MAY THE SMOKE BE WITH YOU

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

Power ranking

#3949

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1484

peak 1484 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-10-10

latest 2021-10-30

Best ToY finish

#1016

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

671.9428 / 720

Master · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Perfect 180s

Current form

648.07 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 634.03 (+14.03)

Walk rate

44%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.8572

Chicken · Maryland State BBQ Bash

Consistency

±22.91

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 161.95 · weakest Brisket (155.09)

Road miles

12,305

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 11590 mi

Schedule strength

51%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1566)

Master avg

634.03 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 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.

High-water mark

671.9428 career-best overall

93.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 671.9428 at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour — 93.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-08-05

Their season

2016 their best year

2016 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 51%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 51%

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.9 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.86 points below their pork, and turns into a call 22% of the time against 44%.

Brisket avg 155.09
Pork avg 161.95
2 calls in 9 entries

The comeback

5.2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 5.2 years, then back at Smokin in the Valley (International) (2021-10-30).

last seen 2016-08-26
back 2021-10-30

Pork nemesis

5 of 6 shared pork entries lost

SAUCE THIS BBQ ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SAUCE THIS BBQ has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Team Meat Coma has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 53% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 53% across 4 contests, versus top 66% the rest of the year.

4 August contests
top 66% the rest of the year

The long haul

12,305 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 12,305 miles across 9 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 11,590 miles to Smokin in the Valley (International).

9 mapped stops
furthest 11,590 mi

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.

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

SMOKE JUNKIES BBQ

#3943 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1484

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.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2014-09-20

⚔ Head-to-head

honey b-b-q

#3970 of the rated field

1484 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2024-09-20

⚔ Head-to-head

WEST COAST SMOKE

#3951 of the rated field

1484 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

Level with MAY THE SMOKE BE WITH YOU on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2021-06-04

⚔ Head-to-head

TNT Smokin' BBQ

#3940 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 3 years before MAY THE SMOKE BE WITH YOU's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 10 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Big Bad Hawg's

#3959 of the rated field

1484 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2017-10-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Yard Sale BBQ

#3938 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1505

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-07-11

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SAUCE THIS BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
3 EYZ BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
BIG UGLY'S BBQ - MD	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	2	0	174.8572	138.7768	160.43	top 61%
Pork Ribs	9	1	0	165.7372	146.8688	156.56	top 65%
Pork	9	4	2	171.9884	150.8456	161.95	top 47%
Brisket	9	2	0	170.2628	143.9428	155.09	top 64%

“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
MD	7	0	top 61%
SC	1	0	top 93%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 79%
Medium (20–39)	5	top 68%
Large (40+)	3	top 59%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	9	0	top 45%	2016-08-05

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 7.1 yrs 2014-10-10 → 2021-10-30

Busiest season 2015 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MD 7 of 9 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 161.95 · weakest Brisket (155.09)

Walk rate 44% a top-10 call in 4 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 11% 1 of 9 contests

Master average 634.03 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 223 109–220 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 12,305 9 mapped stops · furthest 11,590 mi

Schedule strength 1566 average field rating faced — tougher than 51% of rated contests

Longest layoff 5.2 yrs 2016-08-26 → 2021-10-30

Power rating 1484 peak 1484 · #3949 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Oct 10 First tracked contest 4th Annual High Point BBQ Battle
2015
Aug 28 First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2016
Aug 5 First overall top-10 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Aug 5 First overall past 90% of a perfect score671.9428 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Aug 5 Career-best overall score671.9428 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Aug 12 Career-best single call (Chicken)174.8572 Maryland State BBQ Bash
Aug 12 Peak power rating (1499) Maryland State BBQ Bash
2021
Oct 30 Most recent contest Smokin in the Valley (International)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.8	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2016-08-05
+10.8	Maryland State BBQ Bash	2016-08-12
+2.1	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2015-08-28

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.7	Smokin in the Valley (International)	2021-10-30
-7.2	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)	2016-08-26
-7.1	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ	2015-07-31
-6.6	Pig & A Jig BBQ Festival	2015-05-29
-6.5	4th Annual High Point BBQ Battle	2014-10-10

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	1	0	100%	top 79%	86%	86%
2016	3	1	67%	top 51%	93.3%	92.2%
2015	4	0	25%	top 72%	87.3%	86.5%
2014	1	0	0%	top 76%	83.8%	83.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021-10-30	Smokin in the Valley (International) Perth,	11 / 14 (619.4968)	11 (158.8684)	8 (153.7372)	10 (153.7256)	8 (153.1656)
2016-08-26	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) N. Charleston, SC	28 / 30 (651.2912)	20 (169.1200)	30 (153.6800)	19 (167.9656)	26 (160.5256)
2016-08-12	Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD	12 / 42 (669.1312)	7 (174.8572)	21 (165.7372)	3 (171.9884)	26 (156.5484)
2016-08-05	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Laurel, MD	9 / 29 (671.9428)	5 (173.1544)	19 (160.5600)	6 (167.9656)	8 (170.2628)
2015-08-28	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Laurel, MD	17 / 29 (628.4688)	21 (154.7888)	12 (161.7372)	3 (165.6800)	24 (146.2628)
2015-07-31	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ Leonardtown, MD	40 / 54 (619.3140)	29 (160.0000)	29 (159.3828)	39 (155.9884)	45 (143.9428)
2015-05-29	Pig & A Jig BBQ Festival Snow Hill, MD	26 / 32 (626.7540)	24 (157.7484)	21 (159.9312)	21 (161.0972)	27 (147.9772)
2015-05-01	Naptown barBAYq Contest and Music Festival Annapolis, MD	48 / 64 (616.5484)	63 (138.7768)	53 (146.8688)	24 (162.2856)	11 (168.6172)
2014-10-10	4th Annual High Point BBQ Battle Clarksburg, MD	19 / 25 (603.3600)	18 (156.5828)	17 (147.4288)	18 (150.8456)	18 (148.5028)

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
2016 ↗	Master	#1016 (319 pts)	#780 (504 pts)	#1384 (219 pts)	#801 (489 pts)	#1209 (264 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1085 (271 pts)	#1195 (256 pts)	#1052 (316 pts)	#846 (431 pts)	#1046 (306 pts)