THE B TEAM

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

Power ranking

#5052

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1461

peak 1461 · rated over 13 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-08-22

latest 2023-03-17

Best ToY finish

#1775

Master 2016

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 13 contests

Avg finish

top 71%

overall standings

Best overall

681.0400 / 720

Master · Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

642.19 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 629.68 (+12.51)

Walk rate

23%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4172

Chicken · Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship

Consistency

±22.72

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 160.20 · weakest Chicken (155.48)

Road miles

6,911

mi across 13 mapped stops · furthest 1505 mi

Schedule strength

49%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1563)

Purse competed for

$10K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

629.68 / 720

13 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

681.0400 career-best overall

94.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 681.0400 at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship — 94.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
2023-03-17

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

STARVIN MARVINS BAY AREA BBQ has finished one call ahead of THE B TEAM 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2016 their best year

2016 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 61%.

6 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 61%

A tough matchup

6–0 behind in the head-to-head

THUMP & STRUM BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

THUMP & STRUM BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.7 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.71 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 8%.

Chicken avg 155.48
Pork avg 160.20
0 calls in 13 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Fairlane BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

The comeback

4.5 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.5 years, then back at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (2023-03-17).

last seen 2018-09-14
back 2023-03-17

Pork nemesis

6 of 6 shared pork entries lost

THUMP & STRUM BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, THUMP & STRUM BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 6 shared pork entries.

The long haul

6,911 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,911 miles across 13 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,505 miles to Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships.

13 mapped stops
furthest 1,505 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.

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

BADASS BBQ TEAM

#5069 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to THE B TEAM)

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

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2016-06-03

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG SEXY BBQ

#5064 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2024-07-05

⚔ Head-to-head

THE GIGGLIN PIG BBQ

#5047 of the rated field

1461 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before THE B TEAM's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 13 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

J Adams Rib

#5076 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Men of Erin

#5073 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Wild Hog BBQ

#5075 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Behind	Win rate
THUMP & STRUM BBQ	6	6	0%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	6	6	0%	⚔ compare
VALLEY OAKS STEAK COMPANY	5	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	13	0	175.4172	145.7028	155.48	top 77%
Pork Ribs	13	1	170.2628	147.4172	156.71	top 72%
Pork	13	1	169.7372	146.2628	160.20	top 66%
Brisket	13	3	168.0344	144.5372	157.29	top 64%

“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
MO	8	top 87%
CA	3	top 34%
TN	1	top 40%
OK	1	top 90%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 89%
Medium (20–39)	6	top 66%
Large (40+)	6	top 74%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	2	34	0	top 91%	2018-09-14

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

On the trail 8.6 yrs 2014-08-22 → 2023-03-17

Busiest season 2016 6 contests

Contests a season 2.6 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MO 8 of 13 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 12 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 13 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 160.20 · weakest Chicken (155.48)

Walk rate 23% a top-10 call in 3 of 13 contests

Overall top-10 rate 8% 1 of 13 contests

Master average 629.68 out of 720 · 13 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 439 168–380 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 6,911 13 mapped stops · furthest 1,505 mi

Schedule strength 1563 average field rating faced — tougher than 49% of rated contests

Purse competed for $10,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 4.5 yrs 2018-09-14 → 2023-03-17

Power rating 1461 peak 1461 · #5052 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Aug 22 First tracked contest Holy Smoke BBQ Contest
Aug 22 Peak power rating (1491) Holy Smoke BBQ Contest
Oct 18 First call Sons of the American Legion Red White & Blue II BBQ Contest
2016
Aug 26 First overall top-10 Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
Aug 26 First overall podium Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
Aug 26 First Reserve Championship Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
Aug 26 First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.2744 Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
Aug 26 10th tracked contest Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)
2023
Mar 17 Career-best overall score681.0400 Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
Mar 17 Career-best single call (Chicken)175.4172 Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
Mar 17 Most recent contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+18.5	Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country)	2016-08-26
+7.2	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship	2016-04-29
+5.7	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship	2023-03-17
+2.4	Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships	2016-06-24

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.7	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	2018-09-14
-9.5	The Best Damn BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake	2016-04-08
-9.3	Sons of the American Legion Red White & Blue II BBQ Contest	2014-10-18
-9	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	2015-09-18
-9	Holy Smoke BBQ Contest	2014-08-22

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2023	1	0	0%	top 40%	94.6%	94.6%
2018	2	0	0%	top 92%	86.2%	85.6%
2016	6	1	33%	top 61%	92.5%	87.4%
2015	2	0	0%	top 82%	88.3%	87%
2014	2	0	50%	top 86%	88.8%	86.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2023-03-17	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	32 / 80 (681.0400)	17 (175.4172)	32 (168.5600)	35 (169.6800)	47 (167.3828)
2018-09-14	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out Kearney, MO	34 / 35 (611.8628)	35 (145.7028)	29 (162.2744)	33 (153.1084)	32 (150.7772)
2018-07-06	Johnson County BBQ Challenge(JUDGES FULL) Warrensburg, MO	41 / 47 (620.4344)	39 (159.4172)	43 (147.9544)	37 (156.5028)	31 (156.5600)
2016-08-26	Grills 'N' Grilles(presented by the United Way of Nevada Country) Penn Valley, CA	2 / 28 (666.2744)	14 (163.4628)	5 (170.2628)	5 (169.7372)	7 (162.8116)
2016-07-08	Johnson County Fair BBQ Challenge Warrensburg, MO	33 / 40 (631.3600)	37 (153.0972)	37 (150.2972)	22 (165.7028)	20 (162.2628)
2016-06-24	Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships Santa Clara, CA	30 / 54 (634.7884)	32 (157.7028)	15 (165.1428)	38 (156.5372)	33 (155.4056)
2016-04-29	Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	12 / 30 (632.4344)	20 (155.3828)	24 (151.9200)	12 (163.3828)	9 (161.7488)
2016-04-22	Morris Twister Days BBQ Competition Morris, OK	28 / 31 (595.2456)	30 (147.3484)	26 (157.0972)	30 (146.2628)	29 (144.5372)
2016-04-08	The Best Damn BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake Smithville, MO	49 / 53 (615.1884)	51 (146.8228)	49 (150.7656)	30 (164.5372)	43 (153.0628)
2015-09-18	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out Kearney, MO	35 / 41 (616.9484)	38 (146.7656)	31 (160.0000)	24 (161.1200)	34 (149.0628)
2015-07-10	Johnson County Fair BBQ Warrensburg, MO	26 / 33 (635.9084)	23 (161.1316)	23 (157.6800)	25 (159.9884)	28 (157.1084)
2014-10-18	Sons of the American Legion Red White & Blue II BBQ Contest Smithville, MO	16 / 18 (639.2920)	16 (160.5260)	17 (147.9200)	16 (162.8116)	7 (168.0344)
2014-08-22	Holy Smoke BBQ Contest Liberty, MO	24 / 29 (605.1200)	26 (148.5256)	26 (147.4172)	23 (153.1772)	18 (156.0000)

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
2016 ↗	Master	#1775 (120 pts)	#1883 (120 pts)	#1884 (120 pts)	#1793 (135 pts)	#1710 (145 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1821 (118 pts)	#1729 (128 pts)	#1747 (128 pts)	#1777 (123 pts)	#1883 (118 pts)