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
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1457
peak 1457 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2015-09-26
latest 2019-07-05
Best ToY finish
#1599
Master 2016
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
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
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 154.50 · weakest Brisket (145.59)
Road miles
351
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 192 mi
Schedule strength
54%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1569)
Purse competed for
$14K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
578.35 / 720
6 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.
The weak link
−8.9
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.91 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 145.59
- Chicken avg 154.50
- 0 calls in 6 entries
The comeback
2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at NYC BBQ Cookoff (2019-04-05).
- last seen 2017-04-07
- back 2019-04-05
An April team
Top 72%
average finish in April
Something about April: average finish in the top 72% across 3 contests, versus top 84% the rest of the year.
- 3 April contests
- top 84% the rest of the year
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.
118 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5206 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1457
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5198 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2015.
⚔ Head-to-head#5192 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
No shared contest yet.
Level with HOCUS SMOKUS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5225 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1506 at their best, 49 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#5207 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 4 years before HOCUS SMOKUS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5211 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 5 years before HOCUS SMOKUS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 4 | 0 | top 77% |
| NJ | 2 | 0 | top 99% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 82% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 88% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC BBQ Cookoff | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 83% | 2019-04-05 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
3.8 yrs
2015-09-26 → 2019-07-05
Busiest season
2019
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
NY
4 of 6 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 154.50 · weakest Brisket (145.59)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 2 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Master average
578.35
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
128
34–172 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
351
6 mapped stops · furthest 192 mi
Schedule strength
1569
average field rating faced — tougher than 54% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$13,975
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2 yrs
2017-04-07 → 2019-04-05
Power rating
1457
peak 1457 · #5209 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest Red, White and Que
- 2016
- First call NYC BBQ Cookoff
- Career-best overall score629.7256 NYC BBQ Cookoff
- Peak power rating (1490) NYC BBQ Cookoff
- 2019
- 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
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.4 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | 2016-04-08 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.1 | Red White and Que | 2016-09-24 |
| -12.9 | Red, White and Que | 2015-09-26 |
| -7.1 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | 2019-07-05 |
| -6.8 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | 2019-04-05 |
| -5.3 | NYC BBQ Cookoff | 2017-04-07 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-07-05 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival 🏅 Lake Placid, NY | 29 / 32 (619.8856) | 30 (149.7028) | 25 (154.8228) | 1 (171.9656) | 31 (143.3944) |
| 2019-04-05 | NYC BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Staten Island, NY | 23 / 26 (594.6972) | 17 (159.4172) | 25 (135.9544) | 23 (152.5372) | 22 (146.7884) |
| 2017-04-07 | NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY | 33 / 43 (601.7144) | 26 (155.4056) | 26 (154.3316) | 42 (138.2972) | 29 (153.6800) |
| 2016-09-24 | Red White and Que Cresskill, NJ | 41 / 41 (450.9032) | — | 36 (145.7488) | 22 (158.2972) | 33 (146.8572) |
| 2016-04-08 | NYC BBQ Cookoff Staten Island, NY | 18 / 35 (629.7256) | 26 (155.4056) | 6 (165.7600) | 12 (164.0228) | 28 (144.5372) |
| 2015-09-26 | Red, White and Que Cresskill, NJ | 34 / 35 (573.2000) | 29 (152.5828) | 29 (146.9028) | 35 (135.4400) | 31 (138.2744) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |