What For BBQ

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

Power ranking

#4022

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1482

peak 1502 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2023-05-27

latest 2026-08-01

Best ToY finish

#439

Master 2026

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 62%

overall standings

Best overall

681.7260 / 720

Master · Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle

Perfect 180s

Current form

670.24 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 662.56 (+7.69)

Walk rate

89%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.2972

Pork · Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle

Consistency

±13.77

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.50 · weakest Pork Ribs (162.21)

Road miles

1,084

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 278 mi

Schedule strength

25%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1534)

Purse competed for

$9K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

662.56 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 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.

They almost always walk

89% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 9 contests

A top-10 category call in 89% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

681.7260 career-best overall

94.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 681.7260 at Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle — 94.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
2025-08-23

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Grillin' & Chillin' Pitmasters has finished one call ahead of What For BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

8–0 behind in the head-to-head

MEAN MOE'S BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

MEAN MOE'S BBQ has come out ahead in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.3 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.29 points below their pork, and turns into a call 33% of the time against 56%.

Pork Ribs avg 162.21
Pork avg 168.50
3 calls in 9 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BBQ Blokes in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

6 of 8 shared pork entries lost

MEAN MOE'S BBQ ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MEAN MOE'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 8 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Stuttering John's Smokehouse has landed one call behind them 2 times.

The metronome

±1.91% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.91% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.0% of a perfect score
9 contests

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.

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

Bar Down BBQ

#4012 of the rated field

1483 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1526

3–0 in 3 shared contests (100% to What For BBQ)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — What For BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2026-05-23

⚔ Head-to-head

Hillbilly Bar-B-Q

#4021 of the rated field

1482 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1482

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-08-15

⚔ Head-to-head

Tamm Good Eatin'

#4023 of the rated field

1482 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1482

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before What For BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 9 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

GETCHA SOME BBQ

#4030 of the rated field

1482 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1505

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2019-09-20

⚔ Head-to-head

GRILL-BILLY_BBQ

#4007 of the rated field

1483 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2015, 8 years before What For BBQ's first contest.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2019-06-08

⚔ Head-to-head

D&G'S REAL BBQ

#4006 of the rated field

1483 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1510

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2016-10-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MEAN MOE'S BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
HASHTAG BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
RUSTY'S SMOKE BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
BBQ Blokes	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
BBQ WorX	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Rub Sweat and Beers	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Smokin' Hot Mess BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
WINE COUNTRY BARBECUE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
County Line Barbeque	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
Grillin' & Chillin' Pitmasters	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	4	0	170.8688	157.1088	165.57	top 61%
Pork Ribs	9	3	0	174.8572	145.0744	162.21	top 67%
Pork	9	5	1	178.2972	161.6684	168.50	top 49%
Brisket	9	5	0	169.6800	159.3832	166.27	top 50%

“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
ON	7	0	top 60%
MI	1	0	top 63%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	top 74%
Medium (20–39)	4	top 50%
Large (40+)	1	top 63%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition	2	10	0	top 47%	2026-05-23
Jack 9 Memorial	2	10	0	top 64%	2024-05-25

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.2 yrs 2023-05-27 → 2026-08-01

Busiest season 2025 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in ON 7 of 9 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 7 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 168.50 · weakest Pork Ribs (162.21)

Walk rate 89% a top-10 call in 8 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 33% 3 of 9 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 662.56 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 105 77–114 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,084 9 mapped stops · furthest 278 mi

Schedule strength 1534 average field rating faced — tougher than 25% of rated contests

Purse competed for $9,460 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Power rating 1482 peak 1502 · #4022 of 6,413 rated

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

2023
May 27 First tracked contest Jack 9 Memorial
May 27 First call Jack 9 Memorial
2024
May 25 First overall top-10 Jack 9 Memorial
May 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.6344 Jack 9 Memorial
2025
Aug 23 Career-best overall score681.7260 Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle
Aug 23 Career-best single call (Pork)178.2972 Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle
Aug 23 Peak power rating (1502) Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle
2026
Aug 1 Most recent contest Camper's Corner BBQ Cookoff

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+5.8	Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition	2025-05-24
+2.6	Jack 9 Memorial	2024-05-25
+0.6	Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle	2025-08-23
+0.6	All American BBQ Throwdown	2025-08-01

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.9	Jack 9 Memorial	2023-05-27
-7.7	Camper's Corner BBQ Cookoff	2026-08-01
-7.6	Spencerville Smoke Ring	2025-09-27
-4.1	New Lowell True North BBQ Bash	2026-06-19
-0.1	JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition	2026-05-23

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	1	100%	top 65%	93.8%	92.7%
2025	4	1	75%	top 59%	94.7%	92.9%
2024	1	1	100%	top 50%	90.8%	90.8%
2023	1	0	100%	top 79%	87.8%	87.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-08-01	Camper's Corner BBQ Cookoff London, ON	10 / 14 (656.5604)	7 (168.0000)	8 (162.2972)	9 (166.8800)	13 (159.3832)
2026-06-19	New Lowell True North BBQ Bash New Lowell, ON	11 / 16 (675.3368)	9 (167.4056)	12 (166.2512)	8 (172.0000)	8 (169.6800)
2026-05-23	JACK9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON	11 / 20 (669.6460)	10 (167.9772)	10 (169.1428)	14 (166.8460)	12 (165.6800)
2025-09-27	Spencerville Smoke Ring Spencerville, K0E 1X0	11 / 14 (667.9432)	14 (157.1088)	4 (174.8572)	9 (168.0000)	6 (167.9772)
2025-08-23	Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle London, ON	12 / 22 (681.7260)	14 (170.8688)	17 (164.0116)	2 (178.2972)	13 (168.5484)
2025-08-01	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	27 / 43 (667.8744)	36 (162.8000)	38 (163.3944)	15 (172.5600)	16 (169.1200)
2025-05-24	Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON	10 / 26 (658.3088)	11 (166.8800)	11 (160.6060)	16 (161.6684)	6 (169.1544)
2024-05-25	Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON	10 / 20 (653.6344)	4 (169.6916)	17 (154.2972)	6 (168.5484)	10 (161.0972)
2023-05-27	Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON	15 / 19 (631.9772)	16 (159.4172)	19 (145.0744)	11 (161.7256)	6 (165.7600)

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	#439 (340 pts)	#450 (390 pts)	#493 (360 pts)	#450 (360 pts)	#459 (345 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#468 (407 pts)	#546 (377 pts)	#494 (457 pts)	#389 (577 pts)	#413 (532 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#878 (120 pts)	#779 (195 pts)	#1213 (85 pts)	#845 (160 pts)	#922 (120 pts)