CROW RIVER BBQ

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

Power ranking

#4503

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1472

peak 1504 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-08-22

latest 2017-07-14

Best ToY finish

#719

Master 2015

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 12 contests

Avg finish

top 65%

overall standings

Best overall

662.3200 / 720

Master · Minnesota in May

Perfect 180s

Current form

639.51 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 642.69 (-3.18)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

172.5484

Pork · Smokin in Steele

Consistency

±14.61

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 162.07 · weakest Pork Ribs (158.68)

Road miles

1,339

mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 173 mi

Schedule strength

37%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1549)

Master avg

642.69 / 720

12 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (4 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.

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

SHIGGIN & GRINNIN ahead in 100% of their meetings

SHIGGIN & GRINNIN has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 86% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of 3 THIRDS BBQ in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

10 of 10 shared chicken entries lost

QUETOPIA ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, QUETOPIA has out-cooked them in 10 of 10 shared chicken entries.

The metronome

±2.03% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.03% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 89.3% of a perfect score
12 contests

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.

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

J&J SWINE & BOVINE

#4490 of the rated field

1473 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1502

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2019-06-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke on the Water and Fire in my Eye

#4505 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1472

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2025-06-27

⚔ Head-to-head

Overland Trail BBQ

#4523 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1472

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2025-06-27

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG FIRE

#4504 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1508 at their best, 35 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2018-09-28

⚔ Head-to-head

DOUBLE A'S BBQ

#4491 of the rated field

1473 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1519

No shared contest yet.

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 14% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2019-10-11

⚔ Head-to-head

Double Smokin' Trouble

#4519 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1510 at their best, 38 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2018-06-22

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
QUETOPIA	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
TRUE SMOKE BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
Hogline	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
MYASSIS SMOKIN	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
CROIX VALLEY SAUCES	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
3 THIRDS BBQ	7	6	1	86%	⚔ compare
NECTAR OF THE HOGS	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
GRUMPY OLD MEN BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
CASE OF RIBS	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BARK 'N BONES BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
DRY 2 DA BONE	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
LUCKY'S Q	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Totally Sauced	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
3 BRATS AND A COCKTAIL WEENIE	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	12	0	170.2512	149.0628	162.07	top 65%
Pork Ribs	12	2	170.8572	135.9200	158.68	top 63%
Pork	12	1	172.5484	155.4172	161.26	top 64%
Brisket	12	1	171.9772	143.9084	160.68	top 56%

“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
MN	10	top 64%
SD	1	top 98%
IA	1	top 46%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	2	0	top 62%
Large (40+)	10	0	top 66%

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2.9 yrs 2014-08-22 → 2017-07-14

Busiest season 2015 7 contests

Contests a season 3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MN 10 of 12 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 12 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 12 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 162.07 · weakest Pork Ribs (158.68)

Walk rate 33% a top-10 call in 4 of 12 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 12 contests

Master average 642.69 out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 267 221–381 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,339 12 mapped stops · furthest 173 mi

Schedule strength 1549 average field rating faced — tougher than 37% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2016-06-03 → 2017-07-14

Power rating 1472 peak 1504 · #4503 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Aug 22 First tracked contest Big Island BBQ
Aug 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.6224 Big Island BBQ
2015
May 15 First call Minnesota in May
May 15 Career-best overall score662.3200 Minnesota in May
May 15 Peak power rating (1504) Minnesota in May
2016
May 13 10th tracked contest Minnesota in May
Jun 3 Career-best single call (Pork)172.5484 Smokin in Steele
2017
Jul 14 Most recent contest Cookin On Kampeska

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+5.8	Minnesota in May	2015-05-15
+4.7	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too!	2015-07-17
+2.5	Med City BBQ & Musicfest	2015-08-07
+1.7	8th Annual Big Island BBQ	2015-08-28
+1.6	Minnesota in May	2016-05-13

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.2	Cookin On Kampeska	2017-07-14
-10.1	Smokin' in Steel	2015-05-29
-9.3	Smokefest	2015-08-21
-6.6	KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off	2015-09-18
-4.7	Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship	2016-03-04

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2017	1	0%	top 98%	86.2%	86.2%
2016	3	33%	top 61%	90.2%	89.4%
2015	7	43%	top 63%	92%	89.4%
2014	1	0%	top 61%	90.8%	90.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2017-07-14	Cookin On Kampeska Watertown, SD	47 / 48 (620.4112)	39 (163.9884)	48 (135.9200)	36 (161.1200)	38 (159.3828)
2016-06-03	Smokin in Steele Owatonna, MN	33 / 53 (646.6280)	41 (159.3712)	43 (155.3600)	6 (172.5484)	32 (159.3484)
2016-05-13	Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN	36 / 71 (649.6000)	15 (170.2512)	67 (150.8000)	44 (161.1544)	21 (167.3944)
2016-03-04	Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship Isle, MN	42 / 59 (635.8856)	34 (162.2628)	37 (159.3944)	47 (155.4172)	36 (158.8112)
2015-09-18	KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-Off Worthington, MN	20 / 26 (645.0056)	17 (163.9888)	22 (158.8228)	19 (161.6684)	20 (160.5256)
2015-08-28	8th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN	29 / 55 (646.6740)	45 (158.2400)	21 (166.8228)	44 (156.4912)	24 (165.1200)
2015-08-21	Smokefest Marshall, MN	36 / 42 (633.0172)	31 (162.8228)	40 (152.5372)	31 (159.3828)	32 (158.2744)
2015-08-07	Med City BBQ & Musicfest Rochester, MN	24 / 47 (647.4060)	38 (155.9888)	30 (159.4056)	28 (160.0344)	4 (171.9772)
2015-07-17	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too! Waterloo, IA	18 / 39 (660.5144)	12 (169.6916)	6 (170.2744)	24 (161.1312)	20 (159.4172)
2015-05-29	Smokin' in Steel Owatonna, MN	53 / 60 (611.1540)	56 (149.0628)	49 (154.8000)	34 (163.3828)	55 (143.9084)
2015-05-15	Minnesota in May St. Paul, MN	22 / 60 (662.3200)	37 (160.5828)	4 (170.8572)	40 (162.2972)	15 (168.5828)
2014-08-22	Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN	33 / 54 (653.6224)	28 (168.5484)	16 (169.1084)	38 (160.5484)	37 (155.4172)

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
2017 ↗	Master	#2212 (60 pts)	#2286 (60 pts)	#2304 (60 pts)	#2260 (60 pts)	#2266 (60 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1454 (180 pts)	#1345 (230 pts)	#1542 (180 pts)	#1163 (295 pts)	#1439 (200 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#719 (491 pts)	#720 (516 pts)	#547 (711 pts)	#814 (446 pts)	#559 (666 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#2084 (75 pts)	#2167 (75 pts)	#1911 (120 pts)	#2172 (75 pts)	#2148 (75 pts)