615 BBQ

615 BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 20 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 39 at the High on the Hog Festival (2019), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #795 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#795

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1628

peak 1628 · rated over 19 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 10, 2017

latest Sep 3, 2021 · 4.5 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#410

Master 2017 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

9 podiums

Overall top-10s

35% of 20 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 35%

overall standings

Best overall

696.5372 / 720

Master · High on the Hog Festival

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

679.81 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 681.63 (-1.82)

Walk rate

80%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork Ribs · Great Americana BBQ Festival

Consistency

±6.72

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 173.62 · weakest Pork (166.73)

Road miles

1,322

across 20 mapped stops · furthest 133 mi

Schedule strength

81%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1606)

Purse competed for

$83K

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 7 state-championship entries

Master avg

681.63 / 720

19 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The heartbreaker

2.8112 points from the title

Came within 2.8112 points of the Grand Championship at High on the Hog Festival (Apr 19, 2019).

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.

Pork Ribs ×1

They almost always walk

80% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 16 of 20 contests

A top-10 category call in 80% of their 20 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

696.5372 career-best overall

96.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 696.5372 at High on the Hog Festival — 96.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 19, 2019

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BIG G BBQ has finished one call ahead of 615 BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 their best year

2019 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 23%.

5 contests
4 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 23%

A tough matchup

13–2 behind in the head-to-head

ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN ahead in 87% of their meetings

ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN has come out ahead in 13 of their 15 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

The weak link

−6.9 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.88 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 11% of the time against 63%.

Pork avg 166.73
Chicken avg 173.62
2 calls in 19 entries

A strong matchup

9–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 82% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BIG G BBQ in 9 of their 11 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Great Americana BBQ Festival (Aug 27, 2021).

last seen Aug 23, 2019
back Aug 27, 2021

They cook the hard rooms

1606 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 81% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1606 power rating — a tougher draw than 81% of every rated contest in the data.

19 rated contests

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

Hawg Feathers has landed one call behind them 3 times.

The metronome

±0.93% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±0.93% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.7% of a perfect score
20 contests

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021 ↗	Master	#720 (195 pts)	#687 (240 pts)	#572 (335 pts)	#870 (150 pts)	#647 (260 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#431 (754 pts)	#502 (684 pts)	#604 (579 pts)	#725 (454 pts)	#520 (644 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#739 (453 pts)	#690 (523 pts)	#810 (438 pts)	#863 (383 pts)	#726 (493 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#410 (903 pts)	#212 (1,363 pts)	#422 (918 pts)	#628 (643 pts)	#396 (968 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to 615 BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Smoked By The Brooks

#791 of the rated field

1629 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 86%
Peak: 1629

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Oct 10, 2026
on an 8-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

FRONT DOOR GANG

#796 of the rated field

1628 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 47%
Peak: 1641

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 5 years before 615 BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 29 contests

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Hoggy Style BBQ

#794 of the rated field

1628 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1631

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 30 contests to 20.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026

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FAT ANDY'S BBQ

#799 of the rated field

1628 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1633

30 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 33% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Sep 8, 2017

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WHISKEY,WOMEN & WIBS

#793 of the rated field

1628 power rating

Contests: 34
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 41%
Peak: 1649

Level with 615 BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 33 contests
last seen Oct 12, 2018

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Smokin Hot J's

#792 of the rated field

1628 power rating

Contests: 55
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1668

They've been 1668 at their best, 40 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 53 contests
last seen Mar 23, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	15	2	13	13%	⚔ compare
Organizer Portal	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
HIGH ON THE HAWG	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
BIG G BBQ	11	9	2	82%	⚔ compare
HOT COLE'S BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
Under the Radar	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON THIS	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
BIG BLUE QUE	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
CONTAGIOUS Q	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	8	7	1	88%	⚔ compare
Chokin "N" tha Smoke	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
JIGGY PIGGY	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
RIVER ROAD GRILLBILLIES	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	19	12	1	4	179.4400	163.9544	173.62	top 28%
Pork Ribs	19	7	1	2	180 🔥	162.2516	170.63	top 40%
Pork	19	2	0	0	174.2628	156.5372	166.73	top 57%
Brisket	19	8	0	3	177.7144	162.8000	170.65	top 38%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 42%
Medium (20–39)	11	top 35%
Large (40+)	7	top 35%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
TN	16	top 36%
KY	2	top 21%
GA	1	top 46%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
High on the Hog Festival	3	2	top 27%	Apr 19, 2019
Great Americana BBQ Festival	2	8	top 28%	Aug 27, 2021
Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In	2	11	top 46%	Jul 12, 2019
Great American BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)	2	10	top 38%	Aug 24, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 8 contests

Contests a season 4 across 5 seasons in the data

Most contests held in TN 17 of 20 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 14 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 373 finished ahead 547 times, behind 234

Longest layoff 2 yrs Aug 23, 2019 → Aug 27, 2021

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

20213 milestones

Aug 27 First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) Great Americana BBQ Festival
Sep 3 Peak power rating (1628) Smithfield Classic in Nashville
Sep 3 Most recent contest Smithfield Classic in Nashville

20194 milestones

Apr 19 First category win (Chicken) High on the Hog Festival
Apr 19 First overall podium High on the Hog Festival
Apr 19 First Reserve Championship High on the Hog Festival
Apr 19 Career-best overall score696.5372 High on the Hog Festival

20181 milestone

Mar 9 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Shores

20173 milestones

Mar 10 First call Smoke on the Shores
Mar 10 First overall past 90% of a perfect score678.2400 Smoke on the Shores
May 19 First overall top-10 Southern Smoke BBQ Championship

20161 milestone

Nov 11 First tracked contest 2nd Annual Brew B-Q

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.9	High on the Hog Festival	Apr 19, 2019
+12.7	Smoke on the Shores	Mar 10, 2017
+12.7	Smoke on the Shores	Mar 9, 2018
+12.7	Operation Stand Down KY II Annual Smoke off	Apr 5, 2019
+11.6	Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-Off & Cruise In (DAY 1)	Jul 8, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-2.7	Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In	Jul 12, 2019
-1.1	Brew B Q	Nov 10, 2017

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	2	1	1	50%	top 43%	95.1%	94.7%
2019	5	4	1	80%	top 23%	96.7%	95%
2018	4	1	0	100%	top 34%	95.1%	94.6%
2017	8	1	0	88%	top 41%	95.5%	94.5%
2016	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 3, 2021	Smithfield Classic in Nashville 🏅 Nashville, TN	25 / 50 (684.4912)	12 (174.2628)	35 (169.1200)	21 (172.5600)	31 (168.5484)
Aug 27, 2021	Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN	9 / 25 (679.3944)	12 (166.2972)	1 (180)	21 (156.5372)	4 (176.5600)
Aug 23, 2019	Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN	8 / 39 (683.3828)	2 (178.8572)	9 (173.1428)	23 (165.1428)	18 (166.2400)
Jul 12, 2019	Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In 🏅 Jamestown, TN	18 / 29 (666.1256)	19 (169.1200)	13 (170.8228)	27 (162.8000)	19 (163.3828)
Jun 21, 2019	Blount County BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN	4 / 27 (685.6456)	7 (172.5600)	11 (167.3944)	5 (171.9884)	3 (173.7028)
Apr 19, 2019	High on the Hog Festival 🏅 Winchester, TN	2 / 39 (696.5372)	1 (179.4400)	7 (174.2744)	17 (169.6800)	8 (173.1428)
Apr 5, 2019	Operation Stand Down KY II Annual Smoke off 🏅 Franklin, KY	4 / 28 (687.3832)	7 (171.4172)	5 (174.2744)	11 (167.4056)	5 (174.2860)
Aug 24, 2018	Great American BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Franklin, TN	10 / 36 (682.7428)	6 (174.8572)	6 (175.4056)	18 (166.2400)	21 (166.2400)
Apr 27, 2018	BBQ Boogie & Blues Calhoun, GA	13 / 28 (676.9940)	23 (163.9544)	11 (170.8228)	6 (171.4056)	10 (170.8112)
Apr 20, 2018	High on the Hog Festival Winchester, TN	18 / 42 (678.7312)	5 (177.1428)	21 (169.6684)	31 (162.2400)	22 (169.6800)
Mar 9, 2018	Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN	15 / 87 (685.0512)	17 (173.1428)	36 (167.3828)	47 (167.9656)	4 (176.5600)
Nov 10, 2017	Brew B Q Nashville, TN	17 / 26 (673.6000)	4 (177.7144)	13 (168.5600)	22 (159.3600)	14 (167.9656)
Oct 20, 2017	Mid-South BBQ Festival Mount Pleasant, TN	17 / 28 (674.8004)	18 (170.8344)	22 (163.4288)	19 (166.2744)	3 (174.2628)
Aug 25, 2017	Great American BBQ Festival Franklin, TN	19 / 40 (673.0628)	9 (172.5600)	18 (168.5372)	31 (165.1200)	25 (166.8456)
Jul 8, 2017	Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-Off & Cruise In (DAY 1) Jamestown, TN	11 / 36 (687.9088)	11 (174.2744)	12 (173.1200)	25 (167.3944)	13 (173.1200)
May 19, 2017	Southern Smoke BBQ Championship Lebanon, TN	8 / 19 (684.4572)	8 (173.1200)	8 (170.8344)	16 (162.7884)	2 (177.7144)
Apr 21, 2017	High on the Hog Festival Winchester, TN	14 / 41 (687.3716)	2 (178.2972)	34 (162.2516)	14 (174.2628)	19 (172.5600)
Apr 7, 2017	First Annual Operation Stand Down KY BBQ Smoke Off (TEAMS FULL) Bowling Green, KY	11 / 40 (685.0628)	3 (175.4172)	2 (178.3200)	22 (168.5256)	28 (162.8000)
Mar 10, 2017	Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN	14 / 62 (678.2400)	7 (175.4400)	41 (164.5488)	18 (170.2628)	28 (167.9884)
Nov 11, 2016	2nd Annual Brew B-Q Nashville, TN	—	—	—	—	—

615 BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Perfect scores on the board

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

They cook the hard rooms

Looking over their shoulder

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)