Happy hunting ground
Top 18%
average finish here
Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: an average finish in the top 18% across 2 visits.
- 2 visits
- best finish 7th
- average top 18%
Sugba Smokehouse
Sugba Smokehouse is a competition barbecue team with 15 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 11 at the Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024). They are ranked #1218 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1585
peak 1585 · rated over 14 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
15
in the data
First seen
Sep 9, 2022
latest Aug 28, 2026 · 4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
8 podiums
Overall top-10s
10
67% of 15 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
343.06 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 339.16 (+3.90)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.11
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.42 · weakest Pork (163.20)
Road miles
2,213
across 15 mapped stops · furthest 351 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)
Purse competed for
$68K
listed at 13 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
339.16 / 360
14 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
490.15 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #137 (331 pts) | #138 (346 pts) | #150 (331 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #118 (468 pts) | #107 (558 pts) | #154 (383 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #67 (803 pts) | #36 (993 pts) | #88 (673 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #139 (384 pts) | #139 (464 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #243 (133 pts) | #252 (123 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Sugba Smokehouse, each with one reason worth a look.
26 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,215 of the rated field
- Contests
- 39
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 26%
- Peak
- 1588
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Sugba Smokehouse)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Sugba Smokehouse has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,216 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1586
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,220 of the rated field
- Contests
- 21
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 52%
- Peak
- 1585
Careers of much the same size, 21 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,221 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 41%
- Peak
- 1598
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Sugba Smokehouse's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,219 of the rated field
- Contests
- 40
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1616
40 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 18% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#1,217 of the rated field
- Contests
- 42
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1605
Level with Sugba Smokehouse on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudes BBQ | 12 | 5 | 7 | 42% | ⚔ compare |
| 309 BBQ | 10 | 8 | 2 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| All Smoked Up BBQ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Skinny Pig BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Shmack Q | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Sermerstout BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Firehouse 51 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| RUBY CREEK BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| SmoQued On Main St | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| E SQUARED BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ MIKE | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| T Daddys BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 15 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 178.8572 | 155.4400 | 170.42 | top 34% |
| Pork Ribs | 15 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 176.5716 | 163.3944 | 168.52 | top 40% |
| Pork | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 171.4172 | 154.2056 | 163.20 | top 66% |
“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) | 4 | 0 | top 43% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 25% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 42% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 4 | 3 | 0 | top 23% | Aug 28, 2026 |
| Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 18% | Jun 19, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
5 contests
Contests a season
3
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
9 of 15 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
11
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
363
finished ahead 346 times, behind 270
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Peak power rating (1585) Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20252 milestones
- 10th tracked contest 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20241 milestone
- First category win (Chicken) Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20231 milestone
- First overall podium Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20225 milestones
- First tracked contest Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- First call Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- First overall top-10 Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score490.1488 Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- Career-best overall score490.1488 Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.9 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 25, 2023 |
| +11.5 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 23, 2024 |
| +11.1 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 10, 2023 |
| +10.7 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 19, 2026 |
| +10.6 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jul 12, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Mar 29, 2024 |
| -3.5 | Bar-B-QC (Backyard) | Sep 9, 2022 |
| -0.8 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 9, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 24% | 96.7% | 96% |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 37% | 96.8% | 94.5% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 80% | top 38% | 96.8% | 94.2% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 67% | top 29% | 95.9% | 92.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 69% | 90.8% | 90.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 5 / 16 (342.8572) | 2 (173.7028) | 7 (169.1544) | — | — |
| Jun 19, 2026 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 7 / 41 (347.9888) | 16 (171.4172) | 5 (176.5716) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 11 / 31 (343.3944) | 2 (178.8572) | 18 (164.5372) | — | — |
| Jun 27, 2025 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 11 / 26 (332.5028) | 12 (167.4056) | 15 (165.0972) | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 7 / 36 (348.5716) | 11 (174.2744) | 10 (174.2972) | — | — |
| May 25, 2025 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | 36 / 70 (336.5144) | 28 (170.8344) | 39 (165.6800) | — | — |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 4 / 28 (346.3088) | 1 (176.5600) | 9 (169.7488) | — | — |
| Jul 12, 2024 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Miles, IA | 3 / 11 (348.5832) | 3 (176.5716) | 4 (172.0116) | 8 (163.9656) | — |
| Jun 14, 2024 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 9 / 40 (338.2516) | 3 (174.8572) | 25 (163.3944) | — | — |
| Jun 8, 2024 | 1st Annual Hy-Vee Ribs & Rides (BBQ Challenge and Car Show) (BACKYARD ONLY) Sycamore, IL | 4 / 9 (334.2628) | 3 (167.9884) | 5 (166.2744) | 3 (171.4172) | — |
| Mar 29, 2024 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 35 / 42 (327.9312) | 44 (157.6456) | 11 (170.2856) | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 3 / 26 (345.1200) | 6 (171.4172) | 3 (173.7028) | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 9 / 40 (334.8456) | 6 (169.6684) | 11 (165.1772) | — | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 23 / 43 (321.1200) | 25 (155.4400) | 12 (165.6800) | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Bar-B-QC (Backyard) Davenport, IA | 9 / 13 (490.1488) | 8 (169.6916) | 9 (166.2516) | 12 (154.2056) | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.