They almost always walk
63%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 5 of 8 contests
A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
BLACK FLAG BBQ
BLACK FLAG BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 5th of 28 at the Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition (2023). They are ranked #3571 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1492
peak 1492 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Jun 13, 2014
latest Apr 7, 2023 · 8.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
650.20 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 640.89 (+9.30)
Walk rate
63%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.10
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 162.68 · weakest Brisket (158.09)
Road miles
1,203
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 653 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1549)
Purse competed for
$4,500
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
640.89 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
337.06 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to BLACK FLAG BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
147 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,549 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1492
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,572 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1519
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 8 years before BLACK FLAG BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,577 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1510
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,561 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1516
Level with BLACK FLAG BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,563 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1512
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before BLACK FLAG BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,544 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1516
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 9 years before BLACK FLAG BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPTAIN RON'S BREW-N-QUE | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| QUAU | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| One2BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.5256 | 152.5372 | 160.83 | top 64% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 168.5716 | 151.4172 | 161.41 | top 54% |
| Pork | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 178.8572 | 150.2512 | 162.68 | top 54% |
| Brisket | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 150.2628 | 158.09 | top 62% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 72% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 80% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route 66 Smoke Out | 3 | 14 | 0 | top 58% | May 4, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
6 of 8 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
204
finished ahead 104 times, behind 171
Longest layoff
4.9 yrs
May 4, 2018 → Apr 7, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20233 milestones
- First overall top-10 Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1492) Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition
20174 milestones
- First category win (Pork) Route 66 Smoke Out
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.0060 Route 66 Smoke Out
- Career-best single call (Pork)178.8572 Route 66 Smoke Out
- Career-best overall score662.7888 Hog Capital Challenge (JUDGES FULL)
20151 milestone
- First call Smoke on the Prairie
20141 milestone
- First tracked contest Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.4 | Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition | Apr 7, 2023 |
| +4.5 | Route 66 Smoke Out | May 5, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13 | Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout | Jun 13, 2014 |
| -7.9 | Morton BBQ Throwdown | Jul 25, 2014 |
| -2.8 | Smoke on the Prairie | May 29, 2015 |
| -1.5 | Route 66 Smoke Out | May 6, 2016 |
| -0.5 | Route 66 Smoke Out | May 4, 2018 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 18% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 61% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 55% | 92.1% | 91.7% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 65% | 88.3% | 88.3% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 72% | 89% | 89% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 85.9% | 85.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2023 | Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition 🏅 Stem, NC | 5 / 28 (337.0628) | 5 (168.5256) | 3 (168.5372) | — | — |
| May 4, 2018 | Route 66 Smoke Out Dwight, IL | 23 / 38 (654.7544) | 26 (161.6688) | 33 (158.2628) | 19 (165.1428) | 9 (169.6800) |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Hog Capital Challenge (JUDGES FULL) Kewanee, IL | 16 / 26 (662.7888) | 17 (166.2628) | 11 (168.5716) | 6 (171.4400) | 21 (156.5144) |
| May 5, 2017 | Route 66 Smoke Out Dwight, IL | 14 / 29 (657.0060) | 26 (157.1088) | 7 (167.9656) | 1 (178.8572) | 22 (153.0744) |
| May 6, 2016 | Route 66 Smoke Out Dwight, IL | 26 / 40 (635.4060) | 30 (155.4288) | 26 (157.7028) | 24 (159.9656) | 18 (162.3088) |
| May 29, 2015 | Smoke on the Prairie Brimfield, IL | 13 / 18 (641.0284) | 4 (168.5256) | 8 (163.3828) | 11 (158.8572) | 17 (150.2628) |
| Jul 25, 2014 | Morton BBQ Throwdown Morton, IL | 39 / 48 (618.7656) | 41 (152.5372) | 34 (155.4288) | 45 (150.2512) | 18 (160.5484) |
| Jun 13, 2014 | Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout Tonganoxie, KS | 39 / 41 (616.5028) | 35 (156.5600) | 37 (151.4172) | 36 (154.2628) | 32 (154.2628) |