56 SMOKEHOUSE

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

Power ranking

#1841

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1545

peak 1554 · rated over 21 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2016-07-01

latest 2021-09-16

Best ToY finish

#373

Master 2019

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

7 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 21 contests

Avg finish

top 52%

overall standings

Best overall

694.8232 / 720

Master · Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest

Perfect 180s

Current form

668.12 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.40 (+6.72)

Walk rate

43%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

177.1428

Chicken · 14th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ

Consistency

±20.53

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.91 · weakest Pork (162.64)

Road miles

5,026

mi across 21 mapped stops · furthest 1112 mi

Schedule strength

79%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1602)

Purse competed for

$244K

listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 14 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.40 / 720

21 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 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

694.8232 career-best overall

96.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 694.8232 at Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest — 96.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2019-07-12

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Boom Chicka Cow Cow has finished one call ahead of 56 SMOKEHOUSE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

14–0 behind in the head-to-head

BUFFALO'S BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BUFFALO'S BBQ has come out ahead in 14 of their 14 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.3 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.27 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 14% of the time against 19%.

Pork avg 162.64
Chicken avg 166.91
3 calls in 21 entries

A strong matchup

7–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 78% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of GEMINI BBQ in 7 of their 9 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 14 shared chicken entries lost

BUFFALO'S BBQ ahead 64% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BUFFALO'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 9 of 14 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Old Man Joes has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 33% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 33% across 4 contests, versus top 52% the rest of the year.

4 September contests
top 52% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,026 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,026 miles across 21 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,112 miles to Twin Valley Fire and Smoke.

21 mapped stops
furthest 1,112 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.

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

MR. BIBS

#1851 of the rated field

1545 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1545

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to 56 SMOKEHOUSE)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — MR. BIBS ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2021-09-16

⚔ Head-to-head

Texas Rebel SmokeHouse

#1837 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1545

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to 56 SMOKEHOUSE)

Fewer contests behind them than 56 SMOKEHOUSE has cooked, 8 to 21, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2023-08-18

⚔ Head-to-head

BURNT BEAN CO.

#1833 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1545

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to 56 SMOKEHOUSE)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 3 years before 56 SMOKEHOUSE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 5 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

1709 BBQ

#1835 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1556

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 21 contests
last seen 2021-08-13

⚔ Head-to-head

TWISTED SMOKE ADC

#1849 of the rated field

1545 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1562

No shared contest yet.

Level with 56 SMOKEHOUSE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 20 contests
last seen 2022-07-22

⚔ Head-to-head

MAKIN BACON BBQ

#1831 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1556

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 4 years before 56 SMOKEHOUSE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 20 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BUFFALO'S BBQ	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
IMAT BBQ	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
Three Hog Night Smokers	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Boom Chicka Cow Cow	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
BOOMERANG BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN ELVISES	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
SCOTTS BBQ SHACK	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
Pork Pullers	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
CLARK CREW BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
GEMINI BBQ	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
BARREL BOYS BBQ	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
Lucky D's BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	21	4	1	2	177.1428	143.4056	166.91	top 48%
Pork Ribs	21	4	1	2	176.5716	154.8228	165.78	top 50%
Pork	21	3	0	1	174.8572	142.2056	162.64	top 61%
Brisket	21	5	0	2	176.5600	139.3600	166.07	top 46%

“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
KS	15	top 48%
OK	3	top 55%
PA	1	top 73%
TX	1	top 26%
MO	1	top 98%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	7	0	top 40%
Large (40+)	14	0	top 58%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	3	6	0	top 43%	2020-07-10

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

On the trail 5.2 yrs 2016-07-01 → 2021-09-16

Busiest season 2019 11 contests

Contests a season 3.5 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 15 of 21 contests · 5 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 19 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 21 entries · 1 win · 4 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 166.91 · weakest Pork (162.64)

Walk rate 43% a top-10 call in 9 of 21 contests

Overall top-10 rate 29% 6 of 21 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 661.40 out of 720 · 21 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 1,147 1,084–1,141 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 5,026 21 mapped stops · furthest 1,112 mi

Schedule strength 1602 average field rating faced — tougher than 79% of rated contests

Purse competed for $243,575 listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 14 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2020-07-10 → 2021-08-20

Power rating 1545 peak 1554 · #1841 of 6,413 rated

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

2016
Jul 1 First tracked contest Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off
Jul 1 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.1944 Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off
2017
Sep 8 First call *Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL)
Sep 8 First category win (Pork Ribs) *Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL)
Sep 8 First overall top-10 *Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL)
2019
Apr 26 10th tracked contest 14th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ
Apr 26 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1428 14th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ
Jul 12 Career-best overall score694.8232 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest
2020
Jul 10 Peak power rating (1554) Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest
2021
Sep 16 Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+17.1	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2019-07-12
+11.5	*Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL)	2017-09-08
+10.6	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	2019-06-07
+9.3	Rock-N-Q on the planes	2019-10-19
+9.2	Harper County Bullseye BBQ	2019-10-18

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.2	Smokin In The Creek BBQ Contest	2019-04-26
-8.4	*Kansas BBQ Shootout Day 2	2018-03-03
-7.2	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke	2019-05-17
-7.1	Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off	2016-07-01
-4.7	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST	2021-09-16

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	2	0	0	0%	top 57%	92.1%	91.2%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 61%	93.1%	93.1%
2019	11	5	1	55%	top 43%	96.5%	92%
2018	4	0	0	50%	top 67%	92.7%	91.1%
2017	2	1	1	50%	top 41%	93.8%	93%
2016	1	0	0	0%	top 84%	90.3%	90.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021-09-16	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	225 / 467 (663.3828)	168 (168.5600)	350 (159.9772)	284 (162.8456)	71 (172.0000)
2021-08-20	Smoke on the Bricks 🏅 Baldwin City, KS	30 / 46 (650.0912)	42 (152.4800)	11 (169.1200)	29 (165.0856)	23 (163.4056)
2020-07-10	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest 🏅 Mayetta, KS	37 / 61 (670.1600)	22 (170.8344)	46 (164.5372)	40 (165.1084)	27 (169.6800)
2019-10-19	Rock-N-Q on the planes 🏅 Great Bend, KS	9 / 28 (673.0744)	14 (165.1200)	16 (164.5372)	7 (170.2972)	5 (173.1200)
2019-10-18	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	8 / 25 (683.8856)	15 (168.5372)	16 (165.6684)	3 (174.2628)	3 (175.4172)
2019-09-12	40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	96 / 468 (477.6000)	180 (167.9772)	267 (164.0116)	314 (161.6800)	23 (176.5600)
2019-07-12	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest 🏅 Mayetta, KS	6 / 59 (694.8232)	6 (175.4172)	3 (176.5716)	8 (174.8572)	24 (167.9772)
2019-06-07	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	7 / 39 (671.9088)	1 (176.5716)	29 (158.8344)	25 (162.8000)	3 (173.7028)
2019-05-17	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	32 / 44 (630.1028)	23 (163.4172)	33 (154.8228)	29 (158.2284)	34 (153.6344)
2019-05-10	Mark Marley's Go Big or Go Home BBQ Bash (DAY 1) 🏅 Plainview, TX	10 / 38 (673.7488)	13 (167.4060)	5 (172.5828)	26 (158.2972)	4 (175.4628)
2019-04-26	Smokin In The Creek BBQ Contest 🏅 Sugar Creek, MO	41 / 42 (594.6856)	40 (143.4056)	29 (160.5484)	37 (151.3716)	42 (139.3600)
2019-04-26	14th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ 🏅 Enid, OK	24 / 39 (662.1600)	3 (177.1428)	31 (158.2400)	29 (161.6800)	19 (165.0972)
2019-03-23	Firelake BBQ Cook Off Day 2 🏅 Shawnee, OK	29 / 62 (675.9316)	37 (168.5372)	22 (170.8572)	33 (168.5600)	36 (167.9772)
2019-03-22	Firelake BBQ Cook Off Day 1 🏅 Shawnee, OK	43 / 74 (663.8400)	41 (167.9656)	35 (167.3944)	58 (161.6572)	36 (166.8228)
2018-09-15	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	190 / 467 (667.3484)	239 (166.2628)	98 (171.4400)	338 (159.3828)	106 (170.2628)
2018-06-08	*Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	19 / 40 (659.3140)	10 (171.9656)	15 (167.4400)	30 (160.5600)	29 (159.3484)
2018-03-03	*Kansas BBQ Shootout Day 2 Cheney, KS	41 / 42 (638.6856)	28 (167.3828)	29 (164.5600)	41 (142.2056)	32 (164.5372)
2018-03-02	*Kansas BBQ Shoot Out Day 1 Cheney, KS	39 / 47 (657.0400)	42 (161.6456)	6 (173.1544)	41 (158.8456)	33 (163.3944)
2017-09-08	*Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS	7 / 29 (675.3368)	15 (166.2628)	1 (173.7028)	16 (164.5484)	8 (170.8228)
2017-07-14	*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	33 / 58 (663.3832)	17 (170.8228)	39 (164.0116)	23 (168.5600)	42 (159.9888)
2016-07-01	Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off Hutchinson, KS	32 / 38 (650.1944)	23 (167.4056)	32 (159.4288)	23 (164.5600)	30 (158.8000)

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
2021 ↗	Master	#1236 (60 pts)	#1286 (60 pts)	#1309 (60 pts)	#1262 (60 pts)	#1245 (60 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#865 (75 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#373 (868 pts)	#272 (1083 pts)	#465 (743 pts)	#402 (838 pts)	#324 (983 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1021 (270 pts)	#990 (315 pts)	#853 (405 pts)	#1159 (240 pts)	#1154 (240 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1259 (219 pts)	#1409 (204 pts)	#1049 (339 pts)	#1569 (169 pts)	#1382 (209 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2283 (70 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2271 (70 pts)	#2345 (60 pts)