MINISTER OF BARBECUE

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

Power ranking

#2396

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1523

peak 1526 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-07-24

latest 2016-09-03

Best ToY finish

#439

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 51%

overall standings

Best overall

670.7200 / 720

Master · Boats, Bands, & BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

652.22 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 655.66 (-3.43)

Walk rate

60%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0000

Pork · BBQ on the Bricks

Consistency

±9.14

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 165.75 · weakest Brisket (159.27)

Road miles

1,230

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 495 mi

Schedule strength

52%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)

Master avg

655.66 / 720

10 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.

They almost always walk

60% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 6 of 10 contests

A top-10 category call in 60% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

670.7200 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 670.7200 at Boats, Bands, & BBQ — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-06-10

A tough matchup

7–1 behind in the head-to-head

Backdraft BBQ ahead in 88% of their meetings

Backdraft BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.47 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 10%.

Brisket avg 159.27
Chicken avg 165.75
0 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Lost Weekend Grill in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

7 of 8 shared chicken entries lost

Backdraft BBQ ahead 88% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Backdraft BBQ has out-cooked them in 7 of 8 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

PROUD SOULS BARBECUE has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 41% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 41% across 3 contests, versus top 51% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 51% the rest of the year

The metronome

±1.27% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.27% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.1% of a perfect score
10 contests

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.

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

OLLIE BABA Q

#2394 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1532

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2018-04-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Brisket Brothers

#2407 of the rated field

1523 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2017-02-04

⚔ Head-to-head

Lit Salami

#2391 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 89%
Peak: 1523

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 9 contests, alongside a 89% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2024-10-11
on an 8-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

G&S Smoke & Spice

#2389 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1523

No shared contest yet.

Level with MINISTER OF BARBECUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2022-06-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Texas Revolution

#2386 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1535

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-08-15

⚔ Head-to-head

BARE KNUCKLE BBQ

#2400 of the rated field

1523 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1523

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 9 years after MINISTER OF BARBECUE did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
Backdraft BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
JO-BAWB'S BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Lost Weekend Grill	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
WE'RE BURNIN DAYLIGHT BBQ	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
GRILLIN' BEAVERS	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
CRAZY COYOTE	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
KEEP CALM AND BLAZE ON	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
Big Daddy's Backyard BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	1	169.7372	161.6572	165.75	top 52%
Pork Ribs	10	5	171.4172	158.2400	165.06	top 44%
Pork	10	3	176.0000	156.5256	165.58	top 46%
Brisket	10	0	164.5484	148.5256	159.27	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	Avg finish
CO	7	top 47%
NE	2	top 59%
WY	1	top 59%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	9	0	top 50%
Large (40+)	1	0	top 62%

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 1.1 yrs 2015-07-24 → 2016-09-03

Busiest season 2016 9 contests

Contests a season 5 across 2 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CO 7 of 10 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 10 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 165.75 · weakest Brisket (159.27)

Walk rate 60% a top-10 call in 6 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 20% 2 of 10 contests

Master average 655.66 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 184 159–160 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,230 10 mapped stops · furthest 495 mi

Schedule strength 1567 average field rating faced — tougher than 52% of rated contests

Power rating 1523 peak 1526 · #2396 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
Jul 24 First tracked contest Arvada on Tap - A Craft Beer & BBQ Fest
Jul 24 First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.7888 Arvada on Tap - A Craft Beer & BBQ Fest
2016
May 13 First call Wild West BBQ Cook Off
May 13 First overall top-10 Wild West BBQ Cook Off
Jun 10 Career-best overall score670.7200 Boats, Bands, & BBQ
Jun 24 Peak power rating (1526) Leadville BBQ and Brew Festival
Aug 26 Career-best single call (Pork)176.0000 BBQ on the Bricks
Sep 3 10th tracked contest Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak Cookoff Challenge
Sep 3 Most recent contest Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak Cookoff Challenge

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.3	Wild West BBQ Cook Off	2016-05-13
+8	Boats, Bands, & BBQ	2016-06-10
+5	Royal Gorge Holy Smoke BBQ Showdown	2016-06-03
+3	Arvada on Tap - A Craft Beer & BBQ Fest	2015-07-24
+0.9	BBQ on the Bricks	2016-08-26

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-4.3	National Western BBQ Throwdown	2016-01-08
-4.2	Arvada On-Tap A Craft Beer and BBQ Fest	2016-07-22
-0.2	Griller's Cup	2016-07-15

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	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2016	9	0	2	0	67%	top 51%	93.2%	91%
2015	1	0	0	0	0%	top 50%	92.1%	92.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-09-03	Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak Cookoff Challenge Omaha, NE	28 / 45 (652.4684)	22 (165.6684)	7 (170.8572)	43 (156.5256)	34 (159.4172)
2016-08-26	BBQ on the Bricks Kearney, NE	19 / 34 (644.4228)	21 (161.6572)	22 (158.2400)	4 (176.0000)	31 (148.5256)
2016-07-22	Arvada On-Tap A Craft Beer and BBQ Fest Arvada, CO	24 / 35 (652.4572)	27 (162.2744)	22 (162.8116)	22 (165.1428)	24 (162.2284)
2016-07-15	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	16 / 27 (659.2912)	18 (163.9772)	10 (170.8572)	18 (159.9312)	11 (164.5256)
2016-06-24	Leadville BBQ and Brew Festival Leadville, CO	17 / 33 (652.4684)	21 (165.0972)	22 (158.8572)	14 (164.5484)	14 (163.9656)
2016-06-10	Boats, Bands, & BBQ Pueblo, CO	9 / 30 (670.7200)	10 (167.3944)	7 (171.4172)	4 (173.1200)	21 (158.7884)
2016-06-03	Royal Gorge Holy Smoke BBQ Showdown Canon City, CO	12 / 30 (652.4572)	11 (167.9772)	9 (168.5372)	14 (162.8456)	22 (153.0972)
2016-05-13	Wild West BBQ Cook Off Lamar, CO	6 / 33 (668.4568)	14 (168.5256)	9 (167.3828)	7 (168.0000)	13 (164.5484)
2016-01-08	National Western BBQ Throwdown Denver, CO	26 / 36 (641.0288)	16 (165.1544)	20 (160.5372)	18 (161.6800)	29 (153.6572)
2015-07-24	Arvada on Tap - A Craft Beer & BBQ Fest Arvada, CO	13 / 26 (662.7888)	12 (169.7372)	15 (161.1088)	13 (167.9772)	15 (163.9656)

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	#439 (902 pts)	#473 (852 pts)	#358 (1042 pts)	#329 (1117 pts)	#545 (742 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1879 (111 pts)	#1885 (116 pts)	#1974 (101 pts)	#1962 (111 pts)	#1987 (101 pts)