12 BAR BLUES CUE

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

Power ranking

#5556

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1449

peak 1449 · rated over 24 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-07-05

latest 2022-08-26

Best ToY finish

#616

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 24 contests

Avg finish

top 69%

overall standings

Best overall

653.6228 / 720

Master · Montana Pitmaster Classic

Perfect 180s

Current form

637.04 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 627.98 (+9.07)

Walk rate

42%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.2972

Pork Ribs · Miles City Cowtown Cook Off

Consistency

±20.82

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 158.42 · weakest Chicken (155.09)

Road miles

3,753

mi across 24 mapped stops · furthest 270 mi

Schedule strength

36%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1547)

Purse competed for

$46K

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 6 state-championship entries

Master avg

627.98 / 720

24 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.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Half Ass BBQ has finished one call ahead of 12 BAR BLUES CUE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

20–0 behind in the head-to-head

Grate Expectations ahead in 100% of their meetings

Grate Expectations has come out ahead in 20 of their 20 shared contests.

The comeback

3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3 years, then back at Montana Pitmaster Classic (2022-08-26).

last seen 2019-08-23
back 2022-08-26

Pork Ribs nemesis

18 of 20 shared pork ribs entries lost

MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ ahead 90% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ has out-cooked them in 18 of 20 shared pork ribs entries.

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

SMOKIN JERKS has landed one call behind them 3 times.

An August team

Top 61% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 61% across 9 contests, versus top 69% the rest of the year.

9 August contests
top 69% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,753 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,753 miles across 24 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 270 miles to Carnivores Classic.

24 mapped stops
furthest 270 mi

A standing appointment

6 years running at one contest

They've cooked Montana BBQ Cook-Off every year from 2014 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 15th

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.

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

BIG BOYZ BBQ

#5545 of the rated field

1449 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 3%
Peak: 1449

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to 12 BAR BLUES CUE)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 12 BAR BLUES CUE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 39 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

FAT BEAR BBQ

#5548 of the rated field

1449 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1449

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2026-04-03

⚔ Head-to-head

SMR GOOD BBQ'ERS

#5560 of the rated field

1449 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before 12 BAR BLUES CUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 14 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

SWEET LIPS BBQ

#5543 of the rated field

1449 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than 12 BAR BLUES CUE has cooked, 14 to 24, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2017-10-06

⚔ Head-to-head

Cherrywood BBQ Smoke Team

#5557 of the rated field

1449 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1449

No shared contest yet.

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2026-07-09

⚔ Head-to-head

Shell Rock Smokers

#5538 of the rated field

1449 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1449

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after 12 BAR BLUES CUE did, first appearing in 2022.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2026-07-31

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ	20	1	19	5%	⚔ compare
Grate Expectations	20	0	20	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN JERKS	16	13	3	81%	⚔ compare
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
Camp House BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
Up In Smoke BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Beer Belly BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
PAPA'S PIT CREW	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BIG PIG BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
Lucky Smoke	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
JO-BAWB'S BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
BIG BONE BBQ-MT	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	24	1	0	0	172.5600	142.3084	155.09	top 77%
Pork Ribs	24	5	1	1	174.2972	133.0972	158.42	top 63%
Pork	24	3	0	1	172.0456	140.5716	157.70	top 65%
Brisket	24	4	0	1	173.1544	141.0856	156.77	top 62%

“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
MT	21	0	top 69%
WY	3	0	top 73%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	0	top 88%
Medium (20–39)	23	0	top 69%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Montana BBQ Cook-Off	6	15	top 70%	2019-06-22
Montana Pitmaster Classic	4	4	top 41%	2022-08-26
Miles City Cowtown Cook Off	2	22	top 84%	2019-06-14
BBQ in the Badlands	2	21	top 85%	2018-09-28
Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival	2	16	top 75%	2017-08-18
Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair	2	19	top 82%	2015-08-11

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

On the trail 8.1 yrs 2014-07-05 → 2022-08-26

Busiest season 2017 6 contests

Contests a season 3.4 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MT 21 of 24 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 12 6 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 24 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 158.42 · weakest Chicken (155.09)

Walk rate 42% a top-10 call in 10 of 24 contests

Overall top-10 rate 4% 1 of 24 contests

Master average 627.98 out of 720 · 24 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 262 199–420 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 3,753 24 mapped stops · furthest 270 mi

Schedule strength 1547 average field rating faced — tougher than 36% of rated contests

Purse competed for $46,150 listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 6 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 3 yrs 2019-08-23 → 2022-08-26

Power rating 1449 peak 1449 · #5556 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Jul 5 First tracked contest Montana BBQ Cook-Off
Jul 5 First call Montana BBQ Cook-Off
Jul 5 Peak power rating (1488) Montana BBQ Cook-Off
2016
Sep 23 10th tracked contest Carnivores Classic
2017
Aug 25 First category win (Pork Ribs) *Montana Pitmaster Classic
Aug 25 First overall top-10 *Montana Pitmaster Classic
2018
Aug 24 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.5140 *Montana Pitmaster Classic
2019
Jun 14 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.2972 Miles City Cowtown Cook Off
2022
Aug 26 Career-best overall score653.6228 Montana Pitmaster Classic
Aug 26 Most recent contest Montana Pitmaster Classic

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.7	*Montana Pitmaster Classic	2017-08-25
+6.2	Montana Pitmaster Classic	2019-08-23
+4.9	*Montana Pitmaster Classic	2018-08-24
+3.3	Montana BBQ cook-off	2016-06-25
+2.6	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival	2017-08-18

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.5	Montana BBQ Cook-Off	2014-07-05
-9.6	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair	2014-08-12
-9.4	Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off	2015-06-19
-9.1	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival	2016-08-19
-7.1	BBQ in the Badlands	2018-09-28

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)
2022	1	0	0	100%	top 57%	90.8%	90.8%
2019	3	0	0	67%	top 64%	89%	88.5%
2018	4	0	0	25%	top 69%	90.1%	88.2%
2017	6	1	1	33%	top 61%	90%	88.6%
2016	5	0	0	60%	top 70%	89.4%	88.1%
2015	3	0	0	0%	top 80%	86.3%	83.6%
2014	2	0	0	50%	top 90%	81%	81%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022-08-26	Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT	21 / 37 (653.6228)	10 (172.5600)	25 (165.1200)	37 (147.3828)	16 (168.5600)
2019-08-23	Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT	12 / 29 (641.0972)	23 (153.6800)	9 (164.0000)	18 (150.2628)	3 (173.1544)
2019-06-22	Montana BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Absarokee, MT	21 / 29 (638.1136)	25 (153.6568)	16 (162.8228)	19 (159.9540)	13 (161.6800)
2019-06-14	Miles City Cowtown Cook Off 🏅 Miles City, MT	22 / 28 (631.9772)	14 (165.1544)	6 (174.2972)	25 (147.9772)	25 (144.5484)
2018-09-28	BBQ in the Badlands Glendive, MT	23 / 26 (620.4000)	25 (152.5256)	19 (158.8344)	16 (162.2628)	25 (146.7772)
2018-08-24	*Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT	12 / 26 (648.5140)	22 (151.3484)	6 (172.5828)	12 (162.2628)	12 (162.3200)
2018-06-23	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	18 / 26 (644.0116)	15 (166.8684)	20 (154.8344)	21 (160.0116)	13 (162.2972)
2018-06-15	Miles City Cowtown Cook Off Miles City, MT	20 / 27 (626.0680)	23 (153.6456)	24 (153.0740)	13 (163.3828)	19 (155.9656)
2017-10-14	*Nile Beer-B-Q Billings, MT	15 / 17 (633.6000)	14 (166.2516)	12 (160.5600)	15 (154.2400)	16 (152.5484)
2017-09-29	BBQ in the Badlands Glendive, MT	21 / 26 (641.0512)	25 (153.6912)	19 (162.2628)	18 (159.9772)	15 (165.1200)
2017-08-25	*Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT	4 / 20 (647.9888)	13 (150.7884)	1 (173.7488)	3 (168.0344)	7 (155.4172)
2017-08-18	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	16 / 28 (629.0972)	21 (153.1428)	14 (160.5716)	15 (158.2856)	16 (157.0972)
2017-06-24	Montana BBQ Cook-Off ABSAROKEE, MT	21 / 35 (642.2628)	24 (157.1200)	24 (159.9772)	10 (172.0456)	25 (153.1200)
2017-06-16	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff Miles City, MT	16 / 26 (631.3712)	19 (156.5484)	16 (153.7372)	12 (165.6800)	19 (155.4056)
2016-09-23	Carnivores Classic Missoula, MT	19 / 25 (631.4856)	25 (142.3084)	6 (171.4972)	20 (156.5600)	18 (161.1200)
2016-08-19	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	24 / 26 (610.6744)	25 (149.0856)	18 (158.8344)	25 (151.3600)	21 (151.3944)
2016-08-12	Best of the West Sheridan, WY	18 / 26 (643.4056)	21 (158.2284)	23 (160.0344)	12 (166.8572)	16 (158.2856)
2016-06-25	Montana BBQ cook-off Absarokee, MT	15 / 29 (642.2400)	26 (154.2628)	22 (154.8572)	7 (172.0228)	15 (161.0972)
2016-06-17	Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off Miles City, MT	16 / 26 (642.7776)	11 (162.8688)	23 (145.0744)	13 (162.8572)	6 (171.9772)
2015-08-11	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair Billings, MT	19 / 25 (621.6108)	19 (154.8112)	21 (153.6684)	22 (154.2628)	15 (158.8684)
2015-07-03	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	22 / 29 (603.3488)	24 (145.1316)	21 (150.8228)	11 (163.4172)	25 (143.9772)
2015-06-19	Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off Miles City, MT	23 / 26 (580.5600)	18 (152.5828)	23 (146.2628)	23 (140.5716)	23 (141.1428)
2014-08-12	Montana State BBQ Championship at Montana Fair Billings, MT	23 / 26 (582.8112)	23 (149.7028)	16 (151.4400)	26 (140.5828)	22 (141.0856)
2014-07-05	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	23 / 25 (583.3596)	22 (146.2856)	25 (133.0972)	23 (144.5484)	9 (159.4284)

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
2022 ↗	Master	#1227 (80 pts)	#994 (135 pts)	#1404 (60 pts)	#1348 (60 pts)	#1164 (105 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1003 (261 pts)	#1147 (226 pts)	#795 (406 pts)	#1164 (226 pts)	#803 (396 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#890 (340 pts)	#1054 (280 pts)	#889 (380 pts)	#851 (395 pts)	#895 (360 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#616 (632 pts)	#832 (472 pts)	#549 (727 pts)	#521 (752 pts)	#690 (577 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#841 (422 pts)	#1012 (347 pts)	#874 (442 pts)	#767 (512 pts)	#742 (522 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1281 (210 pts)	#1312 (225 pts)	#1377 (205 pts)	#1253 (250 pts)	#1311 (215 pts)