SMOKE EM UP BBQ

SMOKE EM UP BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 21 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 21 at the Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2) (2019). They are ranked #1573 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,573

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1559

peak 1559 · rated over 20 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 26, 2015

latest Aug 23, 2019 · 4.2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#537

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

19% of 21 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 46%

overall standings

Best overall

690.2516 / 720

Master · Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2)

Perfect 180s

Current form

665.06 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 657.18 (+7.89)

Walk rate

62%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Pork Ribs · City of Show Low's 6th Annual BBQ Throwdown

Consistency

±13.39

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.64 · weakest Brisket (160.11)

Road miles

5,098

across 21 mapped stops · furthest 502 mi

Schedule strength

49%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)

Purse competed for

$46K

listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 5 state-championship entries

Master avg

657.18 / 720

20 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

62% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 13 of 21 contests

A top-10 category call in 62% of their 21 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

690.2516 career-best overall

95.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 690.2516 at Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2) — 95.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
May 11, 2019

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX has finished one call ahead of SMOKE EM UP BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2016 their best year

2016 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 28%.

5 contests
1 overall top-10
0 category wins
average top 28%

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.53 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 15% of the time against 35%.

Brisket avg 160.11
Chicken avg 166.64
3 calls in 20 entries

A strong matchup

7–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKIN' DOUBLE Z BBQ in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 13 shared chicken entries lost

KISS MY RACK ahead 69% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, KISS MY RACK has out-cooked them in 9 of 13 shared chicken entries.

Show 3 more storylines

An April team

Top 33% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 33% across 3 contests, versus top 46% the rest of the year.

3 April contests
top 46% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,098 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,098 miles across 21 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 502 miles to City of Show Low's 6th Annual BBQ Throwdown.

21 mapped stops
furthest 502 mi

The metronome

±1.86% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.86% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.3% of a perfect score
21 contests

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
2019 ↗	Master	#537 (615 pts)	#548 (635 pts)	#485 (715 pts)	#707 (470 pts)	#589 (575 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#759 (431 pts)	#723 (496 pts)	#560 (671 pts)	#746 (476 pts)	#864 (386 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1632 (140 pts)	#1745 (130 pts)	#1423 (200 pts)	#1579 (165 pts)	#1325 (225 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#677 (567 pts)	#661 (617 pts)	#564 (742 pts)	#700 (572 pts)	#895 (402 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to SMOKE EM UP BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Szendo Smoke BBQ Team

#1,574 of the rated field

1559 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 4
Top-10s: 70%
Peak: 1572

Careers of much the same size, 20 contests to 21, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Sep 26, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

CHASE BROTHERS BBQ

#1,570 of the rated field

1560 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1585

25 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 16% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Sep 29, 2022

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Flower of the Flames

#1,576 of the rated field

1559 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 3%
Peak: 1581

Level with SMOKE EM UP BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 32 contests
last seen Sep 19, 2025

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SMOKEY'S BARBQUE WA

#1,569 of the rated field

1560 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1560

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Aug 19, 2023

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J-PIG PICTURE PERFECT BAR-B-QUE

#1,577 of the rated field

1559 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1559

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Jun 4, 2021

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LEGION OF QUE

#1,582 of the rated field

1559 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1559

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Sep 20, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BUTLER'S BACKDRAFT BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
KISS MY RACK	13	3	10	23%	⚔ compare
BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
HONKY-TONK SMOKERS	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
LA PASADITA	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
BarrelHead Cookers	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BOOMERANG BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
SCOTTS BBQ SHACK	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
DJS SMOKIN' BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
Texas-car-b-que	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' DOUBLE Z BBQ	7	7	0	100%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	20	7	0	173.1428	154.8228	166.64	top 44%
Pork Ribs	20	7	4	178.8572	144.5828	166.05	top 41%
Pork	20	3	0	173.7256	156.4912	164.38	top 48%
Brisket	20	3	1	177.1544	144.5144	160.11	top 55%

“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)	1	top 44%
Medium (20–39)	6	top 46%
Large (40+)	13	top 46%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
TX	10	top 32%
NM	6	top 50%
OK	2	top 88%
CO	1	top 69%
AZ	1	top 50%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	3	10	top 31%	Aug 24, 2018
Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2)	2	3	top 30%	May 11, 2019
Smokin On The Pecos (Day 1)	2	20	top 52%	Jun 22, 2018
Firelake BBQ Cook Off (Day 2)	2	72	top 88%	Mar 25, 2017

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 5 contests

Contests a season 3.5 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in TX 10 of 21 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 15 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 554 finished ahead 506 times, behind 442

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

20194 milestones

May 11 First overall podium Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2)
May 11 Career-best overall score690.2516 Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2)
Aug 23 Peak power rating (1559) Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championship
Aug 23 Most recent contest Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championship

20181 milestone

May 4 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.8572 City of Show Low's 6th Annual BBQ Throwdown

20171 milestone

Jun 23 10th tracked contest Smokin On The Pecos-Doubleheader-Day 1

20163 milestones

Apr 1 First call Cedar Fest BBQ
Apr 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4912 Bynum School's Best of the Basin
Oct 7 First overall top-10 Bliss Brews & Que

20141 milestone

Jun 27 First tracked contest Smokin' On The Pecos

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.2	Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2)	May 11, 2019
+11.1	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	Aug 24, 2018
+10.6	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	Aug 26, 2016
+9.1	Bliss Brews & Que	Oct 7, 2016
+7.3	Bynum School's Best of the Basin	Apr 22, 2016

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.1	Firelake BBQ Cook Off (Day 2)	Mar 25, 2017
-7.5	Firelake BBQ Cook Off (Day 1)	Mar 24, 2017
-4.7	Mountain Smoke Barbecue Festival Day 2	Mar 15, 2019
-4.1	Wild West BBQ Cook Off	May 11, 2018
-2.1	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship	Aug 25, 2017

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	5	2	80%	top 43%	95.9%	92.4%
2018	5	1	80%	top 45%	94.2%	92%
2017	4	0	25%	top 70%	91.1%	90%
2016	5	1	80%	top 28%	93.4%	91.1%
2015	1	0	0%	top 52%	88.2%	88.2%
2014	1	0	0%	—	—	—

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 23, 2019	Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championship 🏅 Lubbock, TX	25 / 62 (661.5884)	19 (170.2628)	31 (162.8344)	30 (162.8228)	23 (165.6684)
May 11, 2019	Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 2) 🏅 Plainview, TX	3 / 21 (690.2516)	12 (171.4172)	4 (175.4400)	16 (166.2400)	3 (177.1544)
May 10, 2019	Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 1) 🏅 Plainview, TX	17 / 38 (663.3940)	9 (168.5944)	10 (168.5828)	20 (161.6912)	18 (164.5256)
Mar 15, 2019	Mountain Smoke Barbecue Festival Day 2 🏅 Ruidoso, NM	15 / 21 (647.8968)	6 (173.1428)	18 (158.2972)	17 (156.4912)	17 (159.9656)
Mar 14, 2019	Mountain Smoke Barbecue Festival Day 1 🏅 Ruidoso, NM	8 / 18 (662.1824)	9 (167.4056)	2 (173.7372)	7 (169.1084)	13 (151.9312)
Aug 24, 2018	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship Lubbock, TX	10 / 54 (678.2740)	21 (166.2512)	9 (172.5600)	18 (168.0228)	9 (171.4400)
Jun 22, 2018	Smokin On The Pecos (Day 1) Artesia, NM	20 / 39 (653.0628)	15 (169.1200)	13 (170.8228)	25 (162.2516)	29 (150.8684)
May 11, 2018	Wild West BBQ Cook Off Lamar, CO	18 / 26 (651.3600)	18 (161.6684)	19 (161.7144)	4 (172.5600)	23 (155.4172)
May 4, 2018	City of Show Low's 6th Annual BBQ Throwdown Show Low, AZ	26 / 52 (669.6116)	22 (170.2744)	3 (178.8572)	44 (157.6572)	30 (162.8228)
Apr 6, 2018	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off Cedar Park, TX	24 / 69 (659.9088)	9 (171.4172)	19 (169.1200)	48 (157.0972)	29 (162.2744)
Aug 25, 2017	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship Lubbock, TX	25 / 44 (651.3252)	23 (165.1200)	16 (168.5828)	23 (159.3940)	27 (158.2284)
Jun 23, 2017	Smokin On The Pecos-Doubleheader-Day 1 Artesia, NM	21 / 43 (655.9544)	35 (155.3944)	18 (162.3316)	18 (165.6684)	7 (172.5600)
Mar 25, 2017	Firelake BBQ Cook Off (Day 2) Shawnee, OK	72 / 77 (643.3256)	64 (161.7028)	46 (167.4056)	42 (169.7028)	75 (144.5144)
Mar 24, 2017	Firelake BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) Shawnee, OK	72 / 87 (642.1600)	69 (160.5600)	79 (155.9316)	69 (159.9884)	52 (165.6800)
Oct 7, 2016	Bliss Brews & Que Ft. Bliss, TX	8 / 32 (658.7772)	8 (171.4172)	3 (171.4172)	13 (161.7144)	19 (154.2284)
Aug 26, 2016	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship Lubbock, TX	13 / 72 (672.4912)	8 (173.1200)	2 (177.1428)	16 (170.2856)	59 (151.9428)
Jun 24, 2016	Smokin' On The Pecos Artesia, NM	15 / 44 (661.0856)	18 (167.4400)	34 (153.0972)	7 (173.7256)	13 (166.8228)
Apr 22, 2016	Bynum School's Best of the Basin Midland, TX	14 / 46 (648.4912)	26 (154.8228)	11 (168.5600)	14 (164.5484)	22 (160.5600)
Apr 1, 2016	Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX	23 / 67 (637.1196)	8 (172)	51 (144.5828)	23 (163.3940)	29 (157.1428)
Jun 26, 2015	Smokin' On The Pecos Artesia, NM	25 / 48 (635.2912)	22 (161.6572)	28 (159.9656)	14 (165.1428)	36 (148.5256)
Jun 27, 2014	Smokin' On The Pecos Artesia, NM	—	—	—	—	—

SMOKE EM UP BBQ

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

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

An April team

The long haul

The metronome

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

By state / province (where the contests were held)

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 — 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)