HOLY SMOKES GA

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

Power ranking

#1598

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1558

peak 1558 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-03-27

latest 2018-05-25

Best ToY finish

#717

Master 2015

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

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

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Chicken · Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash

Consistency

±52.15

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 171.21 · weakest Brisket (168.86)

Road miles

1,479

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 389 mi

Schedule strength

70%

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

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

660.64 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (8 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.

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180s

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
2015-03-27

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 (2015-03-27).

2015-03-27
28-team field

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%

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.

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

KG Cookers

#1599 of the rated field

1558 ▼ 0 power rating

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

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 7 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

STEAMBOAT BBQ-HOTDIGGITY HOG

#1596 of the rated field

1558 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1562

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 13 contests to 9.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2022-09-23

⚔ Head-to-head

A Guy & A Grill

#1597 of the rated field

1558 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 67%
Peak: 1558

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 6 contests, alongside a 67% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2026-03-06

⚔ Head-to-head

TCB BBQ

#1591 of the rated field

1558 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1558

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after HOLY SMOKES GA did, first appearing in 2022.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2025-08-15

⚔ Head-to-head

BYG'S BBQ

#1600 of the rated field

1558 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1558

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 15 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2026-07-10

⚔ Head-to-head

MasterQue

#1595 of the rated field

1558 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1560

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 23 contests
last seen 2025-03-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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	180.0000 🔥	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 state / province

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

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	3	0	top 18%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 50%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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%	2018-05-25

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.2 yrs 2015-03-27 → 2018-05-25

Busiest season 2015 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in GA 8 of 9 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 1 win · 4 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 171.21 · weakest Brisket (168.86)

Walk rate 89% a top-10 call in 8 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 33% 3 of 9 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 660.64 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Perfect 180s 1 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 290 272–197 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,479 9 mapped stops · furthest 389 mi

Schedule strength 1589 average field rating faced — tougher than 70% of rated contests

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Power rating 1558 peak 1558 · #1598 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
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
2018
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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.4	Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash	2015-03-27
+15.1	Flames on the Flint (GBC Qualifier)	2016-03-11
+13.3	The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier)	2016-10-07
+9.9	Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off (GBC Qualifier)	2015-05-08
+9.4	The Georgia Smithfield Guinea Pig	2017-07-14

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.9	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier)	2015-05-22

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

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
2018-05-25	*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)
2017-07-14	The Georgia Smithfield Guinea Pig Cummings, GA	11 / 41 (683.8740)	10 (174.2628)	22 (166.8228)	12 (170.8228)	9 (171.9656)
2017-05-26	*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)
2016-10-07	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)
2016-03-11	Flames on the Flint (GBC Qualifier) Bainbridge, GA	13 / 89 (675.8856)	46 (166.2400)	62 (163.3828)	6 (172.5600)	8 (173.7028)
2015-07-03	Blues Hog Barbecue, Music & Craft Festival Jackson, TN	31 / 51 (664.9712)	42 (161.6456)	10 (171.4172)	33 (165.0856)	23 (166.8228)
2015-05-22	Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA	65 / 65 (515.3368)	22 (170.8228)	4 (174.2628)	—	21 (170.2512)
2015-05-08	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)
2015-03-27	Fire Ant Festival BBQ Bash Ashburn, GA	3 / 28 (695.3368)	1 (180.0000)	17 (167.3712)	7 (170.2628)	2 (177.7028)

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
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)