A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
ELJEFE SMOKE ahead in 100% of their meetings
ELJEFE SMOKE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
GOLDEN GRILLZ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1469
peak 1469 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2018-09-22
latest 2023-05-06
Best ToY finish
#1255
Master 2023
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 86%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
613.29
last 4 Master vs avg 613.29 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.25
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 157.68 · weakest Brisket (147.95)
Road miles
353
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 253 mi
Schedule strength
57%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1573)
Purse competed for
$9K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
613.29 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (2 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.
The comeback
3.6 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3.6 years, then back at HOGS 4 HEROES (2023-05-06).
- last seen 2019-10-04
- back 2023-05-06
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.
GOLDEN GRILLZ 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 150 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.
#4661 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to GOLDEN GRILLZ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team GOLDEN GRILLZ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4654 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1469
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to GOLDEN GRILLZ)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 5 years before GOLDEN GRILLZ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4673 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4632 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1470
No shared contest yet.
Level with GOLDEN GRILLZ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4681 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4636 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, 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 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2744 | 150.8000 | 157.68 | top 78% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1888 | 142.8000 | 151.54 | top 83% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2628 | 150.2628 | 156.11 | top 73% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156.5144 | 131.3488 | 147.95 | top 83% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MA | 2 | 0 | top 95% |
| RI | 1 | 0 | top 68% |
| ME | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 91% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 68% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4.6 yrs
2018-09-22 → 2023-05-06
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MA
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 · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 157.68 · weakest Brisket (147.95)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
613.29
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
93
23–107 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
353
4 mapped stops · furthest 253 mi
Schedule strength
1573
average field rating faced — tougher than 57% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$9,400
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3.6 yrs
2019-10-04 → 2023-05-06
Power rating
1469
peak 1469 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2018
- First tracked contest *Great Maine BBQ Challenge
- Peak power rating (1492) *Great Maine BBQ Challenge
- 2023
- Career-best overall score644.5488 HOGS 4 HEROES
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)165.1888 HOGS 4 HEROES
- Most recent contest HOGS 4 HEROES
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.2 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival | 2018-10-05 |
| -8.7 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ | 2019-10-04 |
| -8.1 | *Great Maine BBQ Challenge | 2018-09-22 |
| -2.9 | HOGS 4 HEROES | 2023-05-06 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 89.5% | 89.5% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 84.2% | 84.2% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 83.9% | 83.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-06 | HOGS 4 HEROES 🏅 Jamestown, RI | 34 / 50 (644.5488) | 33 (162.2744) | 26 (165.1888) | 27 (160.5712) | 34 (156.5144) |
| 2019-10-04 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ 🏅 Greenfield, MA | 24 / 26 (606.1372) | 25 (150.8000) | 23 (155.3828) | 23 (150.2628) | 23 (149.6916) |
| 2018-10-05 | Riverside Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival Greenfield, MA | 30 / 31 (598.6860) | 22 (162.2744) | 30 (142.8000) | 22 (162.2628) | 30 (131.3488) |
| 2018-09-22 | *Great Maine BBQ Challenge Bangor, ME | 23 / 27 (603.7828) | 21 (155.3828) | 26 (142.8000) | 21 (151.3600) | 21 (154.2400) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #2507 (56 pts) | #2586 (51 pts) | #2021 (61 pts) | #2026 (61 pts) | #2005 (61 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1677 (118 pts) | #1511 (143 pts) | #1791 (108 pts) | #1500 (143 pts) | #1551 (128 pts) |