SMOKIN' BBQ

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

Power ranking

#3981

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1483

peak 1500 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2016-05-20

latest 2019-05-17

Best ToY finish

#1255

Master 2017

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

666.2512 / 720

Master · Beak Week BBQ Challenge

Perfect 180s

Current form

624.95 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 631.79 (-6.85)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.0228

Chicken · Beak Week BBQ Challenge

Consistency

±40.23

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 160.20 · weakest Brisket (152.34)

Road miles

748

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 276 mi

Schedule strength

69%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)

Purse competed for

$18K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

631.79 / 720

8 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

236.80 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 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 (7 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

666.2512 career-best overall

92.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 666.2512 at Beak Week BBQ Challenge — 92.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-09-09

A tough matchup

8–0 behind in the head-to-head

REDNECK SCIENTIFIC ahead in 100% of their meetings

REDNECK SCIENTIFIC has come out ahead in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.9 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.86 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 13%.

Brisket avg 152.34
Pork avg 160.20
0 calls in 8 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of COASTAL SMOKE in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

7 of 8 shared pork entries lost

REDNECK SCIENTIFIC ahead 88% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, REDNECK SCIENTIFIC has out-cooked them in 7 of 8 shared pork entries.

Boom or bust

±8.69% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±8.69% 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 85.3% of a perfect score
best 92.5%

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Kings of Q BBQ Cook-off and Festival every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 20th

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.

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

THERMAL CHAOS BBQ

#3967 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

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

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to SMOKIN' BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SMOKIN' BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

DIESEL SMOKE BBQ

#3994 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 3 years before SMOKIN' BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 9 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

REDNECK COOKERS

#3998 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1503

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2016-09-03

⚔ Head-to-head

honey b-b-q

#3970 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2024-09-20

⚔ Head-to-head

Big Bad Hawg's

#3959 of the rated field

1484 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1484

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2017-10-13

⚔ Head-to-head

PIG'N & CHIK'N

#3982 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1483

No shared contest yet.

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 2024-10-18

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
OLD COLONY SMOKEHOUSE	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
REDNECK SCIENTIFIC	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
CAROLINA SMOKE	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
HOLY SMOKE BBQ-NC	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
FatHeads bbq	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
COASTAL SMOKE	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
Grillin' Thyme	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN SKULLIES	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
BOBO'S QUE	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
FIRED UP SMOKERS	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
TWISTED PAIR BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	2	1	176.0228	94.5372	156.90	top 52%
Pork Ribs	9	0	0	166.8456	117.1084	153.19	top 66%
Pork	8	1	0	170.8572	143.4172	160.20	top 64%
Brisket	8	0	0	165.7372	131.4856	152.34	top 81%

“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
NC	7	top 63%
MD	1	top 56%
WV	1	top 100%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 72%
Large (40+)	4	0	top 59%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Kings of Q BBQ Cook-off and Festival	4	20	0	top 70%	2019-05-17
*Beak Week BBQ Challenge	2	18	0	top 60%	2017-09-08

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3 yrs 2016-05-20 → 2019-05-17

Busiest season 2017 3 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in NC 7 of 9 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 5 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 160.20 · weakest Brisket (152.34)

Walk rate 33% a top-10 call in 3 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 9 contests

Master average 631.79 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 236.80 out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 215 131–256 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 748 9 mapped stops · furthest 276 mi

Schedule strength 1586 average field rating faced — tougher than 69% of rated contests

Purse competed for $18,000 listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Power rating 1483 peak 1500 · #3981 of 6,413 rated

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

2016
May 20 First tracked contest Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival
May 20 First call Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival
Sep 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.2512 Beak Week BBQ Challenge
Sep 9 Career-best overall score666.2512 Beak Week BBQ Challenge
Sep 9 Career-best single call (Chicken)176.0228 Beak Week BBQ Challenge
2017
Oct 13 Peak power rating (1500) Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down
2019
May 17 Most recent contest Kings of Q BBQ Cook-off and Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7.8	Beak Week BBQ Challenge	2016-09-09
+6.9	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down	2017-10-13
+2.3	Kings of Q BBQ Cook-off and Festival	2019-05-17

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.9	*West Virginia BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)	2018-08-31
-8.3	Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival	2016-05-20
-6.3	Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival	2018-05-18
-5.4	*Beak Week BBQ Challenge	2017-09-08
-3.2	Interstate BBQ Festival	2019-04-19

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	2	0%	top 56%	90.8%	78.3%
2018	2	0%	top 89%	88.2%	81.1%
2017	3	33%	top 60%	92.4%	90%
2016	2	100%	top 62%	92.5%	89.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-05-17	Kings of Q BBQ Cook-off and Festival 🏅 Ayden, NC	20 / 36 (653.6572)	23 (166.8228)	16 (163.4172)	32 (157.6800)	16 (165.7372)
2019-04-19	Interstate BBQ Festival 🏅 Hagerstown, MD	30 / 54 (236.8000)	30 (94.5372)	28 (142.2628)	—	—
2018-08-31	*West Virginia BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Ranson, WV	40 / 40 (531.9884)	39 (139.9772)	40 (117.1084)	37 (143.4172)	40 (131.4856)
2018-05-18	Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival Ayden, NC	30 / 38 (635.3028)	22 (167.3944)	35 (155.4056)	19 (165.6800)	37 (146.8228)
2017-10-13	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down Rocky Mount, NC	20 / 50 (665.0288)	12 (172.5600)	21 (165.6800)	9 (170.8572)	40 (155.9316)
2017-09-08	*Beak Week BBQ Challenge Goldsboro, NC	31 / 39 (638.7544)	25 (165.0972)	24 (162.8572)	33 (155.3944)	35 (155.4056)
2017-05-19	Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival Ayden, NC	22 / 36 (640.5372)	26 (160.5600)	19 (161.1428)	24 (158.8116)	20 (160.0228)
2016-09-09	Beak Week BBQ Challenge Goldsboro, NC	18 / 44 (666.2512)	2 (176.0228)	23 (166.8456)	16 (168.0000)	37 (155.3828)
2016-05-20	Kings of Q BBQ cook off and Festival Ayden, NC	25 / 30 (622.8340)	8 (169.1200)	29 (143.9884)	23 (161.7600)	28 (147.9656)

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	#1782 (85 pts)	#1976 (70 pts)	#1765 (105 pts)	#2029 (60 pts)	#1725 (105 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#1925 (75 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#1870 (90 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1255 (220 pts)	#1269 (245 pts)	#1304 (235 pts)	#1200 (270 pts)	#1391 (205 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1624 (150 pts)	#900 (410 pts)	#1854 (125 pts)	#1637 (170 pts)	#2015 (115 pts)