The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Ziggy's Piggies has finished one call ahead of SUGAR RAY'S BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
SUGAR RAY'S BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1447
peak 1447 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2013-07-19
latest 2018-06-22
Best ToY finish
#1871
Master 2017
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 85%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
601.02 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 600.40 (+0.62)
Walk rate
14%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.46
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 155.03 · weakest Brisket (139.30)
Road miles
941
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 179 mi
Schedule strength
52%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)
Master avg
600.40 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (4 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.
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS ahead in 100% of their meetings
GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The weak link
−15.7
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 15.72 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 14%.
- Brisket avg 139.30
- Chicken avg 155.03
- 0 calls in 7 entries
The comeback
2.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.8 years, then back at Madison Magazine BBQ Festival (2016-05-13).
- last seen 2013-07-19
- back 2016-05-13
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.
105 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5600 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1448
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to SUGAR RAY'S BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SUGAR RAY'S BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#5610 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5599 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1448
No shared contest yet.
13 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 23% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-head#5615 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head#5608 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
No shared contest yet.
Level with SUGAR RAY'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5602 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1448
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.0572 | 144.0000 | 155.03 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.0000 | 149.0744 | 153.43 | top 76% |
| Pork | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4744 | 142.3088 | 152.64 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150.8572 | 124.0000 | 139.30 | top 89% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 3 | 0 | top 77% |
| IL | 2 | 0 | top 96% |
| WI | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 78% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 96% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO! | 3 | 23 | 0 | top 77% | 2017-07-14 |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4.9 yrs
2013-07-19 → 2018-06-22
Busiest season
2016
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IA
3 of 7 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 155.03 · weakest Brisket (139.30)
Walk rate
14%
a top-10 call in 1 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 7 contests
Master average
600.40
out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
170
34–202 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
941
7 mapped stops · furthest 179 mi
Schedule strength
1567
average field rating faced — tougher than 52% of rated contests
Longest layoff
2.8 yrs
2013-07-19 → 2016-05-13
Power rating
1447
peak 1447 · #5612 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest BBQ'Loo & Blues Too!
- First call BBQ'Loo & Blues Too!
- Career-best single call (Chicken)168.0572 BBQ'Loo & Blues Too!
- Peak power rating (1497) BBQ'Loo & Blues Too!
- 2017
- Career-best overall score621.6456 *BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO!
- 2018
- Most recent contest *Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Madison Magazine BBQ Festival | 2016-05-13 |
| -9.8 | *Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 | 2018-06-22 |
| -9.6 | *Heritage Days BBQ Showdown | 2017-06-23 |
| -9.5 | BBQ'Loo & Blues Too | 2016-07-15 |
| -5.1 | 6th Annual Smokin' In the Bogs | 2016-09-02 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 81.8% | 81.8% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 86.3% | 84% |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 85.7% | 83% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 66% | 84.9% | 84.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-22 | *Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 Belvidere, IL | 51 / 51 (588.9256) | 51 (147.9884) | 45 (150.2172) | 49 (147.3600) | 50 (143.3600) |
| 2017-07-14 | *BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO! Waterloo, IA | 25 / 33 (621.6456) | 21 (160.0344) | 23 (154.2056) | 22 (156.5484) | 25 (150.8572) |
| 2017-06-23 | *Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Belvidere, IL | 39 / 42 (588.3888) | 41 (144.0000) | 39 (151.3716) | 36 (154.2400) | 39 (138.7772) |
| 2016-09-02 | 6th Annual Smokin' In the Bogs Warrens, WI | 25 / 32 (617.1776) | 29 (151.3944) | 19 (158.3316) | 15 (163.4744) | 28 (143.9772) |
| 2016-07-15 | BBQ'Loo & Blues Too Waterloo, IA | 29 / 32 (588.9488) | 27 (154.8572) | 29 (149.0744) | 29 (145.0856) | 29 (139.9316) |
| 2016-05-13 | Madison Magazine BBQ Festival Sauk City, WI | 18 / 19 (586.2176) | 12 (158.8572) | 16 (150.8228) | 19 (142.3088) | 19 (134.2288) |
| 2013-07-19 | BBQ'Loo & Blues Too! Waterloo, IA | 23 / 35 (611.4972) | 9 (168.0572) | 17 (160.0000) | 20 (159.4400) | 28 (124.0000) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2012 (60 pts) | #1996 (60 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1871 (118 pts) | #1713 (138 pts) | #1772 (128 pts) | #1735 (133 pts) | #1936 (118 pts) |