THE Q

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

Power ranking

#4495

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1473

peak 1473 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-04-04

latest 2021-06-04

Best ToY finish

#1555

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 6 contests

Avg finish

top 71%

overall standings

Best overall

663.9432 / 720

Master · Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest

Perfect 180s

Current form

594.34

last 5 Master vs avg 594.71 (-0.37)

Walk rate

17%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

172.0000

Chicken · Downtown BBQ Throwdown

Consistency

±68.86

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 158.00 · weakest Pork (152.55)

Road miles

4,633

mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 1195 mi

Schedule strength

22%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)

Purse competed for

$15K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

594.71 / 720

6 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (5 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

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
2015-11-20

A tough matchup

3–0 behind in the head-to-head

LA PASADITA ahead in 100% of their meetings

LA PASADITA has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.4 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.45 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 17%.

Pork avg 152.55
Pork Ribs avg 158.00
1 calls in 5 entries

The comeback

4.4 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.4 years, then back at Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off (2021-06-04).

last seen 2017-01-27
back 2021-06-04

The long haul

4,633 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,633 miles across 6 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,195 miles to *Newport Beach Winter Q.

6 mapped stops
furthest 1,195 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.

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

SPARKY'S BBQ

#4518 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

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.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2021-06-04

⚔ Head-to-head

QIS - QUALITY IN SMOKE

#4485 of the rated field

1473 ▲ 0 power rating

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, 54 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 41 contests
last seen 2026-05-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Warden's Jailhouse BBQ

#4513 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1472

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2024-09-13

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ Buddies

#4511 of the rated field

1472 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1472

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2024-08-17

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG AL'S BREW TOWN BBQ

#4487 of the rated field

1473 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1473

No shared contest yet.

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.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Full Metal Brisket

#4476 of the rated field

1473 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1473

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 4 years before THE Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	6	1	1	172.0000	132.0228	155.22	top 63%
Pork Ribs	6	1	0	165.1432	151.4628	158.00	top 64%
Pork	5	1	0	170.2744	140.0000	152.55	top 67%
Brisket	6	1	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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
TX	3	top 86%
FL	2	top 35%
CA	1	top 96%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	0	top 31%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 78%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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%	2021-06-04

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

On the trail 7.2 yrs 2014-04-04 → 2021-06-04

Busiest season 2015 2 contests

Contests a season 1.2 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TX 3 of 6 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 5 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 6 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 158.00 · weakest Pork (152.55)

Walk rate 17% a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests

Overall top-10 rate 17% 1 of 6 contests

Master average 594.71 out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 242 65–201 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,633 6 mapped stops · furthest 1,195 mi

Schedule strength 1531 average field rating faced — tougher than 22% of rated contests

Purse competed for $15,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 4.4 yrs 2017-01-27 → 2021-06-04

Power rating 1473 peak 1473 · #4495 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Apr 4 First tracked contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off (Teams Full)
2015
Nov 20 First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.9432 Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest
Nov 20 Career-best overall score663.9432 Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest
2016
Apr 29 First call Downtown BBQ Throwdown
Apr 29 First overall top-10 Downtown BBQ Throwdown
Apr 29 Career-best single call (Chicken)172.0000 Downtown BBQ Throwdown
Apr 29 Peak power rating (1498) Downtown BBQ Throwdown
2021
Jun 4 Most recent contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+8.9	Downtown BBQ Throwdown	2016-04-29
+6	Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest	2015-11-20

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off	2021-06-04
-12.4	*Newport Beach Winter Q	2017-01-27
-9.8	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off (Teams Full)	2014-04-04
-7.2	Cedar Fest BBQ	2015-04-10

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	0%	top 98%	63.5%	63.5%
2017	1	0	0%	top 96%	82%	82%
2016	1	1	100%	top 31%	92.1%	92.1%
2015	2	0	0%	top 58%	92.2%	87.5%
2014	1	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
2021-06-04	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	47 / 48 (457.1312)	38 (154.8112)	37 (155.4400)	—	43 (146.8800)
2017-01-27	*Newport Beach Winter Q Newport, CA	54 / 56 (590.7316)	54 (147.9428)	53 (151.4628)	51 (151.9656)	54 (139.3604)
2016-04-29	Downtown BBQ Throwdown Boca Raton, FL	5 / 16 (663.3028)	3 (172.0000)	6 (163.9544)	8 (158.8000)	4 (168.5484)
2015-11-20	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)
2015-04-10	Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX	41 / 53 (596.6060)	52 (132.0228)	16 (165.1432)	44 (140.0000)	18 (159.4400)
2014-04-04	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)

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	#1555 (166 pts)	#1382 (216 pts)	#1689 (156 pts)	#1791 (136 pts)	#1468 (191 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1970 (90 pts)	#1778 (120 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#1727 (130 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)