The Inked Pig

The Inked Pig is a competition barbecue team with 15 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 11th of 48 at The Ironman (2015). They are ranked #3071 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#3,071

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1504

peak 1513 · rated over 15 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 27, 2014

latest Apr 5, 2019 · 4.8 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#747

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

0% of 15 contests

Avg finish

top 57%

overall standings

Best overall

658.8228 / 720

Master · The Ironman

Perfect 180s

Current form

638.03 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 636.46 (+1.57)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5828

Brisket · The Ironman

Consistency

±15.68

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 161.01 · weakest Pork Ribs (155.62)

Road miles

868

across 15 mapped stops · furthest 91 mi

Schedule strength

43%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1557)

Master avg

636.46 / 720

15 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

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

Their season

2015 their best year

2015 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 44%.

5 contests
0 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 44%

A tough matchup

13–1 behind in the head-to-head

3 EYZ BBQ ahead in 93% of their meetings

3 EYZ BBQ has come out ahead in 13 of their 14 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.4 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.39 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 0%.

Pork Ribs avg 155.62
Chicken avg 161.01
1 call in 15 entries

A strong matchup

5–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BENTWOOD SMOKERS in 5 of their 7 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

14 of 14 shared chicken entries lost

3 EYZ BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, 3 EYZ BBQ has out-cooked them in 14 of 14 shared chicken entries.

A May team

Top 45% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 45% across 3 contests, versus top 57% the rest of the year.

3 May contests
top 57% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.18% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.18% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.4% of a perfect score
15 contests

Show 1 more storyline

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked The Ironman every year from 2015 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 11th

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
2017 ↗	Master	#2212 (60 pts)	#2286 (60 pts)	#2304 (60 pts)	#2260 (60 pts)	#1199 (260 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1161 (260 pts)	#1008 (350 pts)	#1208 (270 pts)	#1322 (240 pts)	#1105 (300 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#747 (469 pts)	#794 (459 pts)	#746 (509 pts)	#555 (699 pts)	#634 (589 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to The Inked Pig, each with one reason worth a look.

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

WILD SHOOTERS BBQ

#3,060 of the rated field

1504 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1512

Careers of much the same size, 15 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Aug 9, 2019

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POVERTY HILL SMOKERS

#3,052 of the rated field

1504 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1536

They've been 1536 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Sep 29, 2017

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SMOKE'N'FIRE BBQ TEAM

#3,083 of the rated field

1503 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1561

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 56% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jul 21, 2018

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COLONIAL EMBERS

#3,051 of the rated field

1504 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1519

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Mar 23, 2018

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PIGS ON THE RUN

#3,085 of the rated field

1503 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1518

Level with The Inked Pig on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Sep 6, 2019

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SMOKIN YETI BBQ

#3,072 of the rated field

1504 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1506

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen May 25, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
3 EYZ BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
DRILLING & GRILLING	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BIG UGLY'S BBQ - MD	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
SAUCE THIS BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
BONE TO BARK BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
4:20 Q	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
BENTWOOD SMOKERS	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
BIG BLOCK BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
Brown Liquor BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	15	0	0	0	166.2856	149.6684	161.01	top 53%
Pork Ribs	15	1	0	0	168.5372	131.3144	155.62	top 64%
Pork	15	2	1	1	175.4400	150.2744	160.12	top 56%
Brisket	15	3	0	1	176.5828	139.4400	159.71	top 47%

“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 59%
Large (40+)	12	0	top 57%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
MD	7	top 49%
PA	6	top 60%
DE	1	top 69%
VA	1	top 80%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
The Ironman	5	11	top 57%	Apr 5, 2019
Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival	2	23	top 51%	May 6, 2016
Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ	2	17	top 54%	Jul 31, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 5 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in MD 7 of 15 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 9 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 335 finished ahead 327 times, behind 415

Longest layoff 1 yrs Mar 31, 2017 → Apr 6, 2018

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

20191 milestone

Apr 5 Most recent contest The Ironman

20171 milestone

Mar 31 Career-best single call (Brisket)176.5828 The Ironman

20161 milestone

May 6 10th tracked contest Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival

20155 milestones

Apr 3 First call The Ironman
Apr 3 First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.8228 The Ironman
Apr 3 Career-best overall score658.8228 The Ironman
May 29 First category win (Pork) Beltway BBQ Showdown
Jul 31 Peak power rating (1513) Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ

20141 milestone

Jun 27 First tracked contest Hogging Up BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.5	The Ironman	Apr 3, 2015
+8.9	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ	Jul 31, 2015
+7.5	Beltway BBQ Showdown	May 29, 2015
+5.1	Interstate BBQ Festival	Apr 20, 2018
+3.8	Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival	May 6, 2016

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.2	Hogging Up BBQ Festival	Jun 27, 2014
-6.2	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ	Aug 1, 2014
-5.9	The Ironman	Apr 1, 2016
-4.6	Smoke in the Park	Sep 25, 2015
-4.6	The Historic New Castle Colonial BBQ Competition at Battery Park	Jun 10, 2016

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	1	0	0%	top 69%	88.4%	88.4%
2018	2	0	0%	top 55%	91.2%	89.5%
2017	1	0	100%	top 58%	87.8%	87.8%
2016	4	0	0%	top 61%	89.8%	88.2%
2015	5	1	80%	top 44%	91.5%	89.8%
2014	2	0	0%	top 78%	84.7%	84.6%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Apr 5, 2019	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	29 / 42 (636.3428)	22 (163.9656)	31 (158.2172)	30 (158.8000)	30 (155.3600)
Apr 20, 2018	Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD	31 / 67 (656.4116)	51 (157.6572)	24 (166.2744)	44 (162.8000)	14 (169.6800)
Apr 6, 2018	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	38 / 60 (631.9088)	48 (153.1888)	44 (154.2172)	38 (158.2628)	23 (166.2400)
Mar 31, 2017	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	34 / 59 (631.9084)	51 (149.6684)	40 (155.3828)	50 (150.2744)	2 (176.5828)
Jun 10, 2016	The Historic New Castle Colonial BBQ Competition at Battery Park New Castle, DE	27 / 39 (633.5544)	14 (164.5600)	29 (159.9428)	27 (159.3944)	29 (149.6572)
May 6, 2016	Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD	23 / 51 (644.4800)	15 (166.2628)	19 (162.8572)	32 (155.9428)	25 (159.4172)
Apr 15, 2016	Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD	23 / 41 (646.8112)	27 (164.5600)	29 (156.5600)	29 (158.8684)	13 (166.8228)
Apr 1, 2016	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	40 / 54 (614.6748)	24 (162.8344)	53 (131.3144)	25 (161.1316)	26 (159.3944)
Sep 25, 2015	Smoke in the Park Lemoyne, PA	25 / 34 (633.5656)	29 (155.3600)	17 (162.2628)	16 (161.1200)	21 (154.8228)
Jul 31, 2015	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ Leonardtown, MD	17 / 54 (656.4684)	19 (166.2856)	5 (168.5372)	16 (165.6800)	32 (155.9656)
May 29, 2015	Beltway BBQ Showdown Ft. Washington, MD	13 / 39 (649.6572)	12 (163.9884)	16 (158.8804)	1 (175.4400)	22 (151.3484)
May 1, 2015	Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD	37 / 64 (634.1712)	44 (157.1428)	45 (152.5256)	52 (153.0512)	7 (171.4516)
Apr 3, 2015	The Ironman Shady Grove, PA	11 / 48 (658.8228)	12 (166.2628)	37 (150.2744)	9 (171.4400)	4 (170.8456)
Aug 1, 2014	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ Leonardtown, MD	45 / 59 (608.4228)	29 (160.5600)	47 (150.1944)	27 (158.2284)	49 (139.4400)
Jun 27, 2014	Hogging Up BBQ Festival Winchester, VA	37 / 46 (609.6456)	13 (162.8228)	44 (146.8572)	39 (151.3940)	38 (148.5716)

The Inked Pig

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Master avg

Storylines (8 found in their record)

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

A May team

The metronome

A standing appointment

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)