BARE KNUCKLE BBQ

BARE KNUCKLE BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 23 at the Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) (2025). They are ranked #2416 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,416

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1523

peak 1523 · rated over 8 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 27, 2024

latest Jun 26, 2026 · 1.7 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#512

Master 2026 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

13% of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 48%

overall standings

Best overall

679.9316 / 720

Master · Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

668.93

last 5 Master vs avg 669.36 (-0.43)

Walk rate

38%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Pork · Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest

Consistency

±7.64

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 170.03 · weakest Brisket (166.24)

Road miles

251

across 8 mapped stops · furthest 67 mi

Schedule strength

46%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1559)

Purse competed for

$67K

listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 7 state-championship entries

Master avg

669.36 / 720

7 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

343.95 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (4 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

High-water mark

679.9316 career-best overall

94.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 679.9316 at Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ — 94.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 17, 2026

A tough matchup

6–0 behind in the head-to-head

LOVE 2 Q ahead in 100% of their meetings

LOVE 2 Q has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of KC Rib doctor in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The metronome

±1.31% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.31% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 93.3% of a perfect score
8 contests

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
2026 ↗	Master	#512 (317 pts)	#609 (267 pts)	#498 (417 pts)	#603 (262 pts)	#533 (317 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BARE KNUCKLE BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Pine Tar BBQ

#2,424 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 58
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1541

0–4 in 4 shared contests (0% to BARE KNUCKLE BBQ)

These two have cooked 4 of the same contests — Pine Tar BBQ ahead 4–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 56 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Vegan Recovery Camp

#2,413 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1523

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Apr 3, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Bacon Bash Texas

#2,417 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1523

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before BARE KNUCKLE BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Compare careers

LETHAL INJECTORS

#2,421 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1523

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Sep 16, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

G&S Smoke & Spice

#2,407 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1523

They were already cooking in 2014, 10 years before BARE KNUCKLE BBQ's first contest.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Jun 24, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

Mr. Green's Q

#2,399 of the rated field

1523 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1523

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

rated over 7 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Barking Dog BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
LOVE 2 Q	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
Squealin N Dealin BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
BALD BEAUTIES BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
ROADKILL BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Aww Shucks BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Split Borders BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Smokey Bey's Barbecue	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
Stewey Magoos BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	1	174.2628	155.9084	166.75	top 60%
Pork Ribs	8	0	171.9884	162.2516	167.70	top 51%
Pork	7	1	178.8572	162.8000	170.03	top 44%
Brisket	7	1	171.9656	161.6456	166.24	top 50%

“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
Medium (20–39)	2	0	top 43%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 50%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
KS	6	0	top 47%
MO	2	0	top 50%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	2	40	0	top 34%	Jun 26, 2026
Shawnee Great Grillers	2	30	0	top 45%	Sep 26, 2025

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 4 contests

Contests a season 2.7 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 6 of 8 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 6 2 of them more than once

Opponents faced 348 finished ahead 346 times, behind 260

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

20263 milestones

Apr 17 Career-best overall score679.9316 Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ
Jun 26 Peak power rating (1523) The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
Jun 26 Most recent contest The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship

20253 milestones

Apr 25 First call Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest
Apr 25 Career-best single call (Pork)178.8572 Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest
Oct 3 First overall top-10 Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY)

20242 milestones

Sep 27 First tracked contest Shawnee Great Grillers
Sep 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.2804 Shawnee Great Grillers

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.6	Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 3, 2025
+8.7	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	Jun 27, 2025
+4.7	Shawnee Great Grillers	Sep 27, 2024
+2.7	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	Jun 26, 2026
+1.9	Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ	Apr 17, 2026

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-4.1	8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship	Mar 20, 2026
-2.1	Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest	Apr 25, 2025

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — 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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	0	33%	top 56%	94.4%	92.8%
2025	4	1	50%	top 44%	95.5%	93.9%
2024	1	0	0%	top 41%	92.1%	92.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 26, 2026	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	67 / 157 (660.4456)	132 (155.9084)	91 (162.8572)	33 (172.5600)	47 (169.1200)
Apr 17, 2026	Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ 🏅 Iola, KS	15 / 27 (679.9316)	18 (170.8344)	13 (170.2744)	23 (166.8572)	9 (171.9656)
Mar 20, 2026	8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS	48 / 68 (664.4688)	58 (163.9772)	48 (166.2400)	41 (168.5716)	42 (165.6800)
Oct 3, 2025	Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) Pleasant Hill, MO	7 / 23 (343.9544)	6 (174.2628)	12 (169.6916)	—	—
Sep 26, 2025	Shawnee Great Grillers 🏅 Shawnee, KS	33 / 67 (663.2568)	38 (166.8228)	17 (171.9884)	48 (162.8000)	42 (161.6456)
Jun 27, 2025	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	40 / 159 (676.5484)	25 (174.2628)	75 (166.3200)	60 (167.4056)	51 (168.5600)
Apr 25, 2025	Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest 🏅 Sugar Creek, MO	28 / 40 (677.5772)	34 (163.9544)	20 (171.9772)	4 (178.8572)	32 (162.7884)
Sep 27, 2024	Shawnee Great Grillers 🏅 Shawnee, KS	30 / 73 (663.2804)	46 (163.9544)	44 (162.2516)	17 (173.1316)	37 (163.9428)

BARE KNUCKLE BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Storylines (4 found in their record)

High-water mark

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — 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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)