MONTANA MAX BBQ

MONTANA MAX BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2020. Their best overall finish is 16th of 22 at the Big Muddy Brew N Que (2018). They are ranked #5271 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#5,271

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1456

peak 1456 · rated over 10 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 24, 2018

latest Aug 28, 2020 · 2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#807

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

0% of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 74%

overall standings

Best overall

652.9256 / 720

Master · Big Island BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

645.48 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 639.24 (+6.24)

Walk rate

40%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.8572

Pork Ribs · Best of the Midwest

Consistency

±12.29

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.57 · weakest Brisket (154.06)

Road miles

1,192

across 10 mapped stops · furthest 267 mi

Schedule strength

55%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1571)

Purse competed for

$65K

listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 7 state-championship entries

Master avg

639.24 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (6 found in their record)

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

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

GRUMPY OLD MEN BBQ has finished one call ahead of MONTANA MAX BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

HOT DADDY'S BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

HOT DADDY'S BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

The weak link

−9.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 9.51 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 20%.

Brisket avg 154.06
Chicken avg 163.57
0 calls in 10 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Smokin G's BBQ in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

7 of 10 shared chicken entries lost

HOT DADDY'S BBQ ahead 70% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, HOT DADDY'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 7 of 10 shared chicken entries.

The metronome

±1.71% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.71% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.8% of a perfect score
10 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
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#601 (165 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#807 (360 pts)	#579 (595 pts)	#683 (495 pts)	#777 (415 pts)	#831 (380 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1171 (213 pts)	#1226 (218 pts)	#1254 (213 pts)	#903 (358 pts)	#1235 (218 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MONTANA MAX BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

MEATO BANDITOS

#5,281 of the rated field

1456 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1456

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to MONTANA MAX BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team MONTANA MAX BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Aug 20, 2021

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin Big

#5,288 of the rated field

1456 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1456

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to MONTANA MAX BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 28 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

CALLAWAY CREMATORS

#5,258 of the rated field

1457 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1457

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen Oct 11, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

HOOKED ON ONYX COOK TEAM

#5,275 of the rated field

1456 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1456

They were already cooking in 2013, 5 years before MONTANA MAX BBQ's first contest.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Apr 28, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

TEAR-A-BYTE BBQ

#5,262 of the rated field

1457 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1457

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 6 years before MONTANA MAX BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 10 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Circle W Meats

#5,266 of the rated field

1457 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1457

Level with MONTANA MAX BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Apr 3, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
HOT DADDY'S BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
CROIX VALLEY SAUCES	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
SCHWEBS BBQ	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
Phoenix BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
Hogline	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Smokin G's BBQ	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BONES	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
REBEL FIRE QUE'N COMPANY	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
BEND OF THE RIVER BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
WHITEWATER BBQ COMPANY	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE IN THE EYE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
On Q BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
IT'S BBQ TIME	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	2	174.2744	145.0972	163.57	top 57%
Pork Ribs	10	1	174.8572	150.2172	159.92	top 71%
Pork	10	1	171.4172	151.9656	161.69	top 64%
Brisket	10	0	164.5372	130.1944	154.06	top 73%

“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 76%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 72%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MN	5	0	top 69%
WI	4	0	top 75%

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 6 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in MN 5 of 10 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 10 a different one every time

Opponents faced 266 finished ahead 110 times, behind 367

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

20202 milestones

Aug 28 10th tracked contest Minnesota in Mayaugust
Aug 28 Most recent contest Minnesota in Mayaugust

20193 milestones

Aug 23 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.9256 Big Island BBQ
Aug 23 Career-best overall score652.9256 Big Island BBQ
Oct 18 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.8572 Best of the Midwest

20183 milestones

Aug 24 First tracked contest 11th Annual Big Island BBQ
Aug 24 Peak power rating (1499) 11th Annual Big Island BBQ
Oct 5 First call Wisconsin Colorfest & BBQ Bash

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

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.8	Minnesota in May	May 10, 2019
-9.2	Wisconsin Colorfest & BBQ Bash	Oct 5, 2018
-7.8	Bring'n Home the Bacon	Jun 21, 2019
-4.4	Big Muddy Brew N Que	Sep 1, 2018
-2.8	Smokin In Steele	May 31, 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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2020	1	100%	top 71%	90.3%	90.3%
2019	6	33%	top 74%	90.7%	88.9%
2018	3	33%	top 75%	89.9%	88.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 28, 2020	Minnesota in Mayaugust 🏅 Cambridge, MN	32 / 45 (650.1600)	7 (173.1200)	40 (158.8000)	39 (158.8228)	36 (159.4172)
Oct 18, 2019	Best of the Midwest 🏅 Union Grove, WI	36 / 52 (642.7316)	50 (145.0972)	5 (174.8572)	37 (158.2400)	21 (164.5372)
Aug 30, 2019	Smokin in the Bogs 🏅 Warrens, WI	26 / 38 (649.1204)	12 (171.4172)	23 (163.4172)	32 (158.8688)	29 (155.4172)
Aug 23, 2019	Big Island BBQ 🏅 Alberta Lea, MN	34 / 50 (652.9256)	4 (174.2744)	38 (158.2056)	39 (161.6572)	30 (158.7884)
Jun 21, 2019	Bring'n Home the Bacon 🏅 West Salem, WI	28 / 37 (632.4456)	22 (163.9656)	25 (156)	19 (161.7144)	30 (150.7656)
May 31, 2019	Smokin In Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN	30 / 43 (642.1260)	24 (165.1200)	41 (150.2172)	20 (167.9772)	26 (158.8116)
May 10, 2019	Minnesota in May 🏅	52 / 57 (619.3028)	45 (160)	50 (154.8228)	54 (151.9656)	51 (152.5144)
Oct 5, 2018	Wisconsin Colorfest & BBQ Bash Turtle Lake, WI	23 / 26 (615.3032)	23 (157.0972)	20 (156.5944)	5 (171.4172)	26 (130.1944)
Sep 1, 2018	Big Muddy Brew N Que Winona, MN	16 / 22 (640.9944)	15 (159.9772)	19 (162.8116)	15 (160.5256)	13 (157.6800)
Aug 24, 2018	11th Annual Big Island BBQ Alberta Lea, MN	31 / 49 (647.2916)	32 (165.6800)	28 (163.4288)	20 (165.6800)	40 (152.5028)

MONTANA MAX BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

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 (6 found in their record)

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

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)

More numbers

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

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

📉 Toughest weekends

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)