SMOKIN NC

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

Power ranking

#1214

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1584

peak 1610 · rated over 39 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-05-08

latest 2019-10-04

Best ToY finish

#261

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

7 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 39 contests

Avg finish

top 49%

overall standings

Best overall

689.6688 / 720

Master · Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

663.96 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 666.25 (-2.29)

Walk rate

62%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

177.7144

Chicken · Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff

Consistency

±11.47

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.94 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.92)

Road miles

5,254

mi across 39 mapped stops · furthest 226 mi

Schedule strength

75%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1597)

Purse competed for

$34K

listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 3 state-championship entries

Master avg

666.25 / 720

39 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (13 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.

They almost always walk

62% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 24 of 39 contests

A top-10 category call in 62% of their 39 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

689.6688 career-best overall

95.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 689.6688 at Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival — 95.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
2017-06-16

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY has finished one call ahead of SMOKIN NC 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2017 their best year

2017 was the year it came together: 12 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 37%.

12 contests
3 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 37%

A tough matchup

20–0 behind in the head-to-head

SAUCED! BBQ TEAM ahead in 100% of their meetings

SAUCED! BBQ TEAM has come out ahead in 20 of their 20 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.0 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.02 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 18% of the time against 33%.

Pork Ribs avg 164.92
Chicken avg 168.94
7 calls in 39 entries

A strong matchup

15–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 88% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS in 15 of their 17 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

15 of 21 shared chicken entries lost

CONTAGIOUS Q ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, CONTAGIOUS Q has out-cooked them in 15 of 21 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

SMOKE ON THIS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A May team

Top 35% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 35% across 7 contests, versus top 49% the rest of the year.

7 May contests
top 49% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,254 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,254 miles across 39 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 226 miles to The Tony Stone Cookeville Cookoff.

39 mapped stops
furthest 226 mi

The metronome

±1.59% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.59% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.5% of a perfect score
39 contests

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Jiggy With The Piggy every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 18th

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.

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

Needs More Cowbell BBQ

#1221 of the rated field

1584 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 41
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 34%
Peak: 1591

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 41 contests to 39, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 39 contests
last seen 2025-04-25

⚔ Head-to-head

PO PO PORK

#1213 of the rated field

1584 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 46
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1594

No shared contest yet.

46 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 15% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 46 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

BUSH LEAGUE BBQ (inactive)

#1212 of the rated field

1584 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1584

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 26 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 26 contests
last seen 2017-03-03

⚔ Head-to-head

BAVARIAN SMOKE BBQ

#1217 of the rated field

1584 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 42%
Peak: 1593

No shared contest yet.

Level with SMOKIN NC on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2018-10-12

⚔ Head-to-head

Knights of the Holy Grill

#1215 of the rated field

1584 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1584

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 22 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 22 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG PAPA'S COUNTRY KITCHEN

#1219 of the rated field

1584 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1597

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than SMOKIN NC has cooked, 22 to 39, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 22 contests
last seen 2019-04-12

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
CONTAGIOUS Q	21	3	18	14%	⚔ compare
SAUCED! BBQ TEAM	20	0	20	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON THIS	19	3	16	16%	⚔ compare
HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS	17	15	2	88%	⚔ compare
HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY	16	7	9	44%	⚔ compare
SMOKING BUTT HEADS	16	4	12	25%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA	16	4	12	25%	⚔ compare
ROCKY TOP BARBEQUE	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE THIS	15	6	9	40%	⚔ compare
MIDNIGHT BURN	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
Q-FACTOR	14	8	6	57%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
Under the Radar	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
PALMETTO PITMASTERS	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
HICKORY PRIME	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	39	13	1	4	177.7144	157.0740	168.94	top 43%
Pork Ribs	39	7	0	0	174.2744	151.3484	164.92	top 53%
Pork	39	12	0	3	176.5600	155.9428	166.59	top 48%
Brisket	39	8	0	0	174.2628	154.2400	165.80	top 49%

“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	Avg finish
NC	14	top 44%
VA	8	top 61%
TN	6	top 46%
GA	5	top 55%
SC	3	top 47%
KY	3	top 37%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 47%
Medium (20–39)	23	top 55%
Large (40+)	15	top 40%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Jiggy With The Piggy	4	18	top 36%	2019-05-03
Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show	3	19	top 64%	2019-08-09
*Chillin & Grillin in the Glades (JUDGES FULL)	3	14	top 60%	2018-07-20
*Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	3	3	top 37%	2018-06-15
*Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel A)	2	18	top 42%	2018-11-09
Squealin in the Square	2	6	top 47%	2018-10-05
*Covington Cork & Pork Festival	2	19	top 68%	2018-06-22
Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass	2	13	top 31%	2018-05-18
Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	2	25	top 55%	2018-03-02
Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)	2	7	top 50%	2018-02-02
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	15	top 63%	2017-08-18
Smoke on the mountain/VA state BBQ championship	2	7	top 52%	2016-07-15

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

On the trail 4.4 yrs 2015-05-08 → 2019-10-04

Busiest season 2017 12 contests

Contests a season 7.8 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in NC 14 of 39 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 22 12 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 39 entries · 1 win · 13 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 168.94 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.92)

Walk rate 62% a top-10 call in 24 of 39 contests

Overall top-10 rate 18% 7 of 39 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 666.25 out of 720 · 39 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 556 826–714 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 5,254 39 mapped stops · furthest 226 mi

Schedule strength 1597 average field rating faced — tougher than 75% of rated contests

Purse competed for $33,825 listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 3 state-championship entries

Power rating 1584 peak 1610 · #1214 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
May 8 First tracked contest Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge
May 8 First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.1712 Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge
Sep 11 First call Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff
Sep 11 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7144 Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff
2016
Jun 17 First overall top-10 Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival
Jul 8 10th tracked contest Chillin & Grillin In The Glades
Nov 11 First overall podium *Town of Mt. Pleasant Fall Festival & First Annual Polar Pig Cook-Off
2017
Jun 16 Career-best overall score689.6688 Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival
Oct 6 25th tracked contest Squealin in the Square(PALMETTO BBQ SERIES)
Nov 10 Peak power rating (1610) Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (JUDGES FULL)
2019
May 3 First category win (Chicken) Jiggy With The Piggy
Oct 4 Most recent contest Squealin on the Square

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.1	*Town of Mt. Pleasant Fall Festival & First Annual Polar Pig Cook-Off	2016-11-11
+15	Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown(Teams & Judges Full)	2017-02-03
+14.5	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	2017-06-16
+12.1	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	2016-06-17
+9.7	WNC BBQ Festival(Smokin in the Valley)	2017-07-21

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.2	Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show	2019-08-09
-8.5	Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)	2018-02-02
-7.8	*Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	2018-06-15
-7.5	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	2018-03-02
-5.9	*Covington Cork & Pork Festival	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)

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)
2019	3	1	1	100%	top 51%	93%	92.6%
2018	10	0	0	30%	top 62%	93.2%	91.6%
2017	12	3	0	75%	top 37%	95.8%	93%
2016	9	3	0	78%	top 45%	95.4%	93.3%
2015	5	0	0	40%	top 60%	94.7%	91.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-10-04	Squealin on the Square 🏅 Laurens, SC	9 / 19 (668.3880)	5 (173.1084)	7 (168.5484)	10 (162.7884)	9 (163.9428)
2019-08-09	Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show 🏅 Franklin, NC	22 / 29 (662.0792)	25 (157.0740)	19 (167.3828)	21 (165.0740)	6 (172.5484)
2019-05-03	Jiggy With The Piggy 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	18 / 60 (669.5884)	1 (177.7028)	14 (169.7028)	30 (164.5372)	49 (157.6456)
2018-11-09	*Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel A) Concord, NC	26 / 56 (666.1828)	38 (164.5372)	11 (170.2856)	37 (163.3828)	17 (167.9772)
2018-10-05	Squealin in the Square Laurens, SC	19 / 27 (653.5428)	19 (163.3828)	24 (153.0972)	15 (167.3828)	7 (169.6800)
2018-08-10	Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show Franklin, NC	30 / 51 (661.5772)	34 (165.1200)	28 (167.3828)	22 (166.2400)	32 (162.8344)
2018-07-20	*Chillin & Grillin in the Glades (JUDGES FULL) Wise, VA	21 / 29 (655.8740)	20 (161.7028)	16 (163.9656)	15 (166.2400)	18 (163.9656)
2018-06-22	*Covington Cork & Pork Festival Covington, VA	19 / 27 (652.3656)	14 (166.8228)	25 (154.2172)	7 (169.6800)	21 (161.6456)
2018-06-15	*Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival Barbourville, KY	26 / 34 (655.2916)	12 (171.9772)	33 (153.6688)	28 (161.1084)	18 (168.5372)
2018-05-18	Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN	15 / 43 (670.7196)	15 (169.1084)	12 (170.2628)	28 (164.5256)	18 (166.8228)
2018-05-04	Jiggy With the Piggy Kannapolis, NC	23 / 70 (670.7084)	5 (176.5600)	52 (157.6456)	22 (169.6800)	34 (166.8228)
2018-03-02	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA	42 / 59 (651.2452)	21 (170.8228)	32 (165.1084)	47 (161.0740)	49 (154.2400)
2018-02-02	Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Young Harris, GA	29 / 35 (655.2572)	24 (166.2284)	20 (167.9772)	27 (165.6800)	34 (155.3716)
2017-11-10	Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (JUDGES FULL) Concord, NC	18 / 47 (658.1600)	17 (170.2744)	33 (159.3600)	6 (168.5600)	25 (159.9656)
2017-10-06	Squealin in the Square(PALMETTO BBQ SERIES) Laurens, SC	6 / 26 (674.1828)	4 (171.4056)	7 (168.5716)	5 (170.8228)	17 (163.3828)
2017-09-08	Tony Stone-Cookeville Cook-off Cookeville, TN	16 / 34 (671.8972)	24 (165.6800)	15 (167.3828)	16 (169.1200)	12 (169.7144)
2017-08-18	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Asheville, NC	15 / 29 (664.4684)	17 (167.9772)	19 (163.9772)	10 (167.9656)	19 (164.5484)
2017-07-21	WNC BBQ Festival(Smokin in the Valley) Maggie Valley, NC	11 / 47 (685.5996)	20 (171.4172)	14 (172.5484)	6 (175.4056)	25 (166.2284)
2017-07-14	*Chillin & Grillin In The Glades Wise, VA	14 / 26 (656.4456)	20 (161.0972)	11 (164.5944)	14 (161.6456)	9 (169.1084)
2017-06-23	*Covington Cork & Pork Festival Covington, VA	21 / 32 (650.6744)	25 (161.6572)	19 (161.6572)	18 (163.3828)	14 (163.9772)
2017-06-16	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival Barbourville, KY	3 / 31 (689.6688)	2 (176.0000)	4 (173.1544)	15 (167.3944)	4 (173.1200)
2017-05-19	Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN	13 / 49 (680.4800)	34 (163.9428)	11 (170.2972)	3 (176.5600)	21 (169.6800)
2017-05-05	Jiggy With the Piggy Kannapolis, NC	35 / 75 (654.7200)	18 (170.2744)	64 (154.2172)	52 (159.9656)	14 (170.2628)
2017-03-03	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA	25 / 63 (671.2796)	6 (175.4172)	52 (157.6684)	37 (163.9312)	10 (174.2628)
2017-02-03	Brasstown Valley Resort BBQ Throwdown(Teams & Judges Full) Young Harris, GA	7 / 41 (679.8856)	3 (177.1428)	24 (165.6800)	11 (170.8228)	19 (166.2400)
2016-11-11	*Town of Mt. Pleasant Fall Festival & First Annual Polar Pig Cook-Off Mt. Pleasant, NC	3 / 25 (686.7772)	5 (174.8572)	9 (166.2516)	2 (172.5484)	5 (173.1200)
2016-09-09	The Tony Stone Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN	17 / 30 (674.6968)	5 (174.8572)	20 (168.5372)	30 (160.4912)	14 (170.8112)
2016-08-12	Mountain High BBQ Festival & Car Show Franklin, NC	19 / 34 (669.6000)	14 (173.1200)	22 (165.6800)	13 (169.6800)	22 (161.1200)
2016-07-15	Smoke on the mountain/VA state BBQ championship Galax, VA	7 / 25 (677.5884)	8 (169.6800)	6 (174.2744)	13 (163.3712)	9 (170.2628)
2016-07-08	Chillin & Grillin In The Glades Wise, VA	14 / 26 (663.3944)	6 (169.7028)	16 (162.8916)	3 (171.4400)	18 (159.3600)
2016-06-17	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival Barbourville, KY	8 / 32 (686.1712)	4 (176.5600)	5 (174.2628)	8 (170.8228)	19 (164.5256)
2016-06-03	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Asheville, NC	20 / 27 (664.5028)	14 (166.2856)	10 (169.1316)	11 (167.4056)	22 (161.6800)
2016-05-06	Jiggy With the Piggy Kannapolis, NC	25 / 76 (666.2288)	59 (157.6800)	43 (162.8344)	4 (174.8800)	18 (170.8344)
2016-03-04	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier) Lawrenceville, GA	38 / 59 (656.4344)	37 (165.1200)	21 (167.9888)	56 (155.9428)	26 (167.3828)
2015-11-20	Bar-B-Cure Knoxville, TN	21 / 35 (665.5544)	20 (168.5256)	30 (159.3716)	9 (171.4172)	16 (166.2400)
2015-09-11	Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN	16 / 31 (681.6116)	3 (177.7144)	16 (169.6916)	27 (162.2400)	16 (171.9656)
2015-08-07	Black Dog Music and Que Festival Floyd, VA	19 / 27 (651.8628)	13 (165.6912)	13 (165.6916)	23 (157.6800)	16 (162.8000)
2015-07-17	Smoke on the Mountain - VA State BBQ Championship Galax, VA	22 / 29 (642.7312)	15 (165.7028)	27 (151.3484)	14 (169.1200)	21 (156.5600)
2015-05-08	Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge Kannapolis, NC	31 / 74 (666.1712)	41 (166.8228)	34 (165.6800)	32 (166.8456)	26 (166.8228)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#936 (293 pts)	#672 (508 pts)	#883 (348 pts)	#1074 (253 pts)	#865 (358 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#501 (717 pts)	#366 (952 pts)	#470 (787 pts)	#449 (812 pts)	#424 (847 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#261 (1298 pts)	#207 (1381 pts)	#314 (1133 pts)	#189 (1428 pts)	#304 (1173 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#378 (1019 pts)	#272 (1214 pts)	#388 (999 pts)	#248 (1304 pts)	#460 (889 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#856 (392 pts)	#649 (592 pts)	#914 (387 pts)	#844 (432 pts)	#823 (437 pts)