HOLY SMOKES GA

HOLY SMOKES GA is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2018. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 28 at the Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash (2015). They are ranked #1598 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,598

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1558

peak 1558 · rated over 9 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 27, 2015

latest May 25, 2018 · 3.2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#717

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

33% of 9 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 39%

overall standings

Best overall

695.3368 / 720

Master · Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

679.54 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 660.64 (+18.90)

Walk rate

89%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

Consistency

±52.15

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 171.21 · weakest Brisket (168.86)

Road miles

1,479

across 9 mapped stops · furthest 389 mi

Schedule strength

70%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1589)

State championships

0 🏅

won from 1 state-championship entry

Master avg

660.64 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

They almost always walk

89% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 9 contests

A top-10 category call in 89% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

695.3368 career-best overall

96.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 695.3368 at Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash — 96.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
Mar 27, 2015

A tough matchup

4–1 behind in the head-to-head

FAT, DRUNK & STUPID ahead in 80% of their meetings

FAT, DRUNK & STUPID has come out ahead in 4 of their 5 shared contests.

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of WOOLEY BULLY BBQ MAFIA in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

4 of 5 shared chicken entries lost

SAUCED! BBQ TEAM ahead 80% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SAUCED! BBQ TEAM has out-cooked them in 4 of 5 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

3rd at their very first contest

Finished 3 of 28 at their very first tracked contest, Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash (Mar 27, 2015).

Mar 27, 2015
28-team field

Show 1 more storyline

Boom or bust

±7.24% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±7.24% 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 91.8% of a perfect score
best 96.6%

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1913 (80 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1338 (190 pts)	#1128 (300 pts)	#1732 (135 pts)	#1200 (270 pts)	#1391 (205 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1073 (296 pts)	#1324 (236 pts)	#1394 (216 pts)	#986 (376 pts)	#1245 (251 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#717 (493 pts)	#693 (543 pts)	#552 (698 pts)	#986 (353 pts)	#738 (498 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to HOLY SMOKES GA, each with one reason worth a look.

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

BETHEL SMOKERS

#1,594 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1558

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to HOLY SMOKES GA)

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen May 8, 2015

⚔ Head-to-head

KG Cookers

#1,600 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1561

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to HOLY SMOKES GA)

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQmyway

#1,592 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1560

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Jan 22, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Regi-Q BBQ

#1,593 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1558

They turned up 8 years after HOLY SMOKES GA did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Sep 11, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

MADE WITH RUB

#1,606 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1558

Level with HOLY SMOKES GA on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Oct 14, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

SMOKEAHOLICS KS

#1,605 of the rated field

1558 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 64%
Peak: 1573

Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 5 years before HOLY SMOKES GA's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 11 contests

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Backwoods BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Under the Radar	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
WINK'S BARBEQUE	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
QMEISTERS	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
WAYLON'S WICKEDLY GOOD Q	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Angry Jack BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
FAT, DRUNK & STUPID	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
YES, DEAR BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SAUCED! BBQ TEAM	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	4	1	1	180 🔥	161.6456	171.21	top 35%
Pork Ribs	9	4	0	1	174.2744	163.3828	170.07	top 37%
Pork	8	5	0	0	174.2628	162.2400	169.32	top 32%
Brisket	9	3	0	1	177.7028	159.9428	168.86	top 39%

“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)	3	0	top 18%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 50%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
GA	8	0	top 37%
TN	1	0	top 61%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival	2	28	0	top 49%	May 25, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in GA 8 of 9 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 290 finished ahead 272 times, behind 197

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

20182 milestones

May 25 Peak power rating (1558) Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival
May 25 Most recent contest Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival

20158 milestones

Mar 27 First tracked contest Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First call Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First category win (Chicken) Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First overall top-10 Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First overall podium Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score695.3368 Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash
Mar 27 Career-best overall score695.3368 Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.4	Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash	Mar 27, 2015
+15.1	Flames on the Flint (GBC Qualifier)	Mar 11, 2016
+13.2	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier)	Oct 7, 2016
+9.9	Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off (GBC Qualifier)	May 8, 2015
+9.4	The Georgia Smithfield Guinea Pig	Jul 14, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.9	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier)	May 22, 2015

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	1	0	0	0%	top 57%	93%	93%
2017	2	0	0	100%	top 34%	95%	94.7%
2016	2	1	0	100%	top 17%	95.6%	94.7%
2015	4	2	1	100%	top 49%	96.6%	88.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
May 25, 2018	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival Evans, GA	41 / 72 (669.6000)	41 (167.9772)	21 (170.8572)	53 (162.2400)	33 (168.5256)
Jul 14, 2017	The Georgia Smithfield Guinea Pig Cummings, GA	11 / 41 (683.8740)	10 (174.2628)	22 (166.8228)	12 (170.8228)	9 (171.9656)
May 26, 2017	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA	28 / 67 (679.8740)	7 (177.7028)	40 (167.9656)	9 (174.2628)	52 (159.9428)
Oct 7, 2016	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) Lyons, GA	5 / 26 (688.4800)	5 (174.2628)	7 (174.2744)	4 (171.9772)	16 (167.9656)
Mar 11, 2016	Flames on the Flint (GBC Qualifier) Bainbridge, GA	13 / 89 (675.8856)	46 (166.2400)	62 (163.3828)	6 (172.5600)	8 (173.7028)
Jul 3, 2015	Blues Hog Barbecue, Music & Craft Festival Jackson, TN	31 / 51 (664.9712)	42 (161.6456)	10 (171.4172)	33 (165.0856)	23 (166.8228)
May 22, 2015	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA	65 / 65 (515.3368)	22 (170.8228)	4 (174.2628)	—	21 (170.2512)
May 8, 2015	Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off (GBC Qualifier) 🏅 Waynesboro, GA	9 / 39 (672.4456)	11 (167.9656)	2 (174.2744)	10 (167.3828)	18 (162.8228)
Mar 27, 2015	Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash Ashburn, GA	3 / 28 (695.3368)	1 (180)	17 (167.3712)	7 (170.2628)	2 (177.7028)

HOLY SMOKES GA

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (8 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

They almost always walk

High-water mark

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Announced themselves early

Boom or bust

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

Overall rank by season

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)