A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
TRUE SMOKE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
TRUE SMOKE BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
SWEET FREEDOM BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1422
peak 1422 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
2014-06-21
latest 2018-06-22
Best ToY finish
#2798
Master 2014
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 91%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
555.19 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 568.93 (-13.75)
Walk rate
22%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±93.96
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 157.99 · weakest Brisket (144.11)
Road miles
1,485
mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 296 mi
Schedule strength
50%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)
Master avg
568.93 / 720
9 Master contests · 0 GCs
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.
The weak link
−13.9
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 13.88 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 11%.
- Brisket avg 144.11
- Chicken avg 157.99
- 0 calls in 8 entries
Chicken nemesis
5 of 6
shared chicken entries lost
TRUE SMOKE BBQ ahead 83% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, TRUE SMOKE BBQ has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared chicken entries.
Boom or bust
±13.05%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±13.05% 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 79.0% of a perfect score
- best 88.0%
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.
35 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6143 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1422
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to SWEET FREEDOM BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SWEET FREEDOM BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#6137 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1422
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#6136 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1422
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#6142 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1422
No shared contest yet.
Level with SWEET FREEDOM BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#6146 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1508
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.
⚔ Head-to-head#6144 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1422
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.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRUE SMOKE BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| LUCKY'S Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.9028 | 138.2744 | 157.99 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2856 | 142.8916 | 153.77 | top 79% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156.5600 | 135.4056 | 145.20 | top 96% |
| Brisket | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7144 | 133.0744 | 144.11 | top 87% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 4 | 0 | top 97% |
| WI | 3 | 0 | top 92% |
| MN | 1 | 0 | top 82% |
| KS | 1 | 0 | top 70% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 94% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 92% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 88% |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4 yrs
2014-06-21 → 2018-06-22
Busiest season
2015
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IA
4 of 9 contests · 4 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
9
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
9 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 157.99 · weakest Brisket (144.11)
Walk rate
22%
a top-10 call in 2 of 9 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 9 contests
Master average
568.93
out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
255
38–292 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,485
9 mapped stops · furthest 296 mi
Schedule strength
1564
average field rating faced — tougher than 50% of rated contests
Longest layoff
1 yrs
2016-06-17 → 2017-06-23
Power rating
1422
peak 1422 · #6141 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2014
- First tracked contest Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge
- Peak power rating (1487) Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge
- 2015
- First call 2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest
- Career-best overall score633.6916 2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.9028 2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest
- 2018
- Most recent contest *Rotary Rockn Ribs
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.2 | Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge | 2014-06-21 |
| -10.6 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 2014-07-25 |
| -10.3 | Back to Back to the Park BBQ | 2014-10-17 |
| -10.2 | The Masters In May | 2015-05-01 |
| -9.8 | *Rotary Rockn Ribs | 2018-06-22 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 42.8% | 42.8% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 84% | 85.6% | 85.6% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 82% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 86% | 88% | 85.4% |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 82.2% | 80.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-22 | *Rotary Rockn Ribs LaCrosse, WI | 41 / 41 (308.0344) | 33 (162.3544) | 40 (145.6800) | — | — |
| 2017-06-23 | *Rotary Rockn Ribs LaCrosse, WI | 31 / 37 (616.0112) | 28 (162.9028) | 8 (166.2856) | 37 (135.4056) | 31 (151.4172) |
| 2016-06-17 | Treasure Island BBQ/ Steak Food Fest Red Wing, MN | 28 / 34 (610.7884) | 17 (165.1656) | 29 (153.6916) | 28 (156.5600) | 31 (135.3712) |
| 2015-09-18 | Tri-City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 17 / 18 (607.4172) | 18 (152.5944) | 12 (162.2744) | 17 (142.8684) | 16 (149.6800) |
| 2015-06-05 | 2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS | 45 / 64 (633.6916) | 4 (174.9028) | 54 (154.8344) | 62 (142.2400) | 28 (161.7144) |
| 2015-05-01 | The Masters In May Appleton, WI | 53 / 57 (602.8228) | 20 (164.0572) | 45 (150.8228) | 57 (145.6800) | 54 (142.2628) |
| 2014-10-17 | Back to Back to the Park BBQ Marshalltown, IA | 33 / 34 (591.9548) | 33 (143.4060) | 32 (148.5716) | 31 (154.3200) | 33 (145.6572) |
| 2014-07-25 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA | 28 / 29 (573.6460) | 29 (138.2744) | 27 (158.8916) | 29 (143.4056) | 28 (133.0744) |
| 2014-06-21 | Mr. BBQ Barbeque Challenge Davenport, IA | 25 / 25 (576.0456) | 20 (158.2972) | 23 (142.8916) | 25 (141.1312) | 25 (133.7256) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #2798 (54 pts) | #2791 (54 pts) | #2794 (54 pts) | #2799 (54 pts) | #2793 (54 pts) |