The heartbreaker
0.0004
points from the title
Came within 0.0004 points of the Grand Championship at 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge (2026-01-16).
Uncle Jesse's BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1522
peak 1522 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2020-06-19
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#315
Master 2026
Grand champs
0
2 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 46%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
604.38
last 4 Master vs avg 604.38 (+0.00)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
and counting
Consistency
±156.01
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 174.66 · weakest Pork Ribs (170.69)
Road miles
510
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 431 mi
Schedule strength
68%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)
Purse competed for
$53K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
604.38 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (5 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.
Perfect scores on the board
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 2 different meats.
- Chicken ×1
- Pork ×1
On the rise
+37
rating points in a year
Their power rating has climbed 37 points across 3 contests since 2025-07-18 — from 1484 up to 1522.
- 3 contests since 2025-07-18
- now 1522
High-water mark
706.2512
career-best overall
98.1% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 706.2512 at 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge — 98.1% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2026-01-16
The comeback
5.1 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.1 years, then back at Blaze of 47 (2025-07-18).
- last seen 2020-06-19
- back 2025-07-18
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.
Uncle Jesse's BBQ has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 86 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#2451 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1522
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 8 contests to 4.
⚔ Head-to-head#2436 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1522
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Uncle Jesse's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2445 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1522
No shared contest yet.
Level with Uncle Jesse's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2444 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1532
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 6 years before Uncle Jesse's BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#2439 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1522
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 12 years before Uncle Jesse's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2453 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1521
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 6 contests to 4.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 180.0000 🔥 | 163.9884 | 173.56 | top 37% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176.0000 | 165.1428 | 170.69 | top 48% |
| Pork | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 180.0000 🔥 | 167.4056 | 174.66 | top 36% |
| Brisket | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 177.7028 | 164.5600 | 172.18 | 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| UT | 2 | 0 | top 88% |
| NV | 1 | 0 | top 6% |
| AZ | 1 | 0 | top 4% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 60% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 4% |
The story so far (19 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5.9 yrs
2020-06-19 → 2026-05-23
Busiest season
2026
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
UT
2 of 4 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 1 win · 2 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 174.66 · weakest Pork Ribs (170.69)
Walk rate
75%
a top-10 call in 3 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
50%
2 of 4 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests — and still running
Master average
604.38
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Perfect 180s
2
every judge at the table handing back a nine
Opponents faced
107
89–51 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
510
4 mapped stops · furthest 431 mi
Schedule strength
1586
average field rating faced — tougher than 68% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$52,500
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
5.1 yrs
2020-06-19 → 2025-07-18
Power rating
1522
peak 1522 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2020
- First tracked contest Traeger NorUt State BBQ Championship
- 2025
- First call Blaze of 47
- First category win (Chicken) Blaze of 47
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Blaze of 47
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score677.1084 Blaze of 47
- 2026
- First overall top-10 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge
- First overall podium 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge
- First Reserve Championship 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge
- Career-best overall score706.2512 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge
- Peak power rating (1522) Best Dam BBQ
- Most recent contest Best Dam BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +19.4 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge | 2026-01-16 |
| +18 | Best Dam BBQ | 2026-05-23 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.9 | Traeger NorUt State BBQ Championship | 2020-06-19 |
| -6 | Blaze of 47 | 2025-07-18 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 5% | 98.1% | 97.6% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 85% | 94% | 94% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 46.5% | 46.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | Best Dam BBQ 🏅 Boulder City, NV | 2 / 33 (699.3484) | 6 (177.7028) | 18 (170.8228) | 4 (176.5600) | 7 (174.2628) |
| 2026-01-16 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge 🏅 Bullhead City, AZ | 2 / 53 (706.2512) | 21 (172.5484) | 6 (176.0000) | 2 (180.0000) | 4 (177.7028) |
| 2025-07-18 | Blaze of 47 🏅 Salt Lake City, UT | 22 / 26 (677.1084) | 1 (180.0000) | 24 (165.1428) | 24 (167.4056) | 22 (164.5600) |
| 2020-06-19 | Traeger NorUt State BBQ Championship 🏅 Riverdale, UT | 29 / 32 (334.7996) | 27 (163.9884) | 11 (170.8112) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #315 (518 pts) | #588 (253 pts) | #597 (268 pts) | #353 (468 pts) | #432 (373 pts) |