High-water mark
663.9432
career-best overall
92.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 663.9432 at Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest — 92.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Nov 20, 2015
THE Q
THE Q is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 5th of 16 at the Downtown BBQ Throwdown (2016). They are ranked #4518 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1473
peak 1473 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Apr 4, 2014
latest Jun 4, 2021 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 71%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
594.34
last 5 Master vs avg 594.71 (-0.37)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±68.86
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 158.00 · weakest Pork (152.55)
Road miles
4,633
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 1,195 mi
Schedule strength
22%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Purse competed for
$15K
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
594.71 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to THE Q, each with one reason worth a look.
151 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,536 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to THE Q)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team THE Q has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,525 of the rated field
- Contests
- 41
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1527
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to THE Q)
They've been 1527 at their best, 55 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,540 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1472
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,506 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Level with THE Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,515 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1473
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 3 years before THE Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,543 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
They've been 1504 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 172 | 132.0228 | 155.22 | top 63% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 165.1432 | 151.4628 | 158.00 | top 64% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2744 | 140 | 152.55 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5484 | 139.3604 | 154.36 | top 63% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 31% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 78% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off | 2 | 41 | 0 | top 90% | Jun 4, 2021 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2015
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TX
3 of 6 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
242
finished ahead 65 times, behind 201
Longest layoff
4.4 yrs
Jan 27, 2017 → Jun 4, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20211 milestone
- Most recent contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off
20164 milestones
- First call Downtown BBQ Throwdown
- First overall top-10 Downtown BBQ Throwdown
- Career-best single call (Chicken)172 Downtown BBQ Throwdown
- Peak power rating (1498) Downtown BBQ Throwdown
20152 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.9432 Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest
- Career-best overall score663.9432 Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest
20141 milestone
- First tracked contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off (Teams Full)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.9 | Downtown BBQ Throwdown | Apr 29, 2016 |
| +6 | Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest | Nov 20, 2015 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.9 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off | Jun 4, 2021 |
| -12.4 | Newport Beach Winter Q | Jan 27, 2017 |
| -9.8 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off (Teams Full) | Apr 4, 2014 |
| -7.2 | Cedar Fest BBQ | Apr 10, 2015 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 63.5% | 63.5% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 82% | 82% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 92.1% | 92.1% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 58% | 92.2% | 87.5% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 82% | 82.9% | 82.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2021 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 47 / 48 (457.1312) | 38 (154.8112) | 37 (155.4400) | — | 43 (146.8800) |
| Jan 27, 2017 | Newport Beach Winter Q Newport, CA | 54 / 56 (590.7316) | 54 (147.9428) | 53 (151.4628) | 51 (151.9656) | 54 (139.3604) |
| Apr 29, 2016 | Downtown BBQ Throwdown Boca Raton, FL | 5 / 16 (663.3028) | 3 (172) | 6 (163.9544) | 8 (158.8000) | 4 (168.5484) |
| Nov 20, 2015 | Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest 🏅 Plant City, FL | 19 / 49 (663.9432) | 13 (169.7144) | 34 (159.9888) | 11 (170.2744) | 27 (163.9656) |
| Apr 10, 2015 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX | 41 / 53 (596.6060) | 52 (132.0228) | 16 (165.1432) | 44 (140) | 18 (159.4400) |
| Apr 4, 2014 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off (Teams Full) Cedar Park, TX | 41 / 50 (596.5484) | 30 (154.8344) | 38 (152.0116) | 44 (141.7140) | 40 (147.9884) |