Perfect scores on the board
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.
- Pork Ribs ×1
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest is their spot: an average finish in the top 13% across 2 visits.
96.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 695.3600 at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest — 96.6% of a perfect 720.
WHEN PIGS DIE has finished one call ahead of TEAM BREW & QUE 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
2024 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 22%.
Ahead in 70% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY in 14 of their 20 shared contests.
Off the trail for 1.8 years, then back at 9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition (2021-05-28).
WHEN PIGS DIE ahead 65% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, WHEN PIGS DIE has out-cooked them in 22 of 34 shared chicken entries.
SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,909 miles across 53 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 185 miles to American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides.
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.
26 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team TEAM BREW & QUE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1695 at their best, 78 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headFewer contests behind them than TEAM BREW & QUE has cooked, 24 to 53, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 110 contests, alongside a 42% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before TEAM BREW & QUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 8 years after TEAM BREW & QUE did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HELPING U BBQ | 35 | 12 | 23 | 34% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ | 34 | 12 | 22 | 35% | ⚔ compare |
| WHEN PIGS DIE | 33 | 7 | 26 | 21% | ⚔ compare |
| DIRT ROAD BBQ | 24 | 2 | 22 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY | 20 | 14 | 6 | 70% | ⚔ compare |
| HOT GRILL ON GRILL ACTION | 20 | 10 | 10 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| HUNKA HUNKA BURNIN' RUB | 19 | 3 | 16 | 16% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 17 | 4 | 13 | 24% | ⚔ compare |
| SLAPS BBQ | 16 | 2 | 14 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| TEAM CRAWFORD | 15 | 7 | 8 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| PORKY BUTTS BBQ | 15 | 1 | 14 | 7% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 15 | 1 | 14 | 7% | ⚔ compare |
| SCORE ONE SMOKIN' | 14 | 12 | 2 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| FAIRWAY SMOKERS | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 46 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 179.4400 | 150.8228 | 167.72 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 48 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 180.0000 🔥 | 155.3716 | 167.38 | top 48% |
| Pork | 45 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 178.8572 | 150.8000 | 167.15 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 175.4400 | 148.4684 | 164.25 | top 53% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| NE | 23 | 0 | top 53% |
| KS | 12 | 0 | top 45% |
| IA | 10 | 0 | top 45% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 28 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 17 | 0 | top 52% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Blue BBQ Championship | 4 | 5 | 0 | top 42% | 2025-06-06 |
| Shenandoah ShenDig | 3 | 8 | 0 | top 42% | 2026-07-17 |
| SJV Winter Rub | 3 | 11 | 0 | top 48% | 2026-01-30 |
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 3 | 270 | 0 | top 65% | 2023-09-27 |
| Central Plains Ribfest | 3 | 7 | 0 | top 30% | 2019-06-14 |
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2 | 38 | 0 | top 13% | 2025-11-05 |
| Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 26% | 2024-07-05 |
| Q for a Cause | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 56% | 2019-04-26 |
| *BBQ in the Bluffs | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 55% | 2018-05-11 |
| BBQ on the Bricks | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 50% | 2017-08-25 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.1 | 7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition | 2018-05-18 |
| +13.8 | Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ | 2024-07-05 |
| +13.7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2024-10-30 |
| +13 | Central Plains Ribfest | 2018-06-15 |
| +12.2 | Big Blue BBQ Championship | 2025-06-06 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.3 | Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown | 2025-07-11 |
| -7.1 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | 2021-09-16 |
| -6.6 | Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -1 | 2017-08-04 |
| -4.7 | Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -2 | 2017-08-05 |
| -4.6 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2023-09-27 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 50% | 95.7% | 94.5% |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50% | top 37% | 96.4% | 94.6% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 80% | top 22% | 96.6% | 95.5% |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17% | top 57% | 93.6% | 92.3% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 67% | 91% | 91% |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29% | top 57% | 95.2% | 92.9% |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60% | top 48% | 94.2% | 92.9% |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 75% | top 43% | 95.1% | 92.8% |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38% | top 60% | 93.2% | 90% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 87.3% | 87.1% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-17 | Shenandoah ShenDig 🏅 Shenandoah, IA | 13 / 28 (689.0740) | 7 (176.0228) | 15 (170.8228) | 9 (174.8572) | 20 (167.3712) |
| 2026-07-17 | Shenandoah ShenDig (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Shenandoah, IA | — | 3 (176.5828) | — | — | — |
| 2026-06-05 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 15 / 25 (677.0516) | 21 (166.2628) | 21 (163.9544) | 5 (175.4172) | 8 (171.4172) |
| 2026-01-30 | SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE | 17 / 38 (674.1712) | 13 (171.4056) | 6 (174.3088) | 32 (165.0856) | 30 (163.3712) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 69 / 401 (692.5028) | 191 (170.8228) | 78 (174.2856) | 12 (178.8572) | 180 (168.5372) |
| 2025-07-18 | Shenandoah ShenDig 🏅 Shenandoah, IA | 8 / 30 (694.1940) | 7 (175.4056) | 15 (171.9656) | 14 (172.5600) | 6 (174.2628) |
| 2025-07-11 | Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown 🏅 Papillion, NE | 21 / 24 (645.4396) | 23 (155.9084) | 11 (168.5372) | 17 (165.0856) | 22 (155.9084) |
| 2025-06-06 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 5 / 29 (692.4916) | 11 (174.2744) | 1 (180.0000) | 4 (175.4172) | 22 (162.8000) |
| 2025-01-24 | SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE | 11 / 32 (679.9088) | 8 (173.7028) | 17 (168.5372) | 14 (170.2744) | 15 (167.3944) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 38 / 444 (695.3600) | 8 (179.4400) | 37 (176.5600) | 101 (173.1200) | 253 (166.2400) |
| 2024-07-19 | Shenandoah ShenDig BBQ 🏅 Shenandoah, IA | 7 / 36 (691.9772) | 5 (176.5600) | 10 (173.1544) | 11 (174.2628) | 19 (168.0000) |
| 2024-07-05 | Ditmars Red, White & Blue BBQ 🏅 Council Bluffs, IA | 4 / 26 (683.9544) | 3 (176.5944) | 10 (166.8344) | 7 (171.4056) | 5 (169.1200) |
| 2024-05-31 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 11 / 25 (680.4800) | 6 (174.8456) | 22 (155.3716) | 3 (176.0000) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 336 / 487 (655.9316) | 356 (163.4172) | 165 (171.4172) | 278 (166.8228) | 426 (154.2744) |
| 2023-07-21 | Shenandoah ShenDig 🏅 Shenandoah, IA | 20 / 37 (666.7080) | 17 (170.8228) | 16 (170.8112) | 21 (167.9656) | 26 (157.1084) |
| 2023-06-30 | Ditmars Red White & Blue BBQ 🏅 Council Bluffs, IA | 8 / 22 (674.2516) | 6 (171.9772) | 4 (172.0228) | 11 (170.3088) | 14 (159.9428) |
| 2023-06-02 | Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS | 17 / 28 (671.3488) | 11 (171.9772) | 19 (165.6800) | 22 (163.9772) | 11 (169.7144) |
| 2023-01-27 | SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE | 20 / 31 (655.9544) | 22 (161.6800) | 27 (159.3944) | 14 (168.5828) | 15 (166.2972) |
| 2022-10-01 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 337 / 505 (654.8460) | 233 (168.0000) | 400 (160.0116) | 420 (158.2172) | 167 (168.6172) |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 270 / 467 (657.5540) | 366 (158.7884) | 86 (172.5600) | 235 (165.0856) | 286 (161.1200) |
| 2021-06-19 | Central Plains Ribfest Day 2 🏅 Holdrege, NE | 26 / 36 (666.2060) | 23 (166.2972) | 23 (167.9888) | 26 (163.3828) | 20 (168.5372) |
| 2021-06-18 | Central Plains Ribfest Day 1 🏅 Holdrege, NE | 12 / 40 (685.6684) | 13 (173.1428) | 23 (167.9772) | 10 (174.8572) | 15 (169.6912) |
| 2021-05-30 | Helping U BBQ Triple Bone - One Meat Rib Contest C Omaha, NE | — | — | 11 (170.2628) | — | — |
| 2021-05-30 | Helping U BBQ Triple Bone - One Meat Rib Contest B Omaha, NE | — | — | 10 (170.2972) | — | — |
| 2021-05-30 | Helping U BBQ Triple Bone - One Meat Rib Contest A Omaha, NE | — | — | 14 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2021-05-28 | 9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE | 31 / 46 (665.1544) | 21 (168.5944) | 19 (169.6800) | 34 (163.4400) | 31 (163.4400) |
| 2019-08-09 | GOBS Que 🏅 Arlington, NE | 10 / 29 (670.1716) | 10 (169.1316) | 5 (171.9888) | 17 (165.6684) | 14 (163.3828) |
| 2019-06-28 | Back To Mayberry 🏅 Rodney, IA | 18 / 28 (666.8112) | 21 (167.4056) | 19 (165.1428) | 10 (170.8228) | 23 (163.4400) |
| 2019-06-14 | Central Plains Ribfest 🏅 Holdrege, NE | 8 / 30 (678.2172) | 18 (161.1200) | 9 (170.8344) | 4 (176.0000) | 6 (170.2628) |
| 2019-05-31 | 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE | 18 / 39 (666.6972) | 15 (169.1200) | 24 (166.2400) | 11 (169.6916) | 25 (161.6456) |
| 2019-04-26 | Q for a Cause 🏅 Papillion, NE | 22 / 32 (662.7196) | 12 (171.4284) | 27 (157.0740) | 25 (165.0972) | 16 (169.1200) |
| 2018-09-15 | 39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 220 / 467 (662.8572) | 245 (165.7256) | 170 (168.5600) | 402 (153.1316) | 22 (175.4400) |
| 2018-08-10 | 26th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska Arlington, NE | 16 / 30 (662.3204) | 22 (161.1428) | 16 (167.4288) | 2 (176.0344) | 21 (157.7144) |
| 2018-07-06 | Back To Mayberry Rodney, IA | 19 / 26 (663.3484) | 18 (164.5256) | 18 (165.6800) | 10 (168.5828) | 15 (164.5600) |
| 2018-06-15 | Central Plains Ribfest Holdrege, NE | 7 / 35 (684.5600) | 17 (169.1544) | 11 (171.9656) | 12 (171.9772) | 10 (171.4628) |
| 2018-06-01 | *Big Blue BBQ Championship(TEAMS FULL) Marysville, KS | 20 / 42 (656.4912) | 34 (157.1428) | 10 (169.1200) | 16 (166.8228) | 20 (163.4056) |
| 2018-05-18 | 7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition Valley, NE | 8 / 42 (681.1200) | 12 (169.7144) | 9 (171.9772) | 8 (172.5600) | 16 (166.8684) |
| 2018-05-11 | *BBQ in the Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA | 17 / 39 (669.0056) | 17 (167.9772) | 27 (163.3944) | 6 (172.5484) | 18 (165.0856) |
| 2018-04-20 | Q for a Cause Papillion, NE | 18 / 41 (665.0512) | 18 (168.5600) | 14 (166.8572) | 15 (167.9656) | 24 (161.6684) |
| 2017-09-01 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 190 / 407 (663.8856) | 133 (170.2972) | 105 (170.8228) | 375 (150.8000) | 70 (171.9656) |
| 2017-08-25 | BBQ on the Bricks Kearney, NE | 10 / 34 (670.8456) | 3 (173.1772) | 9 (168.5828) | 24 (158.8228) | 6 (170.2628) |
| 2017-08-05 | Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -2 Omaha, NE | 43 / 50 (649.0172) | 41 (163.9544) | 38 (163.9772) | 45 (158.8572) | 38 (162.2284) |
| 2017-08-04 | Omaha Steaks Nebraska BBQ Championship Day -1 Omaha, NE | 48 / 54 (614.0684) | 50 (150.8228) | 40 (157.6800) | 45 (157.0972) | 48 (148.4684) |
| 2017-07-21 | Riverfest Community Festival Bellevue, NE | 22 / 46 (651.9428) | 7 (172.5944) | 17 (163.4400) | 26 (163.3828) | 34 (152.5256) |
| 2017-06-16 | Central Plains Ribfest Holdrege, NE | 12 / 27 (644.5372) | 23 (153.6916) | 16 (159.4628) | 2 (173.7028) | 13 (157.6800) |
| 2017-05-19 | 6th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition Valley, NE | 32 / 47 (640.4916) | 45 (154.2628) | 25 (163.4288) | 33 (160.0000) | 19 (162.8000) |
| 2017-05-12 | BBQ in the Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA | 26 / 39 (646.7544) | 25 (165.7144) | 20 (166.2972) | 32 (157.6456) | 31 (157.0972) |
| 2016-08-26 | BBQ on the Bricks Kearney, NE | 24 / 34 (626.2400) | 25 (160.0000) | 23 (157.1428) | 27 (155.9656) | 25 (153.1316) |
| 2016-08-05 | 24th Annual State BBQ Championship of Nebraska Omaha, NE | 52 / 70 (628.5028) | 27 (165.7028) | 54 (155.4172) | 56 (153.6800) | 48 (153.7028) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #463 (313 pts) | #316 (565 pts) | #502 (348 pts) | #438 (373 pts) | #525 (283 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #369 (585 pts) | #415 (555 pts) | #385 (660 pts) | #352 (640 pts) | #453 (470 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #388 (546 pts) | #322 (731 pts) | #568 (386 pts) | #382 (571 pts) | #435 (501 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #428 (461 pts) | #433 (516 pts) | #482 (501 pts) | #473 (436 pts) | #446 (451 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1309 (60 pts) | #1341 (60 pts) | #1404 (60 pts) | #1348 (60 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #552 (305 pts) | #552 (330 pts) | #328 (624 pts) | #564 (315 pts) | #579 (315 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #613 (534 pts) | #655 (524 pts) | #652 (524 pts) | #566 (614 pts) | #667 (504 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #414 (841 pts) | #531 (696 pts) | #439 (831 pts) | #287 (1111 pts) | #502 (736 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #620 (626 pts) | #523 (761 pts) | #603 (666 pts) | #598 (676 pts) | #582 (676 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #1755 (124 pts) | #1999 (119 pts) | #1838 (129 pts) | #2000 (119 pts) | #1985 (119 pts) |