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.
FOR THE LOVE OF SMOKE 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 151 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.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team FOR THE LOVE OF SMOKE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headA longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 2.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 10 years after FOR THE LOVE OF SMOKE did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1509 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with FOR THE LOVE OF SMOKE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head6 contests to 2: their number has had years to settle where FOR THE LOVE OF SMOKE's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.9656 | 137.6916 | 146.83 | top 93% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149.6916 | 124.4800 | 137.09 | top 97% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2972 | 147.4400 | 154.87 | top 80% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142.8116 | 139.9088 | 141.36 | top 96% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| CT | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 84.4% | 84.4% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 76.7% | 76.7% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-09-11 | Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL | 58 / 61 (607.8632) | 54 (155.9656) | 57 (149.6916) | 38 (162.2972) | 56 (139.9088) |
| 2014-06-20 | Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT | 32 / 32 (552.4232) | 31 (137.6916) | 32 (124.4800) | 31 (147.4400) | 32 (142.8116) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #2761 (57 pts) | #2758 (57 pts) | #2762 (57 pts) | #2766 (57 pts) | #2757 (57 pts) |