The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
DIGGERS BBQ has finished one call ahead of Three Casual Smokers 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Three Casual Smokers
Three Casual Smokers is a competition barbecue team with 4 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 6th of 20 at the Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2025). They finished #233 in the 2026 Backyard Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1495
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
Jan 24, 2025
latest Jun 26, 2026 · 1.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
50% of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.83 · weakest Brisket (157.41)
Road miles
217
across 4 mapped stops · furthest 79 mi
Schedule strength
41%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1554)
Purse competed for
$18K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
639.89 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
333.99 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #233 (139 pts) | #256 (119 pts) | #242 (149 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1016 (61 pts) | #1089 (61 pts) | #1121 (71 pts) | #1315 (51 pts) | #907 (111 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #249 (160 pts) | #281 (140 pts) | #282 (150 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #957 (113 pts) | #1046 (108 pts) | #1102 (113 pts) | #912 (128 pts) | #993 (113 pts) |
Overall rank by season
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 165.1544 | 158.8344 | 162.56 | top 70% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 158.2400 | 164.83 | top 64% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7144 | 161.6688 | 161.69 | top 80% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9772 | 150.8460 | 157.41 | top 91% |
“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 42% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 70% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IA
3 of 4 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Opponents faced
79
finished ahead 31 times, behind 70
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20257 milestones
- First tracked contest SJV Winter Rub
- First call Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.8344 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.6800 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1501) Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score650.1944 Tri-City BBQ Fest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.4 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 20, 2025 |
| +4.9 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 26, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.1 | Tri-City BBQ Fest | Sep 19, 2025 |
| -7.1 | SJV Winter Rub | Jan 24, 2025 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 42% | 92.5% | 92.5% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 70% | 93% | 90.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 8 / 19 (333.1544) | 10 (164.0228) | 7 (169.1316) | — | — |
| Sep 19, 2025 | Tri-City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 24 / 26 (650.1944) | 25 (162.2284) | 24 (162.2744) | 23 (161.7144) | 24 (163.9772) |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 6 / 20 (334.8344) | 8 (165.1544) | 7 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Jan 24, 2025 | SJV Winter Rub 🏅 Omaha, NE | 28 / 32 (629.5892) | 29 (158.8344) | 29 (158.2400) | 23 (161.6688) | 29 (150.8460) |