STRESS RELIEF BBQ

STRESS RELIEF BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 18 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 23 at the Harbor-Que (2017), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1489 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,489

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1565

peak 1566 · rated over 18 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 23, 2017

latest Jun 22, 2019 · 2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#298

Master 2018 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

6 podiums

Overall top-10s

17% of 18 contests

Avg finish

top 47%

overall standings

Best overall

675.3372 / 720

Master · Annual Poor Que

Perfect 180s

Current form

655.40 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 654.13 (+1.27)

Walk rate

56%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.2860

Chicken · The Masters In May ( DAY 1)

Consistency

±10.53

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 165.41 · weakest Pork Ribs (160.66)

Road miles

1,202

across 18 mapped stops · furthest 169 mi

Schedule strength

75%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1595)

Purse competed for

$30K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 3 state-championship entries

Master avg

654.13 / 720

18 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (7 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

675.3372 career-best overall

93.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 675.3372 at Annual Poor Que — 93.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 8, 2018

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

WE WILL ROCK QUE has finished one call ahead of STRESS RELIEF BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

13–3 behind in the head-to-head

BIG "E" BBQ ahead in 81% of their meetings

BIG "E" BBQ has come out ahead in 13 of their 16 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.7 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.74 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 22%.

Pork Ribs avg 160.66
Chicken avg 165.41
3 calls in 18 entries

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of CHOCOLATE CITY BBQ in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

12 of 16 shared chicken entries lost

BIG "E" BBQ ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BIG "E" BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 16 shared chicken entries.

The metronome

±1.46% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.46% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.9% of a perfect score
18 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
2019 ↗	Master	#1108 (223 pts)	#1191 (213 pts)	#1120 (243 pts)	#1126 (238 pts)	#758 (433 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#298 (1,080 pts)	#271 (1,170 pts)	#385 (925 pts)	#238 (1,225 pts)	#226 (1,300 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#735 (513 pts)	#762 (518 pts)	#1050 (338 pts)	#867 (453 pts)	#660 (603 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

DADDY O'S SMOKIN' BBQ

#1,486 of the rated field

1565 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 12%
Peak: 1574

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 26 contests to 18.

rated over 26 contests
last seen Sep 23, 2022

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AGAINST THE GRAIN BBQ

#1,483 of the rated field

1566 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1566

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Jan 27, 2023

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LUCKY 13 BARBEQUE

#1,484 of the rated field

1565 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1572

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 4 years before STRESS RELIEF BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 12 contests

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BRUTUS AND COMPANY

#1,485 of the rated field

1565 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1593

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 29 contests, alongside a 31% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Jul 12, 2019

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Lake Rat BBQ

#1,491 of the rated field

1565 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1593

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

rated over 29 contests
last seen Jun 11, 2021

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Buckeye Flavor

#1,487 of the rated field

1565 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1565

They turned up 6 years after STRESS RELIEF BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Sep 5, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BIG "E" BBQ	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
Second Hand Smoke SLV	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
QUE U	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare
CRASH TEST SMOKERS	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
SMOKE FREAKS	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
WICKED SMOKE BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
CAPTAIN RON'S BREW-N-QUE	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
CARNIVORE'S PARADISE	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare
Littles BBQ Co	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
BLUE ISLAND BBQ CO.	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
One2BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
CHOCOLATE CITY BBQ	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
WE WILL ROCK QUE	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
SmokinGhost BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	4	0	1	174.2860	157.1316	165.41	top 49%
Pork Ribs	18	3	0	0	169.1200	149.6804	160.66	top 55%
Pork	18	5	0	2	170.8228	149.6684	162.94	top 51%
Brisket	18	7	1	3	174.2628	156.5028	165.11	top 40%

“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
Medium (20–39)	9	0	top 39%
Large (40+)	9	0	top 54%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
IL	10	0	top 51%
WI	8	0	top 42%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2	2	27	top 62%	Jun 22, 2019
Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1	2	29	top 68%	Jun 21, 2019
McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ	2	13	top 40%	Aug 18, 2018
The Masters In May (DAY 2)	2	19	top 38%	May 5, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 11 contests

Contests a season 6 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IL 10 of 18 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 14 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 248 finished ahead 353 times, behind 316

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

20192 milestones

Jun 21 Peak power rating (1566) Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1
Jun 22 Most recent contest Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2

20183 milestones

May 4 Career-best single call (Chicken)174.2860 The Masters In May ( DAY 1)
Jun 8 Career-best overall score675.3372 Annual Poor Que
Jun 22 10th tracked contest Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1

20177 milestones

Jun 23 First tracked contest Heritage Days BBQ Showdown
Jun 23 First call Heritage Days BBQ Showdown
Aug 19 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4456 McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ
Oct 6 First category win (Brisket) Harbor-Que
Oct 6 First overall top-10 Harbor-Que
Oct 6 First overall podium Harbor-Que
Oct 6 First Reserve Championship Harbor-Que

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.9	Harbor-Que	Oct 6, 2017
+13.8	Annual Poor Que	Jun 8, 2018
+10.8	The Masters In May ( DAY 1)	May 4, 2018
+8.6	The Masters In May (DAY 2)	May 5, 2018
+7.2	McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ	Aug 19, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-6.6	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1	Jun 22, 2018
-1.6	Badger Brews & Que	Aug 4, 2017
-1.3	The Great Wisconsin Tune Up BBQ Contest	Apr 27, 2018
-0.6	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2	Jun 22, 2019

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)
2019	3	0	0	33%	top 56%	91.5%	91%
2018	11	2	0	55%	top 46%	93.8%	91%
2017	4	1	1	75%	top 42%	93.2%	90.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 22, 2019	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2 🏅 Belvidere, IL	28 / 45 (658.6628)	22 (166.8344)	42 (155.9084)	36 (161.6572)	2 (174.2628)
Jun 21, 2019	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 🏅 Belvidere, IL	29 / 50 (653.5888)	35 (162.2744)	35 (158.2516)	30 (163.9428)	14 (169.1200)
May 3, 2019	Route 66 Smoke Out 🏅 Dwight, IL	16 / 33 (654.1144)	21 (162.2400)	12 (166.8344)	13 (168.5372)	25 (156.5028)
Oct 19, 2018	Best of the Midwest BBQ Cook-off Union Grove, WI	19 / 42 (650.1828)	3 (172.5944)	28 (155.4056)	34 (154.2056)	7 (167.9772)
Sep 7, 2018	Puckaway Pigfest Montello, WI	10 / 31 (660.4456)	19 (159.9656)	15 (161.1316)	6 (170.8228)	5 (168.5256)
Aug 18, 2018	McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ McHenry, IL	13 / 30 (648.9484)	15 (161.0856)	12 (160.5372)	8 (166.8228)	16 (160.5028)
Jul 20, 2018	Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Peoria, IL	21 / 43 (660.3540)	15 (169.6800)	26 (161.6456)	24 (166.2284)	29 (162.8000)
Jun 23, 2018	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 2 Belvidere, IL	27 / 44 (651.2456)	24 (169.6800)	28 (161.6572)	28 (162.8000)	35 (157.1084)
Jun 22, 2018	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 Belvidere, IL	40 / 51 (637.0056)	48 (157.1316)	27 (163.9656)	42 (157.1084)	41 (158.8000)
Jun 8, 2018	Annual Poor Que Montello, WI	3 / 26 (675.3372)	14 (164.5488)	5 (168.5484)	3 (170.2628)	3 (171.9772)
May 18, 2018	BBQ 4 ASTOP Fond du Lac, WI	11 / 27 (655.9200)	18 (160.5372)	10 (164.0228)	2 (169.6800)	16 (161.6800)
May 5, 2018	The Masters In May (DAY 2) Appleton, WI	22 / 54 (663.8744)	36 (165.1200)	19 (169.1200)	31 (161.6572)	18 (167.9772)
May 4, 2018	The Masters In May ( DAY 1) Appleton, WI	19 / 54 (663.9316)	4 (174.2860)	31 (161.1316)	44 (155.3484)	4 (173.1656)
Apr 27, 2018	The Great Wisconsin Tune Up BBQ Contest Manawa, WI	17 / 26 (639.8520)	14 (163.9544)	22 (149.6804)	11 (163.3944)	14 (162.8228)
Oct 6, 2017	Harbor-Que Winthrop Harbor, IL	2 / 23 (670.8000)	9 (165.1200)	10 (163.4172)	4 (169.1084)	1 (173.1544)
Aug 19, 2017	McHenry Rotary Blues Brews & BBQ McHenry, IL	13 / 36 (648.4456)	14 (166.2744)	23 (154.2056)	13 (165.1084)	9 (162.8572)
Aug 4, 2017	Badger Brews & Que Port Washington, WI	19 / 30 (636.4688)	13 (165.1656)	21 (153.1316)	21 (156.5260)	11 (161.6456)
Jun 23, 2017	Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL	25 / 42 (645.0740)	8 (170.8572)	23 (163.3712)	38 (149.6684)	25 (161.1772)

STRESS RELIEF BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

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 (7 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

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)