3 Grate Minds BBQ

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

Power ranking

#2166

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1532

peak 1532 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-09-04

latest 2019-08-30

Best ToY finish

#1541

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 6 contests

Avg finish

top 38%

overall standings

Best overall

674.2856 / 720

Master · *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

666.03 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.69 (+4.34)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.2856

Pork Ribs · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Consistency

±11.35

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 170.38 · weakest Chicken (162.28)

Road miles

mi across 6 mapped stops

Schedule strength

29%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)

Purse competed for

$11K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.69 / 720

6 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (4 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

674.2856 career-best overall

93.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 674.2856 at *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival — 93.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
2018-08-31

A tough matchup

4–1 behind in the head-to-head

TINY E BBQ ahead in 80% of their meetings

TINY E BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 5 shared contests.

The weak link

−8.1 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.10 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 33%.

Chicken avg 162.28
Pork Ribs avg 170.38
1 calls in 6 entries

A strong matchup

6–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of OTAKU SMOKE N BREW in 6 of their 6 shared 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.

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

JOE'S COOKSHACK

#2171 of the rated field

1532 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1562

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to 3 Grate Minds BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 3 Grate Minds BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2025-01-09

⚔ Head-to-head

TAILGATERS BBQ

#2179 of the rated field

1531 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1531

2–1 in 3 shared contests (67% to 3 Grate Minds BBQ)

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 2019-08-30

⚔ Head-to-head

Our Butt's Insured

#2164 of the rated field

1532 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1532

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 4 years before 3 Grate Minds BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin' Hooligans

#2172 of the rated field

1532 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1532

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2024-01-26

⚔ Head-to-head

BONPAS BOTTOMS BBQ

#2168 of the rated field

1532 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1532

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 5 years after 3 Grate Minds BBQ did, first appearing in 2020.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2024-09-13
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

BENT NAIL BBQ

#2151 of the rated field

1532 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1532

No shared contest yet.

Level with 3 Grate Minds BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2018-08-24

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
OTAKU SMOKE N BREW	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
BIG JOHN'S TEXAS BAR-B-QUE	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
ELLIS COUNTY BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
Pitfaced BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
TINY E BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Three Hog Night Smokers	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Texas-car-b-que	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	6	1	0	0	171.9884	154.2516	162.28	top 56%
Pork Ribs	6	2	1	1	174.2856	164.5600	170.38	top 20%
Pork	6	0	0	0	171.9656	150.8228	164.18	top 46%
Brisket	6	2	0	1	173.1428	149.7028	164.84	top 41%

“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 contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	1	0	top 23%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 41%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	3	15	0	top 38%	2019-08-30
City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2	13	0	top 45%	2016-09-03

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

On the trail 4 yrs 2015-09-04 → 2019-08-30

Busiest season 2017 2 contests

Contests a season 1.2 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TX 6 of 6 contests

Contests visited 3 2 of them cooked more than once

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

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 170.38 · weakest Chicken (162.28)

Walk rate 33% a top-10 call in 2 of 6 contests

Overall top-10 rate 17% 1 of 6 contests

Master average 661.69 out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 203 204–126 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 39 6 mapped stops

Schedule strength 1539 average field rating faced — tougher than 29% of rated contests

Purse competed for $11,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2015-09-04 → 2016-09-03

Power rating 1532 peak 1532 · #2166 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
Sep 4 First tracked contest City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2016
Sep 3 First call City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Sep 3 First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.6912 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2017
Mar 10 First category win (Pork Ribs) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 10 First overall top-10 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Mar 10 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.2856 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2018
Aug 31 Career-best overall score674.2856 *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 31 Peak power rating (1532) *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
2019
Aug 30 Most recent contest Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+11.2	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2018-08-31
+10.9	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2016-09-03
+10.8	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2017-03-10
+3.3	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)	2017-09-02

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-4.1	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2015-09-04
-0.4	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2019-08-30

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)
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 55%	92.8%	92.8%
2018	1	0	0	0%	top 20%	93.7%	93.7%
2017	2	1	1	50%	top 31%	92.1%	91.5%
2016	1	0	0	100%	top 22%	93%	93%
2015	1	0	0	0%	top 67%	88.9%	88.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-08-30	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival 🏅 Bedford, TX	32 / 58 (667.9544)	47 (159.4516)	13 (170.8572)	15 (171.9656)	30 (165.6800)
2018-08-31	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	15 / 74 (674.2856)	20 (170.8456)	14 (172.0000)	20 (168.6172)	39 (162.8228)
2017-09-02	*Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Bedford, TX	18 / 46 (655.4400)	28 (158.2628)	19 (164.5600)	14 (165.7600)	13 (166.8572)
2017-03-10	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour White Settlement, TX	7 / 30 (662.7656)	24 (154.2516)	1 (174.2856)	15 (163.3828)	2 (170.8456)
2016-09-03	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	13 / 58 (669.6912)	10 (171.9884)	4 (173.7372)	54 (150.8228)	5 (173.1428)
2015-09-04	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	47 / 70 (640.0000)	47 (158.8916)	19 (166.8572)	34 (164.5484)	68 (149.7028)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#1955 (60 pts)	#2049 (60 pts)	#1575 (120 pts)	#1730 (110 pts)	#2010 (60 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1732 (110 pts)	#1879 (85 pts)	#1746 (115 pts)	#1901 (85 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1541 (160 pts)	#2286 (60 pts)	#1183 (280 pts)	#2008 (105 pts)	#1218 (255 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1775 (120 pts)	#1791 (135 pts)	#1416 (210 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#1484 (185 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#2158 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2031 (90 pts)	#2225 (60 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)