POP & SON'S COOKERS

POP & SON'S COOKERS is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 6th of 38 at the Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown (2018). They are ranked #1792 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,792

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1548

peak 1548 · rated over 7 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 11, 2017

latest Aug 30, 2019 · 2.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#813

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

38% of 8 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 41%

overall standings

Best overall

686.2168 / 720

Master · Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown

Perfect 180s

Current form

670.07

last 5 Master vs avg 669.61 (+0.46)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4056

Brisket · Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown

Consistency

±12.14

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.54 · weakest Chicken (165.32)

Road miles

1,459

across 8 mapped stops · furthest 544 mi

Schedule strength

47%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)

Purse competed for

$11K

listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

669.61 / 720

8 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

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

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.

High-water mark

686.2168 career-best overall

95.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 686.2168 at Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown — 95.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Feb 16, 2018

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

Texas-car-b-que ahead in 100% of their meetings

Texas-car-b-que has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas in 4 of their 5 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

6 of 7 shared pork entries lost

Texas-car-b-que ahead 86% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Texas-car-b-que has out-cooked them in 6 of 7 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

TINY E BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 33% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 33% across 3 contests, versus top 41% the rest of the year.

3 August contests
top 41% the rest of the year

Show 1 more storyline

The metronome

±1.69% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.69% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 93.0% of a perfect score
8 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	#813 (357 pts)	#982 (287 pts)	#785 (412 pts)	#989 (292 pts)	#670 (502 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#868 (355 pts)	#745 (465 pts)	#1053 (290 pts)	#908 (355 pts)	#926 (345 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1513 (166 pts)	#2176 (76 pts)	#1192 (276 pts)	#1575 (166 pts)	#1322 (226 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to POP & SON'S COOKERS, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Bourbon Barrel Smokers

#1,804 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1548

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026

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Smoke 44

#1,799 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1552

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2026

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PIPKIN CREEK BBQ CO.

#1,797 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 78%
Peak: 1560

They turned up 6 years after POP & SON'S COOKERS did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Apr 25, 2026

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Molly s Bbq Smoke House

#1,794 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 78%
Peak: 1548

4 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Sep 9, 2022

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Grill and Chill

#1,800 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1548

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 7 contests, alongside a 57% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Oct 9, 2026

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SMACKDOWN BBQ

#1,789 of the rated field

1548 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1548

Level with POP & SON'S COOKERS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 5 contests
last seen May 31, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Texas-car-b-que	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
LA PASADITA	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
Rio Valley Meat BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
BOOMERANG BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
First Class BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	2	1	1	175.4056	149.0972	165.32	top 50%
Pork Ribs	8	4	1	1	173.1428	158.2512	168.12	top 42%
Pork	8	3	0	0	173.7028	162.7884	168.54	top 44%
Brisket	8	4	0	2	175.4056	158.8456	167.62	top 35%

“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)	4	0	top 30%
Large (40+)	4	0	top 53%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
TX	6	0	top 32%
KS	2	0	top 68%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2	15	top 37%	Aug 30, 2019
Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	2	6	top 29%	Feb 15, 2019
39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2	147	top 68%	Sep 15, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 4 contests

Contests a season 2.7 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in TX 6 of 8 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 5 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 606 finished ahead 430 times, behind 446

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

20193 milestones

Feb 15 Career-best single call (Brisket)175.4056 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
Aug 30 Peak power rating (1548) Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Aug 30 Most recent contest Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival

20181 milestone

Feb 16 Career-best overall score686.2168 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown

20175 milestones

Aug 11 First tracked contest Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff
Aug 11 First call Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff
Aug 11 First category win (Pork Ribs) Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff
Aug 11 First overall top-10 Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff
Aug 11 First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.0168 Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	Feb 16, 2018
+10.1	Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff	Aug 11, 2017
+8.8	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	Aug 30, 2019
+6.1	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	Feb 15, 2019
+3.9	4th Annual Southern Sate BBQ Cook-off	May 24, 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	1	0	100%	top 35%	95.1%	94.1%
2018	4	1	1	25%	top 50%	95.3%	92.5%
2017	1	1	1	100%	top 23%	91.8%	91.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 30, 2019	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival 🏅 Bedford, TX	15 / 58 (683.3832)	28 (169.1316)	9 (173.1200)	31 (168.5600)	10 (172.5716)
May 24, 2019	4th Annual Southern Sate BBQ Cook-off Conroe, TX	9 / 24 (664.4344)	8 (165.6800)	10 (167.9772)	10 (166.2400)	9 (164.5372)
Feb 15, 2019	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown 🏅 Huntsville, TX	14 / 33 (685.0396)	20 (165.6684)	9 (173.1428)	15 (170.8228)	3 (175.4056)
Sep 15, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	221 / 467 (662.8112)	230 (166.8228)	211 (166.8572)	102 (170.2856)	324 (158.8456)
Sep 14, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS	147 / 164 (654.6968)	149 (162.8228)	143 (163.3828)	136 (165.0856)	138 (163.4056)
Aug 31, 2018	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	36 / 74 (659.2680)	27 (167.9656)	55 (158.2512)	48 (162.7884)	18 (170.2628)
Feb 16, 2018	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	6 / 38 (686.2168)	1 (175.4056)	15 (170.2628)	6 (173.7028)	11 (166.8456)
Aug 11, 2017	Q'ing to Cure Childhood Cancer BBQ Cookoff Conroe, TX	6 / 26 (661.0168)	20 (149.0972)	1 (172)	6 (170.8112)	3 (169.1084)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

POP & SON'S COOKERS

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 (8 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Pork nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

An August team

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

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)