They almost always walk
73%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 11 of 15 contests
A top-10 category call in 73% of their 15 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
NORTH POLE BBQ TEAM
NORTH POLE BBQ TEAM is a competition barbecue team with 15 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 18 at the Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018 (2018), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1758 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1550
peak 1554 · rated over 15 contests
Contests
15
in the data
First seen
May 18, 2018
latest Oct 4, 2019 · 1.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
2
7 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
20% of 15 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 46%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
650.78 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 643.01 (+7.77)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.29
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 162.46 · weakest Pork (157.80)
Road miles
2,654
across 15 mapped stops · furthest 331 mi
Schedule strength
51%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1566)
Purse competed for
$30K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
643.01 / 720
15 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to NORTH POLE BBQ TEAM, each with one reason worth a look.
60 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,747 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1558
Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,749 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1553
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,750 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1554
17 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 29% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#1,762 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1550
They turned up 7 years after NORTH POLE BBQ TEAM did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Compare careers#1,755 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 42%
- Peak
- 1564
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 4 years before NORTH POLE BBQ TEAM's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,765 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 91%
- Peak
- 1559
4 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WALLY BBQ | 13 | 6 | 7 | 46% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 12 | 1 | 11 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| What the Pork? | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| piratesBBQ | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ | 11 | 1 | 10 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| FAT TIGER BBQ | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| PADDY MCQ'S | 10 | 2 | 8 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SHOP BOYS BBQ | 9 | 8 | 1 | 89% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG RAZ BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| INSANE SWINE BBQ | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BOYMEETSGRILL | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| Q+BREW | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| SKARA OLD SCHOOL BBQ | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE DOWN BELOW | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| CIDER BOYS BBQ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 170.2512 | 150.8228 | 161.76 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 15 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 173.1772 | 145.6800 | 160.99 | top 44% |
| Pork | 15 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 169.7144 | 141.0396 | 157.80 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 15 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 173.1660 | 142.7884 | 162.46 | top 36% |
“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 11% |
| Medium (20–39) | 13 | 0 | top 50% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 46% | Sep 7, 2019 |
| I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 58% | Jul 5, 2019 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
8 contests
Contests a season
7.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
NY
4 of 15 contests · 6 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
13
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
192
finished ahead 235 times, behind 194
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20196 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Quebec City International BBQ & Music Fest
- First category win (Brisket) 514 BBQ
- Career-best overall score663.3256 514 BBQ
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.1772 Kora Kare for Kids Ride-In & BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1554) Kora Kare for Kids Ride-In & BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ
20186 milestones
- First tracked contest Salt City BBQ Festival
- First call Quebec City International BBQ & Music Festival
- First overall top-10 Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018
- First overall podium Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018
- First Reserve Championship Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score656.5256 Thrillin & Grillin at Aquaboggan Water park
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.8 | Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018 | Jun 15, 2018 |
| +10 | 514 BBQ | Jun 15, 2019 |
| +6.7 | Thrillin & Grillin at Aquaboggan Water park | Aug 11, 2018 |
| +6.6 | Capital BBQ Festival | May 25, 2019 |
| +6.5 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | Sep 8, 2018 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.8 | Salt City BBQ Festival | May 18, 2018 |
| -4.3 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | Jul 5, 2019 |
| -4 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ | Oct 4, 2019 |
| -0.1 | Quebec City International BBQ & Music Festival | Jun 1, 2018 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 63% | top 48% | 92.1% | 90.1% |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 86% | top 45% | 91.2% | 88.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 4, 2019 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ 🏅 Greenfield, MA | 18 / 26 (651.8632) | 16 (163.9428) | 17 (162.2744) | 15 (163.3944) | 16 (162.2516) |
| Sep 7, 2019 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Braintree, VT | 17 / 31 (652.5488) | 18 (166.2512) | 20 (158.8228) | 26 (154.3088) | 1 (173.1660) |
| Aug 24, 2019 | Kora Kare for Kids Ride-In & BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME | 14 / 36 (657.1200) | 17 (161.6688) | 3 (173.1772) | 29 (151.3712) | 8 (170.9028) |
| Jul 5, 2019 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival 🏅 Lake Placid, NY | 23 / 32 (629.0400) | 26 (158.2628) | 12 (161.1428) | 28 (150.2172) | 18 (159.4172) |
| Jun 15, 2019 | 514 BBQ Saint-Léonard, QC | 5 / 23 (663.3256) | 14 (160.5256) | 4 (165.1200) | 8 (164.5600) | 1 (173.1200) |
| Jun 8, 2019 | Quebec City International BBQ & Music Fest Quebec | 9 / 24 (629.6572) | 19 (154.2284) | 9 (156.5716) | 10 (155.4516) | 4 (163.4056) |
| May 25, 2019 | Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON | 14 / 43 (659.4512) | 25 (161.7372) | 9 (168.5828) | 26 (157.7256) | 4 (171.4056) |
| Apr 5, 2019 | NYC BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Staten Island, NY | 14 / 26 (648.4800) | 11 (164.5600) | 18 (158.8572) | 17 (163.3828) | 13 (161.6800) |
| Sep 22, 2018 | Great Maine BBQ Challenge Bangor, ME | 15 / 27 (643.8512) | 5 (170.2512) | 3 (169.7488) | 25 (148.4800) | 19 (155.3712) |
| Sep 8, 2018 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Randolph, VT | 12 / 33 (655.9888) | 13 (166.2628) | 23 (158.2860) | 5 (166.8344) | 11 (164.6056) |
| Aug 11, 2018 | Thrillin & Grillin at Aquaboggan Water park Saco, ME | 12 / 30 (656.5256) | 4 (166.8572) | 24 (152.5484) | 4 (169.7144) | 8 (167.4056) |
| Jul 6, 2018 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival Lake Placid, NY | 17 / 39 (629.6228) | 12 (165.1200) | 35 (145.6800) | 6 (163.4056) | 18 (155.4172) |
| Jun 15, 2018 | Wolf BBQ Fest Richmond 2018 Richmond, QC | 2 / 18 (635.3716) | 5 (157.1544) | 2 (160.5600) | 2 (161.0972) | 4 (156.5600) |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Quebec City International BBQ & Music Festival Quebec City | 12 / 22 (619.3256) | 15 (150.8228) | 2 (169.7260) | 11 (155.9884) | 17 (142.7884) |
| May 18, 2018 | Salt City BBQ Festival Syracuse, NY | 25 / 34 (613.0168) | 16 (158.8228) | 22 (153.7144) | 30 (141.0396) | 16 (159.4400) |