ELKHAWG SMOKERS

ELKHAWG SMOKERS is a competition barbecue team with 25 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 5th of 12 at the Kentucky's Fort Harrod Beef Festival Grill-Off (COMPETITORS SERIES) (2019). They are ranked #3777 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#3,777

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1488

peak 1509 · rated over 21 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 19, 2015

latest Sep 9, 2022 · 7.2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#745

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

20% of 25 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 64%

overall standings

Best overall

686.2288 / 720

Master · Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff

Perfect 180s

Current form

632.83 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 653.15 (-20.32)

Walk rate

60%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176

Pork · Fire on the Mountain

Consistency

±36.61

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 166.38 · weakest Brisket (164.02)

Road miles

2,184

across 25 mapped stops · furthest 108 mi

Schedule strength

71%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1590)

Purse competed for

$60K

listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 7 state-championship entries

Master avg

653.15 / 720

21 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

They almost always walk

60% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 15 of 25 contests

A top-10 category call in 60% of their 25 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

686.2288 career-best overall

95.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 686.2288 at Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff — 95.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 14, 2016

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BRINGIN' THE HEAT has finished one call ahead of ELKHAWG SMOKERS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 their best year

2019 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 53%.

5 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 53%

A tough matchup

17–1 behind in the head-to-head

BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead in 94% of their meetings

BLUE CHIP BBQ has come out ahead in 17 of their 18 shared contests.

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Loaded Barrel BBQ in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

11 of 18 shared pork ribs entries lost

BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead 61% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BLUE CHIP BBQ has out-cooked them in 11 of 18 shared pork ribs entries.

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

WeQ4U has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An October team

Top 55% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 55% across 6 contests, versus top 64% the rest of the year.

6 October contests
top 64% the rest of the year

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Bands & BBQ at the Point every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 10th

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022 ↗	Master	#1163 (97 pts)	#1188 (102 pts)	#1264 (97 pts)	#1040 (122 pts)	#1246 (82 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#1564 (53 pts)	—	#1017 (123 pts)	#791 (178 pts)	#1182 (78 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#678 (130 pts)	#1117 (55 pts)	#819 (85 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#745 (404 pts)	#831 (389 pts)	#933 (324 pts)	#644 (519 pts)	#623 (544 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#801 (409 pts)	#919 (354 pts)	#565 (664 pts)	#689 (534 pts)	#828 (409 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#824 (452 pts)	#913 (427 pts)	#698 (577 pts)	#913 (417 pts)	#773 (502 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#954 (347 pts)	#1021 (342 pts)	#1000 (362 pts)	#958 (392 pts)	#943 (372 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#2127 (65 pts)	#2779 (55 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2011 (100 pts)	#2141 (70 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to ELKHAWG SMOKERS, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Grilligans Island

#3,764 of the rated field

1488 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1507

Fewer contests behind them than ELKHAWG SMOKERS has cooked, 17 to 25, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Sep 26, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

PULL MY MEAT

#3,761 of the rated field

1488 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1488

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 15 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Jun 23, 2017

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LA PORKSTRA NOSTRA

#3,794 of the rated field

1487 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1512

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before ELKHAWG SMOKERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 14 contests

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DIGGERS BBQ

#3,793 of the rated field

1487 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1487

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

DAY-LICIOUS BBQ

#3,757 of the rated field

1488 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1488

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2015.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Aug 9, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

FOUR KING BBQ

#3,766 of the rated field

1488 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1506

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before ELKHAWG SMOKERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 10 contests

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BLUE CHIP BBQ	18	1	17	6%	⚔ compare
MEAT MISTERS	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	15	3	12	20%	⚔ compare
HOGTOWN BARBECUE	14	8	6	57%	⚔ compare
BULLHEADED BBQ	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	13	3	10	23%	⚔ compare
PARADISE BBQ	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
BUTTS-N-RACKS BBQ, LLC	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
ACME BBQ	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
HARLAN CO. COAL BURNERS	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO.	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON THIS	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
UNCLE TOAD'S COMPETITION BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
GREY STREET BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
K-TOWN DADDY'S BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	20	1	0	172	153.0972	164.60	top 68%
Pork Ribs	21	7	1	174.2972	146.2400	166.38	top 54%
Pork	21	8	0	176	153.6684	166.25	top 57%
Brisket	24	9	1	173.1656	152.5372	164.02	top 56%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	top 59%
Medium (20–39)	16	top 65%
Large (40+)	2	top 62%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Bands & BBQ at the Point	6	10	top 62%	Sep 9, 2022
Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off	3	17	top 66%	Oct 18, 2019
Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	3	20	top 80%	Jun 14, 2019
Fire on the Mountain	3	7	top 65%	Jul 27, 2018
Fire on the Mountain	2	8	top 56%	Jul 24, 2020

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 6 contests

Contests a season 3.1 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KY 25 of 25 contests

Contests visited 10 5 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Brisket 24 entries · 0 wins · 9 calls

Opponents faced 269 finished ahead 225 times, behind 421

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs Jul 24, 2020 → Sep 10, 2021

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

20222 milestones

Sep 9 25th tracked contest Bands & BBQ at the Point
Sep 9 Most recent contest Bands & BBQ at the Point

20192 milestones

Jul 26 Career-best single call (Pork)176 Fire on the Mountain
Jul 26 Peak power rating (1509) Fire on the Mountain

20172 milestones

Jul 28 First overall top-10 Fire on the Mountain
Jul 28 10th tracked contest Fire on the Mountain

20163 milestones

Jul 1 First call Fire on the Mountain
Sep 16 First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.1372 Bands & BBQ at the Point
Oct 14 Career-best overall score686.2288 Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff

20151 milestone

Jun 5 First tracked contest Bourbon City BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.4	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff	Oct 14, 2016
+11.2	Fire on the Mountain	Jul 26, 2019
+10.8	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 15, 2017
+7.7	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 14, 2018
+4.8	Fire on the Mountain	Jul 27, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.7	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 10, 2021
-9.2	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	Jun 17, 2016
-8.5	Fire on the Mountain	Jul 1, 2016
-7.7	Barbourville BBQ Cook-Off & Festival	Jun 19, 2015
-6.2	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival	Jun 16, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2022	1	0	0%	top 53%	93.4%	93.4%
2021	1	0	100%	top 100%	69.7%	69.7%
2020	1	0	100%	top 80%	91.2%	91.2%
2019	5	2	80%	top 53%	94.3%	93.1%
2018	5	1	80%	top 55%	93.2%	92.3%
2017	6	2	50%	top 62%	93.4%	91.1%
2016	4	0	50%	top 72%	95.3%	90.9%
2015	2	0	0%	top 88%	89.3%	89.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 9, 2022	Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY	17 / 32 (672.4456)	16 (169.6684)	17 (169.1316)	12 (170.2628)	20 (163.3828)
Sep 10, 2021	Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY	28 / 28 (501.6572)	—	11 (169.1200)	5 (173.1200)	20 (159.4172)
Jul 24, 2020	Fire on the Mountain 🏅 Leburn, KY	24 / 30 (656.5832)	24 (159.4516)	10 (169.7372)	28 (160.5716)	19 (166.8228)
Oct 18, 2019	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Munfordville, KY	17 / 31 (678.7428)	16 (168.5372)	17 (169.6800)	21 (167.4056)	10 (173.1200)
Oct 4, 2019	Kentucky's Fort Harrod Beef Festival Grill-Off (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Harrodsburg, KY	5 / 12 (664.4912)	—	—	—	8 (162.8228)
Sep 13, 2019	Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY	19 / 28 (654.7200)	12 (170.2628)	16 (166.2400)	15 (165.6800)	22 (152.5372)
Jul 26, 2019	Fire on the Mountain 🏅 Leburn, KY	8 / 25 (678.2284)	12 (169.6800)	20 (161.1200)	4 (176)	6 (171.4284)
Jun 14, 2019	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival 🏅 Barbourville, KY	20 / 30 (673.6684)	27 (166.8112)	25 (161.7144)	9 (171.9772)	5 (173.1656)
Oct 19, 2018	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off Munfordville, KY	21 / 29 (653.0400)	26 (153.0972)	11 (167.9772)	12 (170.2628)	19 (161.7028)
Oct 5, 2018	Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY	23 / 42 (666.7884)	14 (172)	7 (174.2972)	39 (153.6684)	21 (166.8228)
Sep 14, 2018	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	11 / 27 (670.7544)	18 (165.0972)	9 (169.1200)	4 (171.9772)	17 (164.5600)
Jul 27, 2018	Fire on the Mountain Leburn, KY	7 / 13 (669.0512)	13 (157.1200)	2 (173.7028)	6 (170.8228)	6 (167.4056)
Jun 8, 2018	Kentucky's Fort Harrod Beef Festival Grill-Off (COMPETITOR'S SERIES) Harrodsburg, KY	—	—	—	—	3 (168.5256)
Oct 20, 2017	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-off Munfordville, KY	26 / 36 (650.1028)	31 (158.2172)	17 (166.2628)	29 (162.8000)	21 (162.8228)
Sep 15, 2017	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	10 / 33 (672.4568)	24 (163.3828)	5 (173.1428)	9 (171.9656)	13 (163.9656)
Jul 28, 2017	Fire on the Mountain Leburn, KY	7 / 13 (654.8116)	8 (165.1316)	5 (169.1660)	13 (156.5256)	6 (163.9884)
Jun 16, 2017	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival Barbourville, KY	26 / 31 (640.9488)	25 (159.3600)	22 (162.2516)	28 (156.5028)	18 (162.8344)
Jun 9, 2017	Kentucky's Fort Harrod Beef Festival Grill-Off (COMPETITOR'S SERIES) Harrodsburg, KY	—	—	—	—	5 (166.2628)
Apr 7, 2017	First Annual Operation Stand Down KY BBQ Smoke Off (TEAMS FULL) Bowling Green, KY	28 / 40 (660.4228)	14 (170.8228)	29 (167.4172)	29 (165.1200)	35 (157.0628)
Oct 14, 2016	Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff Munfordville, KY	11 / 34 (686.2288)	20 (168.5716)	10 (172.5600)	8 (175.4172)	18 (169.6800)
Sep 16, 2016	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	24 / 31 (658.1372)	19 (169.7028)	21 (165.6800)	27 (161.0972)	21 (161.6572)
Jul 1, 2016	Fire on the Mountain Leburn, KY	13 / 15 (633.0628)	11 (161.6800)	14 (146.2400)	9 (160.5600)	7 (164.5828)
Jun 17, 2016	Barbourville BBQ Cookoff & Festival Barbourville, KY	29 / 32 (641.4968)	24 (167.9656)	30 (157.6800)	28 (162.7884)	30 (153.0628)
Jun 19, 2015	Barbourville BBQ Cook-Off & Festival Barbourville, KY	22 / 25 (642.7316)	24 (155.3600)	23 (161.6916)	15 (166.8228)	21 (158.8572)
Jun 5, 2015	Bourbon City BBQ Festival Bardstown, KY	—	—	—	—	—

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

ELKHAWG SMOKERS

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Pork Ribs nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

An October team

A standing appointment

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)