ELLIS COUNTY BBQ

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

Power ranking

#3955

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1484

peak 1512 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-08-31

latest 2019-08-30

Best ToY finish

#1112

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 13 contests

Avg finish

top 61%

overall standings

Best overall

662.7312 / 720

Master · SC Festival Of Discovery

Perfect 180s

Current form

648.82 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 628.45 (+20.37)

Walk rate

31%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.6172

Pork Ribs · *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

Consistency

±51.74

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 162.57 · weakest Brisket (158.22)

Road miles

4,511

mi across 13 mapped stops · furthest 893 mi

Schedule strength

31%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1541)

Purse competed for

$36K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

628.45 / 720

12 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

662.7312 career-best overall

92.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 662.7312 at SC Festival Of Discovery — 92.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
2018-07-12

Their season

2015 their best year

2015 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 44%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 44%

A tough matchup

5–0 behind in the head-to-head

BUTCHER BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BUTCHER BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.35 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 8% of the time against 17%.

Brisket avg 158.22
Pork Ribs avg 162.57
1 calls in 13 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKIN GOOD BBQ in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

4 of 6 shared pork ribs entries lost

BARBQUE XTREME ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BARBQUE XTREME has out-cooked them in 4 of 6 shared pork ribs entries.

Boom or bust

±7.19% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±7.19% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 87.3% of a perfect score
best 92.0%

The long haul

4,511 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,511 miles across 13 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 893 miles to SC Festival Of Discovery.

13 mapped stops
furthest 893 mi

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 23rd

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.

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

A ROLLIN' SMOKE

#3977 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1483

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to ELLIS COUNTY BBQ)

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

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2016-10-14

⚔ Head-to-head

Happy Beetle BBQ

#3950 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2025-06-27

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG HORNED BBQ

#3957 of the rated field

1484 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2019-10-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoking Grannies

#3947 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1517

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after ELLIS COUNTY BBQ did, first appearing in 2020.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2024-08-23

⚔ Head-to-head

Five Guys and a Grill

#3958 of the rated field

1484 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1516

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2024-06-21

⚔ Head-to-head

FIRE FAMILY BBQ/NOT SO SMOOTH SMOKE

#3936 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2023-06-09

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN GOOD BBQ	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN PENDEJOS	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
BIG JOHN'S TEXAS BAR-B-QUE	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
OTAKU SMOKE N BREW	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
BARBQUE XTREME	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
BUTT FIRST BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
PAPPO'S BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
Pitfaced BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Big Daddy G's BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
THIN, BEAUTIFUL, BLUE SMOKE	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
OUTTA THE BOX BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
BUTCHER BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
TINY E BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
Texas-car-b-que	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
3 Grate Minds BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	13	3	0	170.8456	133.5884	159.14	top 61%
Pork Ribs	12	2	1	176.6172	138.2628	162.57	top 50%
Pork	11	1	0	173.7028	149.0972	161.33	top 56%
Brisket	13	1	1	167.4400	139.9200	158.22	top 55%

“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
TX	9	top 61%
SC	2	top 65%
LA	1	top 52%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 61%
Medium (20–39)	1	top 52%
Large (40+)	10	top 62%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	4	23	top 68%	2016-09-03
Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	3	35	top 66%	2019-08-30
SC Festival of Discovery	2	40	top 65%	2019-07-12

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

On the trail 6 yrs 2013-08-31 → 2019-08-30

Busiest season 2017 3 contests

Contests a season 1.9 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TX 10 of 13 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 6 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 13 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 162.57 · weakest Brisket (158.22)

Walk rate 31% a top-10 call in 4 of 13 contests

Overall top-10 rate 8% 1 of 13 contests

Master average 628.45 out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 448 281–441 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,511 13 mapped stops · furthest 893 mi

Schedule strength 1541 average field rating faced — tougher than 31% of rated contests

Purse competed for $36,000 listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Power rating 1484 peak 1512 · #3955 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
2014
Aug 30 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.4912 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2015
Apr 17 First call Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship
Apr 17 First overall top-10 Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship
Apr 17 Peak power rating (1512) Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship
2018
Jul 12 10th tracked contest SC Festival Of Discovery
Jul 12 Career-best overall score662.7312 SC Festival Of Discovery
Aug 31 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.6172 *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2019
Aug 30 Most recent contest Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.5	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship	2015-04-17
+7.7	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2014-08-30
+4.9	SC Festival Of Discovery	2018-07-12
+4.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2017-03-03
+0.2	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2018-08-31

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.2	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2016-09-03
-7.8	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)	2017-09-02
-7.4	SC Festival of Discovery	2019-07-12
-6.9	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2013-08-31
-6.1	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2015-09-04

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	0%	top 74%	91.8%	88.7%
2018	2	0	50%	top 52%	92%	91.3%
2017	3	0	33%	top 63%	91.7%	89.3%
2016	1	0	0%	top 98%	65.1%	65.1%
2015	3	1	67%	top 44%	91.2%	89.7%
2014	1	0	0%	top 30%	90.6%	90.6%
2013	1	0	0%	top 73%	84.5%	84.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-08-30	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival 🏅 Bedford, TX	37 / 58 (661.0856)	37 (165.7144)	43 (162.8228)	17 (171.4172)	40 (161.1312)
2019-07-12	SC Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC	70 / 83 (615.7828)	64 (157.6456)	27 (169.1200)	75 (149.0972)	77 (139.9200)
2018-08-31	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	43 / 74 (651.9768)	59 (157.1540)	3 (176.6172)	61 (157.6572)	48 (160.5484)
2018-07-12	SC Festival Of Discovery Greenwood, SC	40 / 89 (662.7312)	19 (170.8456)	24 (170.2972)	63 (157.6456)	41 (163.9428)
2017-10-13	*Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival Duncanville, TX	11 / 18 (652.5260)	8 (167.4172)	14 (157.6916)	4 (173.7028)	13 (153.7144)
2017-09-02	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Bedford, TX	35 / 46 (615.4404)	24 (159.4516)	45 (138.2628)	29 (159.4744)	27 (158.2516)
2017-03-03	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Shreveport, LA	15 / 29 (660.4684)	21 (163.3828)	22 (162.8228)	15 (166.8228)	11 (167.4400)
2016-09-03	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	57 / 58 (468.5256)	55 (150.2972)	37 (159.4056)	—	35 (158.8228)
2015-10-22	Dallas Kosher BBQ Championship (Competitor's Series) Richardson, TX	—	6 (153.1084)	—	—	2 (156.5944)
2015-09-04	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	50 / 70 (635.3828)	55 (157.1084)	56 (155.4172)	14 (169.1544)	61 (153.7028)
2015-04-17	Bynum Schools Best of the Basin BBQ Championship Midland, TX	7 / 44 (656.5944)	6 (168.0000)	9 (165.7028)	18 (161.7372)	15 (161.1544)
2014-08-30	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	23 / 76 (652.4912)	25 (165.1428)	11 (169.7600)	60 (155.3600)	25 (162.2284)
2013-08-31	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	65 / 89 (608.4000)	86 (133.5884)	25 (162.8916)	59 (152.5144)	28 (159.4056)

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	#1471 (120 pts)	#1593 (120 pts)	#1575 (120 pts)	#1397 (160 pts)	#1536 (120 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1524 (120 pts)	#1473 (150 pts)	#1036 (300 pts)	#1610 (120 pts)	#1586 (120 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1112 (277 pts)	#1187 (277 pts)	#1346 (227 pts)	#1014 (357 pts)	#1134 (287 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2353 (60 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	—	#2345 (60 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1239 (225 pts)	#1275 (235 pts)	#1377 (205 pts)	#1406 (210 pts)	#1506 (170 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#2026 (85 pts)	#2167 (75 pts)	#1730 (145 pts)	#2172 (75 pts)	#2148 (75 pts)