A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Q HAVEN BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Q HAVEN BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
HOCUS SMOKUS
HOCUS SMOKUS is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 18th of 35 at the NYC BBQ Cookoff (2016). They are ranked #5227 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1458
peak 1458 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Sep 26, 2015
latest Jul 5, 2019 · 3.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 84%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
579.39 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 578.35 (+1.03)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±59.79
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 154.50 · weakest Brisket (145.59)
Road miles
351
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 192 mi
Schedule strength
55%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1570)
Purse competed for
$14K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
578.35 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 | #2493 (57 pts) | #2508 (57 pts) | #2507 (57 pts) | #1010 (282 pts) | #2494 (57 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #2212 (60 pts) | #2286 (60 pts) | #2304 (60 pts) | #2260 (60 pts) | #2266 (60 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #1599 (155 pts) | #2353 (60 pts) | #1330 (235 pts) | #1492 (200 pts) | #1839 (120 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to HOCUS SMOKUS, each with one reason worth a look.
118 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,239 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,221 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Level with HOCUS SMOKUS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,211 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,228 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,248 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1457
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,230 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BACKDRAFT BAR-B-Q CT | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Q HAVEN BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BEERBEQUE | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.4172 | 149.7028 | 154.50 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 165.7600 | 135.9544 | 150.59 | top 70% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 171.9656 | 135.4400 | 153.43 | top 63% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153.6800 | 138.2744 | 145.59 | top 83% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 82% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 88% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC BBQ Cookoff | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 83% | Apr 5, 2019 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
NY
4 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
127
finished ahead 34 times, behind 172
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Apr 7, 2017 → Apr 5, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20193 milestones
- First category win (Pork) I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork)171.9656 I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
- Most recent contest I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
20163 milestones
- First call NYC BBQ Cookoff
- Career-best overall score629.7256 NYC BBQ Cookoff
- Peak power rating (1490) NYC BBQ Cookoff
20151 milestone
- First tracked contest Red, White and Que
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.5 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | Apr 8, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.1 | Red White and Que | Sep 24, 2016 |
| -12.9 | Red, White and Que | Sep 26, 2015 |
| -7 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | Jul 5, 2019 |
| -6.8 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | Apr 5, 2019 |
| -5.2 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | Apr 7, 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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50% | top 90% | 86.1% | 84.3% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 76% | 87.5% | 75% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 79.6% | 79.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2019 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival 🏅 Lake Placid, NY | 29 / 32 (619.8856) | 30 (149.7028) | 25 (154.8228) | 1 (171.9656) | 31 (143.3944) |
| Apr 5, 2019 | NYC BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Staten Island, NY | 23 / 26 (594.6972) | 17 (159.4172) | 25 (135.9544) | 23 (152.5372) | 22 (146.7884) |
| Apr 7, 2017 | NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY | 33 / 43 (601.7144) | 26 (155.4056) | 26 (154.3316) | 42 (138.2972) | 29 (153.6800) |
| Sep 24, 2016 | Red White and Que Cresskill, NJ | 41 / 41 (450.9032) | — | 36 (145.7488) | 22 (158.2972) | 33 (146.8572) |
| Apr 8, 2016 | NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY | 18 / 35 (629.7256) | 26 (155.4056) | 6 (165.7600) | 12 (164.0228) | 28 (144.5372) |
| Sep 26, 2015 | Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ | 34 / 35 (573.2000) | 29 (152.5828) | 29 (146.9028) | 35 (135.4400) | 31 (138.2744) |