High-water mark
670.8000
career-best overall
93.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 670.8000 at Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual — 93.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2017-06-30
PITS N' GRINS
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1503
peak 1507 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2015-10-09
latest 2017-10-06
Best ToY finish
#1219
Master 2017
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 58%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
654.03
last 5 Master vs avg 654.03 (+0.00)
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±12.02
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.00)
Road miles
129
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 34 mi
Schedule strength
48%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1563)
Master avg
654.03 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
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.
A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Outsiders BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Outsiders BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
The weak link
−6.8
points behind their best meat
Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.75 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 40%.
- Pork Ribs avg 161.00
- Chicken avg 167.75
- 1 calls in 5 entries
A strong matchup
3–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 75% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Carrol Lou's Smokehouse in 3 of their 4 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.
107 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3084 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1514
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3071 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1521
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 9 years after PITS N' GRINS did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Head-to-head#3091 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
Level with PITS N' GRINS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3096 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3101 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3081 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1512
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oui Oui Oui BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| PORK PARADISE | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Outsiders BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 172.5828 | 162.2512 | 167.75 | top 41% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 165.6800 | 157.1088 | 161.00 | top 61% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 155.9312 | 163.60 | top 61% |
| Brisket | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 157.6684 | 161.68 | top 58% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 43% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 73% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 66% |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2 yrs
2015-10-09 → 2017-10-06
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
5 of 5 contests
Contests visited
5
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 167.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.00)
Walk rate
40%
a top-10 call in 2 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
40%
2 of 5 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests
Master average
654.03
out of 720 · 5 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
102
61–98 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
129
5 mapped stops · furthest 34 mi
Schedule strength
1563
average field rating faced — tougher than 48% of rated contests
Longest layoff
1 yrs
2016-06-24 → 2017-06-30
Power rating
1503
peak 1507 · #3083 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest Central Illinois Bragging Rights
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.5540 Central Illinois Bragging Rights
- 2016
- First call Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ Contest
- First overall top-10 Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ Contest
- 2017
- Career-best overall score670.8000 Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual
- Career-best single call (Chicken)172.5828 Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual
- Peak power rating (1507) Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual
- Most recent contest *Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.3 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual | 2017-06-30 |
| +3 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ Contest | 2016-06-24 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Up In smoke on the Square | 2016-06-03 |
| -4.3 | *Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL) | 2017-10-06 |
| -0.5 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights | 2015-10-09 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 52% | 93.2% | 91.9% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 64% | 92% | 90.1% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 58% | 90.2% | 90.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-10-06 | *Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL) Decatur, IL | 22 / 30 (652.4112) | 19 (162.2512) | 12 (165.6800) | 21 (165.6800) | 21 (158.8000) |
| 2017-06-30 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual Assumption, IL | 5 / 16 (670.8000) | 2 (172.5828) | 10 (162.8344) | 4 (170.8228) | 7 (164.5600) |
| 2016-06-24 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ Contest Assumption, IL | 10 / 18 (662.1256) | 9 (169.6800) | 13 (158.8228) | 12 (163.9428) | 9 (169.6800) |
| 2016-06-03 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | 38 / 52 (635.2456) | 30 (164.5368) | 34 (157.1088) | 43 (155.9312) | 31 (157.6688) |
| 2015-10-09 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights Arthur, IL | 28 / 48 (649.5540) | 11 (169.7028) | 30 (160.5372) | 28 (161.6456) | 32 (157.6684) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1219 (236 pts) | #1078 (326 pts) | #1302 (236 pts) | #1210 (266 pts) | #1346 (221 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #1497 (178 pts) | #1499 (188 pts) | #1664 (163 pts) | #1652 (168 pts) | #1479 (188 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2158 (60 pts) | #1713 (130 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2225 (60 pts) | #2214 (60 pts) |