UP IN SMOKERS

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#5372

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1454

peak 1454 · rated over 44 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2017-07-07

latest 2026-07-25

Best ToY finish

#217

Master 2024

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

8 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 45 contests

Avg finish

top 68%

overall standings

Best overall

682.7428 / 720

Master · MD State BBQ Bash

Perfect 180s

Current form

670.28 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 644.66 (+25.61)

Walk rate

49%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.8572

Chicken · Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (One Meat Chicken)

Consistency

±42.10

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.46 · weakest Pork (160.00)

Road miles

2,832

mi across 45 mapped stops · furthest 115 mi

Schedule strength

53%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)

Purse competed for

$261K

listed at 35 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 35 state-championship entries

Master avg

644.66 / 720

44 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (10 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.

High-water mark

682.7428 career-best overall

94.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 682.7428 at MD State BBQ Bash — 94.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
2024-10-11

The one to beat

5× one call ahead of them

4 BOXERS Q has finished one call ahead of UP IN SMOKERS 5 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2023 their best year

2023 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 52%.

5 contests
1 overall top-10s
1 category wins
average top 52%

A tough matchup

30–2 behind in the head-to-head

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit ahead in 94% of their meetings

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit has come out ahead in 30 of their 32 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.46 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 16% of the time against 22%.

Pork avg 160.00
Chicken avg 166.46
7 calls in 44 entries

A strong matchup

9–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BIG BAD WOLVES in 9 of their 9 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at New Jersey State BBQ Championship (2021-07-09).

last seen 2019-07-12
back 2021-07-09

Chicken nemesis

27 of 33 shared chicken entries lost

Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit has out-cooked them in 27 of 33 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Backwooder BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked New Jersey State Barbecue Championship every year from 2022 to 2026 — the contest they never miss.

8 visits in all
best finish 8th

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.

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

NEANDERTHAL Q

#5376 of the rated field

1453 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1453

3–3 in 6 shared contests (50% to UP IN SMOKERS)

These two have cooked 6 of the same contests — honours even — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2026-05-15

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE THIS L.I.

#5371 of the rated field

1454 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 3%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1510 at their best, 56 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 31 contests
last seen 2022-10-22

⚔ Head-to-head

THE BLAZIN' BARRELS NL

#5368 of the rated field

1454 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before UP IN SMOKERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 27 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Y-NOT! SMOKIN QUE

#5380 of the rated field

1453 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1453

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than UP IN SMOKERS has cooked, 25 to 45, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2020-09-25

⚔ Head-to-head

DJS SMOKIN' BBQ

#5350 of the rated field

1454 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 79
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

79 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 14% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 79 contests
last seen 2023-08-11

⚔ Head-to-head

LOADED-N-ROLLIN BBQ

#5389 of the rated field

1453 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 95
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1453

No shared contest yet.

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2017.

rated over 95 contests
last seen 2026-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	32	2	30	6%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	26	11	15	42%	⚔ compare
Capt. Blue BBQ	26	1	25	4%	⚔ compare
4 BOXERS Q	25	11	14	44%	⚔ compare
BIG BOB'S SMOKIN QUE	24	9	15	38%	⚔ compare
All About the Wood	24	1	23	4%	⚔ compare
B'S QUE	23	5	18	22%	⚔ compare
3 EYZ BBQ	23	2	21	9%	⚔ compare
GLAZED AND INFUSED NEW JERSEY BBQ	23	1	22	4%	⚔ compare
SMOKECRAFT - MD	22	3	19	14%	⚔ compare
Leaning Jowler BBQ	22	1	21	5%	⚔ compare
Backwooder BBQ	21	5	15	24%	⚔ compare
BOGGS HOG BBQ	20	1	19	5%	⚔ compare
Palm tree smokehouse	19	11	8	58%	⚔ compare
SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS	19	1	18	5%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	45	10	0	1	178.8572	142.2284	166.46	top 54%
Pork Ribs	44	10	0	0	175.4172	129.1316	162.09	top 59%
Pork	44	7	0	3	175.4172	130.8112	160.00	top 67%
Brisket	43	6	2	4	177.1428	123.3716	160.02	top 62%

“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	Avg finish
PA	24	top 71%
NJ	15	top 66%
DE	4	top 66%
MD	1	top 31%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	top 63%
Medium (20–39)	21	top 66%
Large (40+)	19	top 71%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	8	8	top 53%	2026-07-11
Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	6	16	top 75%	2026-07-25
Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2)	6	6	top 65%	2026-05-16
York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	3	14	top 72%	2024-06-29
New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2)	3	20	top 82%	2024-04-20
Rekindled Ironman	2	9	top 65%	2026-04-03
Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)	2	9	top 56%	2023-05-06
Smoke in the Grove (Day 1)	2	38	top 85%	2022-07-29

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 9 yrs 2017-07-07 → 2026-07-25

Busiest season 2024 12 contests

Contests a season 5 across 9 seasons in the data

Cooks most in PA 24 of 45 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 20 8 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 45 entries · 0 wins · 10 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 166.46 · weakest Pork (160.00)

Walk rate 49% a top-10 call in 22 of 45 contests

Overall top-10 rate 11% 5 of 45 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 644.66 out of 720 · 44 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 635 703–1,627 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,832 45 mapped stops · furthest 115 mi

Schedule strength 1568 average field rating faced — tougher than 53% of rated contests

Purse competed for $260,600 listed at 35 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 35 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 2 yrs 2019-07-12 → 2021-07-09

Power rating 1454 peak 1454 · #5372 of 6,413 rated

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

2017
Jul 7 First tracked contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
Jul 7 Peak power rating (1492) New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
2019
Jul 12 10th tracked contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
2022
Jul 29 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.5372 Smoke in the Grove (Day 1)
2023
May 5 First call Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1)
May 6 First overall top-10 Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)
Jun 16 First category win (Brisket) York County BBQ Festival
2024
Jul 13 25th tracked contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship
Oct 11 Career-best overall score682.7428 MD State BBQ Bash
2025
Oct 24 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (One Meat Chicken)
2026
Jul 25 Most recent contest Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+17.2	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	2024-07-13
+14.4	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)	2026-05-15
+12.6	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	2023-07-14
+12.2	MD State BBQ Bash	2024-10-11
+10.9	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	2026-07-11

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.4	Boo-B-Que	2018-10-19
-9.6	New Jersey KnoQ-out-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	2018-04-28
-9.6	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2026-07-25
-9.3	Smoke in the Grove	2018-07-27
-9.2	The Ironman	2018-04-06

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	6	2	1	50%	top 60%	94.8%	93%
2025	9	0	0	89%	top 65%	94.7%	92.2%
2024	12	2	0	50%	top 62%	94.8%	92.3%
2023	5	1	1	100%	top 52%	94.6%	93%
2022	2	0	0	0%	top 70%	90.6%	89%
2021	1	0	0	0%	top 92%	78.9%	78.9%
2019	2	0	0	0%	top 72%	88.8%	86.3%
2018	6	0	0	0%	top 94%	85.9%	79.5%
2017	2	0	0	0%	top 84%	83.9%	82.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-07-25	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	37 / 39 (651.2800)	33 (168.5256)	30 (166.2744)	37 (158.2172)	35 (158.2628)
2026-07-24	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	37 / 43 (658.6968)	20 (173.1084)	36 (161.6456)	26 (167.4056)	40 (156.5372)
2026-07-11	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	16 / 62 (681.6000)	14 (171.9656)	17 (171.4172)	14 (171.9772)	28 (166.2400)
2026-05-16	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	11 / 17 (677.6000)	14 (168.5256)	7 (170.2744)	6 (173.1200)	14 (165.6800)
2026-05-15	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	6 / 25 (682.2060)	22 (166.2400)	10 (169.6916)	6 (172.5600)	1 (173.7144)
2026-04-03	Rekindled Ironman 🏅 Seven Valleys, PA	9 / 14 (664.4116)	6 (174.2628)	13 (159.9544)	9 (166.2516)	9 (163.9428)
2025-10-24	Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Jackson, NJ	24 / 31 (661.5540)	8 (175.4172)	22 (165.6800)	26 (162.7884)	26 (157.6684)
2025-10-24	Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (One Meat Chicken) Jackson, NJ	—	2 (178.8572)	—	—	—
2025-09-26	First State BBQ Bash 🏅 Milford, DE	13 / 25 (681.6456)	4 (175.4056)	9 (171.9772)	15 (165.7372)	12 (168.5256)
2025-07-26	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	22 / 27 (648.4572)	4 (175.4172)	18 (165.7028)	26 (150.8000)	21 (156.5372)
2025-07-25	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	21 / 30 (665.6228)	18 (170.8228)	24 (161.6800)	18 (168.0000)	22 (165.1200)
2025-07-12	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	26 / 63 (651.9084)	21 (169.1428)	6 (172.5600)	31 (161.7028)	49 (148.5028)
2025-05-17	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	16 / 21 (664.4344)	14 (165.6800)	18 (161.6688)	16 (162.2400)	3 (174.8456)
2025-05-16	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	15 / 28 (674.2060)	13 (173.1428)	20 (163.9544)	5 (173.7144)	19 (163.3944)
2025-04-04	Rekindled Ironman 🏅 Seven Valleys, PA	15 / 23 (665.6000)	8 (175.4056)	5 (175.4172)	22 (152.5372)	19 (162.2400)
2024-10-11	MD State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD	8 / 26 (682.7428)	11 (170.8228)	4 (174.2628)	11 (169.6800)	11 (167.9772)
2024-10-04	Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA	17 / 25 (656.4000)	11 (170.8228)	19 (160.5028)	20 (163.4172)	18 (161.6572)
2024-08-23	New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA	18 / 38 (672.9944)	8 (174.2628)	28 (162.8000)	3 (175.4172)	28 (160.5144)
2024-07-27	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	16 / 32 (681.6000)	13 (174.2628)	15 (170.2628)	18 (169.6800)	17 (167.3944)
2024-07-26	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	23 / 35 (659.8976)	6 (173.1428)	31 (153.6460)	28 (159.9772)	2 (173.1316)
2024-07-13	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	8 / 62 (679.3944)	17 (169.7372)	19 (166.8572)	3 (173.1316)	11 (169.6684)
2024-06-29	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA	14 / 19 (660.3768)	15 (168.5140)	7 (173.1200)	19 (159.9428)	16 (158.8000)
2024-06-28	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	20 / 29 (666.1948)	11 (170.8344)	19 (168.5488)	11 (169.7144)	24 (157.0972)
2024-05-18	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	24 / 26 (642.6744)	16 (167.3828)	6 (171.4056)	25 (155.3944)	26 (148.4916)
2024-05-17	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	29 / 37 (651.3372)	25 (167.3828)	11 (168.5600)	29 (160.0000)	33 (155.3944)
2024-04-20	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	20 / 27 (666.2628)	20 (167.3828)	14 (168.5600)	17 (166.8456)	21 (163.4744)
2024-04-19	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	22 / 29 (658.8456)	26 (162.2400)	26 (161.6800)	11 (169.1428)	17 (165.7828)
2023-07-28	Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	24 / 51 (673.0744)	19 (173.7028)	8 (174.2744)	40 (160.5600)	32 (164.5372)
2023-07-14	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	17 / 64 (665.1204)	4 (176.5600)	34 (162.3088)	27 (164.5600)	27 (161.6916)
2023-06-16	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	21 / 29 (659.3944)	13 (170.8228)	25 (156.5716)	26 (154.8572)	1 (177.1428)
2023-05-06	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Lincoln, DE	9 / 19 (681.0860)	18 (166.2400)	4 (172.5944)	3 (174.2744)	10 (167.9772)
2023-05-05	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Lincoln, DE	13 / 20 (668.5372)	7 (174.2628)	15 (165.7144)	15 (164.5600)	13 (164.0000)
2022-07-29	Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	38 / 54 (652.5372)	34 (166.2512)	15 (169.1544)	49 (154.2972)	31 (162.8344)
2022-07-09	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	42 / 61 (629.0632)	35 (164.0000)	42 (155.9660)	58 (141.6800)	14 (167.4172)
2021-07-09	New Jersey State BBQ Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	54 / 59 (567.8172)	36 (155.3828)	53 (138.8228)	48 (150.2400)	58 (123.3716)
2019-07-12	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	54 / 64 (603.8968)	55 (149.1200)	41 (155.3828)	58 (146.2628)	44 (153.1312)
2019-03-08	Mid Atlantic BBQ Expo Atlantic City, NJ	40 / 66 (639.4400)	34 (162.2628)	45 (156.6400)	51 (152.5372)	16 (168.0000)
2018-10-19	Boo-B-Que Rehoboth Beach, DE	73 / 73 (468.5372)	44 (162.8344)	13 (168.5600)	71 (137.1428)	—
2018-07-27	Smoke in the Grove Spring Grove, PA	54 / 54 (604.9484)	54 (142.2284)	40 (157.6916)	52 (149.0856)	42 (155.9428)
2018-07-14	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ	55 / 64 (580.3996)	46 (149.1084)	51 (146.8228)	63 (130.8112)	31 (153.6572)
2018-06-01	Que for the Troops Levittown, PA	55 / 61 (618.6628)	59 (145.6916)	41 (155.3716)	51 (152.5140)	20 (165.0856)
2018-04-28	New Jersey KnoQ-out-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Blairstown, NJ	38 / 40 (570.2860)	34 (151.4744)	39 (129.1316)	37 (147.4172)	37 (142.2628)
2018-04-06	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	54 / 60 (592.3884)	49 (153.0856)	58 (138.2056)	35 (158.8456)	54 (142.2516)
2017-09-15	Smoke on the Water New Jersey State Barbecue Championship Atlantic City, NJ	37 / 42 (604.4348)	19 (164.0116)	39 (144.5488)	38 (153.0628)	36 (142.8116)
2017-07-07	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ	53 / 67 (577.6576)	58 (145.1200)	54 (146.2628)	50 (147.9888)	57 (138.2860)

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	#268 (626 pts)	#310 (576 pts)	#339 (591 pts)	#252 (681 pts)	#253 (676 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#430 (463 pts)	#234 (950 pts)	#442 (538 pts)	#432 (488 pts)	#396 (553 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#217 (982 pts)	#162 (1179 pts)	#174 (1174 pts)	#142 (1232 pts)	#189 (1068 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#808 (165 pts)	#617 (300 pts)	#835 (215 pts)	#989 (120 pts)	#989 (120 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1955 (60 pts)	#2049 (60 pts)	#2026 (60 pts)	#2029 (60 pts)	#1725 (105 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#861 (360 pts)	#908 (360 pts)	#830 (420 pts)	#896 (360 pts)	#956 (325 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1722 (120 pts)	#1657 (150 pts)	#1822 (120 pts)	#1799 (120 pts)	#1794 (120 pts)