Bare Bones BBQ

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

Power ranking

#5986

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1433

peak 1506 · rated over 27 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-10

latest 2022-07-23

Best ToY finish

#1805

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 27 contests

Avg finish

top 68%

overall standings

Best overall

665.5884 / 720

Master · Green Mountain BBQ Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

634.77 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 632.12 (+2.65)

Walk rate

37%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.7028

Pork · Green Mountain BBQ Championship

Consistency

±21.00

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 160.03 · weakest Brisket (154.68)

Road miles

36,655

mi across 27 mapped stops · furthest 11506 mi

Schedule strength

43%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1556)

Purse competed for

$12K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

632.12 / 720

27 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 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

665.5884 career-best overall

92.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 665.5884 at Green Mountain BBQ Championship — 92.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-06-27

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 48%.

4 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 48%

A tough matchup

12–0 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 100% of their meetings

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 12 of their 12 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.35 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 11%.

Brisket avg 154.68
Chicken avg 160.03
2 calls in 27 entries

The comeback

3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3 years, then back at The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival (2022-07-23).

last seen 2019-07-27
back 2022-07-23

Chicken nemesis

10 of 12 shared chicken entries lost

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has out-cooked them in 10 of 12 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

SQUEELS ON WHEELS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 58% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 58% across 5 contests, versus top 68% the rest of the year.

5 September contests
top 68% the rest of the year

The long haul

36,655 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 36,655 miles across 27 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 11,506 miles to Smokin in the city.

27 mapped stops
furthest 11,506 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.

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

HANG 'EM' HIGH

#5984 of the rated field

1433 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1433

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 29 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2018-07-27

⚔ Head-to-head

Slappin'Butt BBQ

#5981 of the rated field

1433 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1433

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 22 contests to 27, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 21 contests
last seen 2025-06-27

⚔ Head-to-head

ADAM'S RIB MIDLAND, VA

#5987 of the rated field

1433 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before Bare Bones BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 19 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

CROW CREEK BBQ

#5982 of the rated field

1433 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1433

No shared contest yet.

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 16 contests
last seen 2018-05-25

⚔ Head-to-head

IOWA STATE GRILL TEAM

#5992 of the rated field

1433 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1433

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2019-06-14

⚔ Head-to-head

Meaty Bone BBQ

#5991 of the rated field

1433 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1433

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
A MAZIE Q	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
INSANE SWINE BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	9	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
SQUEELS ON WHEELS	7	7	0	100%	⚔ compare
CIDER BOYS BBQ	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
Udder Chaos	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
Up-2 BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
MEAT @ SLIMS	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
PADDY MCQ'S	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Q HAVEN BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
THE 5TH ARTERY	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	3	169.1772	142.8116	160.03	top 65%
Pork Ribs	27	3	170.2628	130.7312	157.41	top 65%
Pork	27	3	173.7028	146.7656	158.69	top 65%
Brisket	27	2	172.0000	138.7544	154.68	top 68%

“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
VT	10	top 68%
MO	5	top 57%
WI	4	top 95%
MA	2	top 40%
KS	1	top 63%
VA	1	top 64%
AR	1	top 72%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 89%
Medium (20–39)	15	top 63%
Large (40+)	11	top 73%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	4	13	top 61%	2022-07-23
*BBQ and Fly In on the River(JUDGES FULL)	2	32	top 67%	2018-08-17
Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest	2	6	top 40%	2015-09-12
Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ	2	26	top 81%	2015-07-25
Platte City BBQ Cook-Off	2	17	top 47%	2014-05-16

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 9.2 yrs 2013-05-10 → 2022-07-23

Busiest season 2017 6 contests

Contests a season 3.4 across 8 seasons in the data

Cooks most in VT 10 of 27 contests · 7 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 20 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 28 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 160.03 · weakest Brisket (154.68)

Walk rate 37% a top-10 call in 10 of 27 contests

Overall top-10 rate 4% 1 of 27 contests

Master average 632.12 out of 720 · 27 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 587 314–727 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 36,655 27 mapped stops · furthest 11,506 mi

Schedule strength 1556 average field rating faced — tougher than 43% of rated contests

Purse competed for $12,000 listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 3 yrs 2019-07-27 → 2022-07-23

Power rating 1433 peak 1506 · #5986 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
May 10 First tracked contest Platte City BBQ Cook-Off
May 10 First call Platte City BBQ Cook-Off
May 10 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.1430 Platte City BBQ Cook-Off
May 10 Peak power rating (1506) Platte City BBQ Cook-Off
2015
Jun 27 Career-best overall score665.5884 Green Mountain BBQ Championship
Jun 27 Career-best single call (Pork)173.7028 Green Mountain BBQ Championship
Sep 12 First overall top-10 Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
Sep 12 10th tracked contest Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
2019
Apr 6 25th tracked contest Smokin in the city
2022
Jul 23 Most recent contest The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.5	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest	2015-09-12
+6.1	Platte City BBQ Cook-Off	2013-05-10
+6	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	2017-07-29
+5.1	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	2022-07-23
+4.3	Green Mountain BBQ Championship	2015-06-27

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.5	The Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ	2013-07-26
-10.3	*The Masters In May (also Big Green Egg challenge)	2017-05-05
-9.6	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ	2014-07-25
-9.2	Smokin in the city	2019-04-06
-9.1	*Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat 2	2017-07-15

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)
2022	1	0	100%	top 52%	90.3%	90.3%
2019	2	0	100%	top 77%	83.8%	83.8%
2018	4	0	50%	top 68%	89.7%	87.8%
2017	6	0	17%	top 82%	89.4%	85.5%
2016	4	0	25%	top 71%	91.6%	88.4%
2015	4	1	50%	top 48%	92.4%	90.7%
2014	4	0	0%	top 71%	90%	87.2%
2013	2	0	50%	top 49%	90.7%	90%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022-07-23	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival 🏅 Windsor, VT	13 / 25 (650.1716)	11 (168.0116)	18 (161.0856)	17 (158.8228)	10 (162.2516)
2019-07-27	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival 🏅 Windsor, VT	21 / 33 (636.3312)	7 (167.9772)	17 (164.5256)	29 (154.2400)	18 (161.6800)
2019-04-06	Smokin in the city Perth WA, 6962	17 / 19 (603.2916)	10 (155.9656)	18 (149.7032)	15 (149.6800)	17 (147.9428)
2018-11-03	Smokin on the Water Bayswater,	13 / 23 (645.6916)	7 (169.1772)	19 (154.2628)	4 (171.4172)	22 (150.8344)
2018-09-15	The Chidlow BBQ Festival Chidlow, Wa, 6556	14 / 23 (635.4400)	16 (155.9312)	11 (157.1200)	9 (161.2000)	12 (161.1888)
2018-08-17	*BBQ and Fly In on the River(JUDGES FULL) Excelsior Springs, MO	44 / 57 (628.4688)	25 (168.0000)	51 (149.0972)	38 (161.6572)	49 (149.7144)
2018-07-28	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival WINDSOR, VT	26 / 34 (618.0572)	30 (155.3600)	29 (151.9544)	27 (153.6456)	19 (157.0972)
2017-09-09	Green Mountain BBQ Championship Randolph, VT	30 / 32 (619.8284)	21 (162.2512)	27 (152.5372)	28 (158.2400)	32 (146.8000)
2017-07-29	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival WINDSOR, VT	15 / 30 (642.1024)	24 (158.7884)	4 (170.2628)	17 (159.9656)	18 (153.0856)
2017-07-15	*Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat 2 Green Bay, WI	48 / 49 (575.1424)	45 (153.0856)	49 (130.7312)	48 (146.7656)	48 (144.5600)
2017-07-14	*Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-Heat1 Green Bay, WI	53 / 58 (591.3600)	54 (142.8116)	55 (137.6800)	37 (158.8456)	48 (152.0228)
2017-06-02	*Big Blue BBQ Championship(TEAM FULL) Marysville, KS	22 / 35 (643.8172)	15 (167.9656)	11 (170.2628)	11 (166.8344)	31 (138.7544)
2017-05-05	*The Masters In May (also Big Green Egg challenge) APPLETON, WI	55 / 56 (619.3716)	25 (166.8456)	55 (146.2400)	51 (154.2744)	49 (152.0116)
2016-08-19	BBQ and Fly In on the River Excelsior Springs, MO	32 / 56 (659.2684)	40 (163.3828)	28 (168.0000)	34 (165.0972)	30 (162.7884)
2016-07-15	Smoke on the mountain/VA state BBQ championship Galax, VA	16 / 25 (649.0284)	21 (159.3600)	19 (158.8572)	19 (158.8112)	6 (172.0000)
2016-07-08	Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay-1st Heat Green Bay, WI	60 / 66 (610.1828)	64 (145.0856)	45 (156.5600)	20 (168.0000)	63 (140.5372)
2016-06-25	Green Mountain BBQ Championship Waterbury, VT	29 / 40 (626.1140)	21 (165.1428)	39 (146.8000)	34 (150.7656)	20 (163.4056)
2015-09-12	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA	6 / 37 (665.0400)	28 (153.6684)	9 (169.1316)	16 (166.2512)	28 (152.5372)
2015-09-11	Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO	42 / 76 (641.0056)	45 (158.8228)	23 (167.9772)	44 (159.3600)	53 (154.8456)
2015-07-25	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	26 / 35 (641.0516)	12 (169.1312)	29 (156.5716)	33 (149.6688)	14 (165.6800)
2015-06-27	Green Mountain BBQ Championship Waterbury, VT	11 / 23 (665.5884)	13 (165.0972)	13 (164.5256)	4 (173.7028)	11 (162.2628)
2014-10-03	Go Hog Wild Arkansas BBQ Championship Sheridan, AR	18 / 25 (632.9484)	12 (166.8228)	18 (161.6800)	15 (162.8112)	23 (141.6344)
2014-09-13	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA	27 / 43 (617.0968)	16 (164.0000)	35 (149.7256)	39 (147.9428)	26 (155.4284)
2014-07-25	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	30 / 34 (613.4968)	26 (157.0740)	12 (162.8228)	33 (149.6688)	31 (143.9312)
2014-05-16	Platte City BBQ Cook-Off Platte City, MO	31 / 50 (647.8744)	48 (151.9544)	18 (166.2400)	31 (162.2628)	18 (167.4172)
2013-07-26	The Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	20 / 31 (642.6400)	24 (157.6684)	25 (156.5028)	30 (147.3600)	25 (151.9888)
2013-05-10	Platte City BBQ Cook-Off Platte City, MO	17 / 52 (653.1430)	45 (152.5714)	10 (169.1430)	12 (167.4286)	18 (164.0000)

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
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2228 (80 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#2200 (85 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1821 (118 pts)	#1949 (108 pts)	#1944 (108 pts)	#1456 (198 pts)	#1883 (118 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1805 (127 pts)	#1575 (172 pts)	#1883 (124 pts)	#1892 (127 pts)	#1869 (127 pts)