⚔ Head-to-head

COOK & LADDER BBQ COMPANY

#3902 of the rated field

1485 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1485

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 2.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2023-09-27

⚔ Head-to-head

By meat

Category	Entries	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	2	165.6800	154.2628	159.97	top 64%
Pork Ribs	2	162.8916	161.1428	162.02	top 38%
Pork	2	161.6684	158.8228	160.25	top 68%
Brisket	2	152.5600	132.5372	142.55	top 88%

“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.

The story so far (12 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 0.2 yrs 2014-05-16 → 2014-08-08

Busiest season 2014 2 contests

Cooks most in MN 2 of 2 contests

Contests visited 2 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 2 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 162.02 · weakest Brisket (142.55)

Walk rate 0% a top-10 call in 0 of 2 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 2 contests

Master average 624.78 out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 88 19–77 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 77 2 mapped stops · furthest 39 mi

Power rating 1485 peak 1485 · #null of 6,413 rated

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

2014
May 16 First tracked contest Minnesota in May
Aug 8 Career-best overall score641.0512 Med City BBQ & Musicfest
Aug 8 Career-best single call (Chicken)165.6800 Med City BBQ & Musicfest
Aug 8 Most recent contest Med City BBQ & Musicfest

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)

Season by season

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2014	2	0	0	0	0%	top 78%	89%	86.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2014-08-08	Med City BBQ & Musicfest Rochester, MN	26 / 40 (641.0512)	19 (165.6800)	18 (161.1428)	26 (161.6684)	30 (152.5600)
2014-05-16	Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN	53 / 58 (608.5144)	47 (154.2628)	18 (162.8916)	41 (158.8228)	58 (132.5372)

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
2014 ↗	Master	#1716 (140 pts)	#1579 (170 pts)	#1392 (210 pts)	#1785 (140 pts)	#1770 (140 pts)