FAT BOTTOM BBQ

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

Power ranking

#3153

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1501

peak 1527 · rated over 19 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-05-29

latest 2022-04-22

Best ToY finish

#851

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 28 contests

Avg finish

top 61%

overall standings

Best overall

678.2056 / 720

Master · Smoke Out in the Valley

Perfect 180s

Current form

589.03 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 629.32 (-40.29)

Walk rate

29%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0000

Pork · Smoke Out in the Valley

Consistency

±86.97

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 164.62 · weakest Brisket (159.67)

Road miles

5,906

mi across 28 mapped stops · furthest 646 mi

Schedule strength

57%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1572)

Purse competed for

$19K

listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 3 state-championship entries

Master avg

629.32 / 720

15 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

395.96 / 360

4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (11 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

678.2056 career-best overall

94.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 678.2056 at Smoke Out in the Valley — 94.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2017-06-17

Their season

2017 their best year

2017 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 42%.

4 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 42%

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB ahead in 100% of their meetings

HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.0 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.96 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 22%.

Brisket avg 159.67
Chicken avg 164.62
1 calls in 14 entries

A strong matchup

5–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of END OF THE ROAD BBQ in 5 of their 7 shared contests.

The comeback

2.6 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.6 years, then back at Smoke on the Falls (2021-04-09).

last seen 2018-09-15
back 2021-04-09

Chicken nemesis

9 of 10 shared chicken entries lost

HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB ahead 90% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB has out-cooked them in 9 of 10 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

FARM TO FIRE has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Boom or bust

±17.53% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±17.53% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 92.2% of a perfect score
best 133.3%

A September team

Top 50% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 50% across 5 contests, versus top 61% the rest of the year.

5 September contests
top 61% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,906 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,906 miles across 28 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 646 miles to Leavenworth Break-out BBQ.

28 mapped stops
furthest 646 mi

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.

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

WOODSHED BBQ

#3174 of the rated field

1501 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to FAT BOTTOM BBQ)

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

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2016-10-29

⚔ Head-to-head

Fat Boy BBQ

#3156 of the rated field

1501 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1501

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to FAT BOTTOM BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-10-03

⚔ Head-to-head

Coach's Decision

#3140 of the rated field

1501 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1507

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to FAT BOTTOM BBQ)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 6 years before FAT BOTTOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Belly Up BBQ

#3166 of the rated field

1501 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than FAT BOTTOM BBQ has cooked, 17 to 28, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2023-09-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Grillzwolds BBQ Team

#3139 of the rated field

1501 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1505

No shared contest yet.

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 8% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2026-06-12

⚔ Head-to-head

CLOUD OF SMOKE BBQ

#3172 of the rated field

1501 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1550

No shared contest yet.

Level with FAT BOTTOM BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2026-01-16

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SLAPS BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
BROWNIES BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
Sons of a Brisket	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
END OF THE ROAD BBQ	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
ROADKILL BBQ	7	3	4	43%	⚔ compare
SOCIAL SMOKERS BBQ SQUAD	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Theslabs.com	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
BURNT FINGER BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKING HILLS	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
CLARK CREW BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SKUNK RIVER BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' BASTED	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	4	1	172.5716	150.8572	164.62	top 53%
Pork Ribs	18	5	0	173.1200	146.8000	163.18	top 56%
Pork	16	3	1	176.0000	141.6912	160.89	top 57%
Brisket	14	1	0	168.5484	147.3712	159.67	top 60%

“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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
MO	8	top 44%
KS	5	top 70%
AL	2	top 106%
WV	1	top 53%
IN	1	top 64%
GA	1	top 43%
OK	1	top 80%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 59%
Medium (20–39)	8	top 71%
Large (40+)	9	top 52%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
*Kelley Wilson BBQ	2	12	top 29%	2018-06-01
*Smoking in the Golden Valley	2	10	top 45%	2017-09-29
Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition (KWBBQ)	2	27	top 65%	2016-06-03

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 6.9 yrs 2015-05-29 → 2022-04-22

Busiest season 2016 8 contests

Contests a season 3.5 across 8 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MO 8 of 28 contests · 8 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 16 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 18 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 164.62 · weakest Brisket (159.67)

Walk rate 29% a top-10 call in 8 of 28 contests

Overall top-10 rate 11% 3 of 28 contests

Master average 629.32 out of 720 · 15 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 395.96 out of 360 · 4 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 1,270 872–1,241 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 5,906 28 mapped stops · furthest 646 mi

Schedule strength 1572 average field rating faced — tougher than 57% of rated contests

Purse competed for $18,940 listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 3 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 2.6 yrs 2018-09-15 → 2021-04-09

Power rating 1501 peak 1527 · #3153 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Jul 26 First tracked contest Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash
2016
Apr 29 10th tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Jun 3 First call Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition (KWBBQ)
Sep 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score677.0856 *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ
Sep 23 First overall top-10 Smoking in the Golden Valley
2017
Jun 17 Career-best overall score678.2056 Smoke Out in the Valley
Jun 17 Career-best single call (Pork)176.0000 Smoke Out in the Valley
2018
Jun 1 Peak power rating (1527) *Kelley Wilson BBQ
2021
Apr 9 25th tracked contest Smoke on the Falls
2022
Apr 22 Most recent contest Downtown BBQ Throwdown

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.2	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ	2016-09-09
+11.3	*Kelley Wilson BBQ	2017-06-02
+6	*Kelley Wilson BBQ	2018-06-01
+4.8	Smoking in the Golden Valley	2016-09-23
+4.8	*Smoking in the Golden Valley	2017-09-29

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.3	Smoke on the Falls	2021-04-09
-10.9	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2016-04-29
-7.4	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2018-09-15
-5.8	Mocklahoma Ribs & Roll BBQ Championship	2016-06-10
-5.2	Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition	2015-05-29

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2022	2	1	50%	top 75%	133.3%	112.1%
2021	2	1	50%	top 90%	131.6%	107.8%
2018	3	0	33%	top 53%	92.8%	74.7%
2017	4	0	75%	top 42%	94.2%	93%
2016	8	1	25%	top 61%	94%	89.6%
2015	5	0	0%	top 70%	87.6%	87.6%
2014	3	0	0%	—	—	—
2013	1	0	0%	—	—	—

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022-04-22	Downtown BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Ripley, WV	9 / 17 (479.9656)	7 (161.1428)	4 (169.7372)	13 (149.0856)	—
2022-04-08	Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL	33 / 34 (327.3716)	25 (165.6916)	35 (161.6800)	—	—
2021-07-23	Hot Summer Nights Smoke n Sauce BBQ-(BACKYARD ONLY) Bloomington, IN	9 / 14 (473.6684)	3 (168.5828)	5 (163.3944)	13 (141.6912)	—
2021-04-09	Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL	44 / 38 (302.8232)	44 (150.8572)	42 (151.9660)	—	—
2018-09-15	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	373 / 467 (632.9596)	383 (157.6800)	336 (160.5484)	400 (153.6456)	295 (161.0856)
2018-06-01	*Kelley Wilson BBQ Kansas City, MO	18 / 48 (667.8400)	11 (169.1200)	9 (173.1200)	21 (167.3828)	30 (158.2172)
2018-04-27	*BBQ Boogie & Blues Calhoun, GA	12 / 28 (313.6232)	—	—	—	—
2017-09-29	*Smoking in the Golden Valley Clinton, MO	13 / 29 (670.7888)	18 (162.2516)	6 (171.9772)	8 (170.8456)	13 (165.7144)
2017-09-01	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	215 / 407 (659.9200)	349 (155.4632)	82 (171.9772)	193 (166.8112)	182 (165.6684)
2017-06-17	Smoke Out in the Valley Buckner, MO	11 / 21 (678.2056)	10 (172.5716)	11 (165.1084)	2 (176.0000)	12 (164.5256)
2017-06-02	*Kelley Wilson BBQ Kansas City, MO	12 / 61 (670.1712)	17 (166.2628)	20 (165.6800)	11 (170.8228)	10 (167.4056)
2016-10-29	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN) Kansas City, KS	257 / 557 (657.0284)	130 (170.2628)	356 (161.1316)	94 (171.4056)	411 (154.2284)
2016-10-08	Leavenworth Break-out BBQ Levenworth, KS	16 / 22 (653.0628)	16 (166.8916)	13 (164.5600)	17 (161.6800)	19 (159.9312)
2016-09-23	Smoking in the Golden Valley Clinton, MO	10 / 22 (664.4684)	8 (169.7028)	18 (161.6800)	8 (172.5828)	11 (160.5028)
2016-09-09	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO	19 / 76 (677.0856)	17 (170.2744)	30 (167.9656)	24 (170.2972)	20 (168.5484)
2016-06-10	Mocklahoma Ribs & Roll BBQ Championship Okmulgee, OK	33 / 41 (621.5424)	13 (171.4288)	34 (152.5140)	38 (150.2284)	33 (147.3712)
2016-06-03	Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition (KWBBQ) Kansas City, MO	27 / 45 (637.5428)	19 (166.8456)	4 (172.5600)	42 (146.2172)	34 (151.9200)
2016-04-29	BBQ Boogie & Blues (GBC Qualifier) Calhoun, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2016-04-29	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Overland Park, KS	30 / 30 (604.8452)	23 (161.6456)	30 (146.8000)	30 (144.4568)	27 (151.9428)
2015-10-03	Smoke-N-Thunder BBQ Classic Day 2 (GBC Qualifier) Rome, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2015-05-29	Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition Kansas City, MO	30 / 43 (630.6972)	32 (156.5256)	32 (154.8344)	26 (161.0856)	27 (158.2516)
2015-05-08	Roman Roast on the River Rome, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2015-04-24	BBQ Boogie & Blues (GBC Qualifier) Calhoun, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2015-04-10	Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL	—	—	—	—	—
2014-11-21	The National BBQ Cup (SBBQA) Cumming, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2014-10-18	Smoke-N-Thunder BBQ Classic (SBBQA) Rome, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2014-04-25	BBQ Boogie & Blues (SBBQA) Calhoun, GA	—	—	—	—	—
2013-07-26	Foothills Country Fair BBQ Bash Cleveland, TN	—	—	—	—	—

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
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#172 (207 pts)	#153 (252 pts)	—	—
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1365 (185 pts)	#1617 (160 pts)	#1683 (145 pts)	#1442 (190 pts)	#1424 (195 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#851 (417 pts)	#756 (527 pts)	#730 (552 pts)	#970 (387 pts)	#900 (397 pts)