STAR CITY BBQ

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

Power ranking

#1575

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1559

peak 1559 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2018-05-18

latest 2021-06-04

Best ToY finish

#530

Master 2019

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 42%

overall standings

Best overall

686.2056 / 720

Master · Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge

Perfect 180s

Current form

679.68 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 667.14 (+12.54)

Walk rate

80%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.8800

Pork Ribs · 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition

Consistency

±22.18

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.86 · weakest Brisket (164.03)

Road miles

687

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 206 mi

Schedule strength

85%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1614)

Purse competed for

$72K

listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 8 state-championship entries

Master avg

667.14 / 720

9 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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

80% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 8 of 10 contests

A top-10 category call in 80% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

686.2056 career-best overall

95.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 686.2056 at Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge — 95.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
2019-08-31

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

SPITFIRE ahead in 100% of their meetings

SPITFIRE has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.8 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.83 points below their pork, and turns into a call 11% of the time against 56%.

Brisket avg 164.03
Pork avg 168.86
1 calls in 9 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of FAIRWAY SMOKERS in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

6 of 9 shared pork entries lost

WHEN PIGS DIE ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, WHEN PIGS DIE has out-cooked them in 6 of 9 shared pork entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1614 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 85% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1614 power rating — a tougher draw than 85% of every rated contest in the data.

9 rated 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.

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

Vitamin Q

#1579 of the rated field

1559 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1559

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 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

TEA AND BRISKETS

#1576 of the rated field

1559 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

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 2019-11-30

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ BROMANCE

#1583 of the rated field

1559 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1564

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 5 years before STAR CITY BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

J-PIG PICTURE PERFECT BAR-B-QUE

#1572 of the rated field

1560 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1560

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2021-06-04

⚔ Head-to-head

HAWG DOCTORS

#1573 of the rated field

1560 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 42%
Peak: 1562

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 12 contests, alongside a 42% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2015-10-03

⚔ Head-to-head

Sassy Sow BBQ

#1574 of the rated field

1559 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 86%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

4 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-09-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
WHEN PIGS DIE	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
SPITFIRE	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
FAIRWAY SMOKERS	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
BLAIR'S BIGFOOT BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
ELWOOD BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
TEAM CRAWFORD	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
TEAM BREW & QUE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
HELPING U BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
SMACKIN' BUTTS BBQ, NE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
OMAHA'S BLOWIN' SMOKE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Bohica BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
HOT GRILL ON GRILL ACTION	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	2	0	0	175.4172	157.7032	168.29	top 45%
Pork Ribs	10	6	1	3	178.8800	146.2516	166.05	top 44%
Pork	9	5	0	1	176.5600	147.9428	168.86	top 38%
Brisket	9	1	0	0	169.1084	157.6912	164.03	top 58%

“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
NE	6	top 47%
IA	2	top 31%
KS	1	top 32%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	6	0	top 39%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 49%

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

On the trail 3 yrs 2018-05-18 → 2021-06-04

Busiest season 2019 5 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in NE 7 of 10 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 9 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 10 entries · 1 win · 6 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 168.86 · weakest Brisket (164.03)

Walk rate 80% a top-10 call in 8 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 40% 4 of 10 contests

Best top-10 run 3 straight contests

Master average 667.14 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 191 201–138 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 687 10 mapped stops · furthest 206 mi

Schedule strength 1614 average field rating faced — tougher than 85% of rated contests

Purse competed for $71,560 listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 8 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2019-09-20 → 2020-10-02

Power rating 1559 peak 1559 · #1575 of 6,413 rated

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

2018
May 18 First tracked contest 7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
Aug 11 First call Seward County Fair Rib Rally (COMPETITORS SERIES)
2019
May 31 First category win (Pork Ribs) 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
May 31 First overall top-10 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
May 31 First overall past 90% of a perfect score679.3484 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
May 31 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.8800 8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition
Aug 31 Career-best overall score686.2056 Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge
2021
Jun 4 10th tracked contest Big Blue BBQ Championship
Jun 4 Peak power rating (1559) Big Blue BBQ Championship
Jun 4 Most recent contest Big Blue BBQ Championship

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.8	9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition	2021-05-28
+11.9	8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition	2019-05-31
+11.8	Ottumwa Smoketoberfest	2020-10-02
+11	Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge	2019-08-31
+10.7	Big Blue BBQ Championship	2021-06-04

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.6	7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition	2018-05-18
-6.7	Q for a Cause	2019-04-26

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)
2021	2	1	0	100%	top 29%	94.6%	94.6%
2020	1	0	0	100%	top 27%	94%	94%
2019	5	3	1	80%	top 40%	95.3%	93%
2018	2	0	0	50%	top 93%	85.7%	85.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021-06-04	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	9 / 28 (681.0168)	7 (173.7028)	23 (165.0856)	2 (175.4056)	15 (166.8228)
2021-05-28	9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE	12 / 46 (680.5256)	5 (175.4172)	34 (162.2628)	7 (174.2856)	25 (168.5600)
2020-10-02	Ottumwa Smoketoberfest 🏅 Ottumwa, IA	18 / 66 (676.5024)	29 (169.6684)	3 (173.7372)	5 (175.4056)	55 (157.6912)
2019-09-20	Tri City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA	12 / 34 (674.1596)	25 (162.8228)	5 (171.9884)	10 (173.1084)	18 (166.2400)
2019-08-31	Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge 🏅 Omaha, NE	8 / 28 (686.2056)	14 (168.5372)	8 (172.0000)	4 (176.5600)	10 (169.1084)
2019-08-09	GOBS Que 🏅 Arlington, NE	7 / 29 (671.8968)	11 (167.9656)	4 (172.5600)	13 (167.9884)	13 (163.3828)
2019-05-31	8th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition 🏅 Valley, NE	10 / 39 (679.3484)	12 (170.2628)	1 (178.8800)	17 (166.8228)	22 (163.3828)
2019-04-26	Q for a Cause 🏅 Papillion, NE	28 / 32 (637.5772)	15 (168.5600)	32 (146.2516)	29 (162.2512)	25 (160.5144)
2018-08-11	Seward County Fair Rib Rally (COMPETITORS SERIES) Seward, NE	—	—	2 (166.8800)	—	—
2018-05-18	7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition Valley, NE	39 / 42 (617.0520)	37 (157.7032)	38 (150.8460)	39 (147.9428)	26 (160.5600)

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
2021 ↗	Master	#902 (125 pts)	#795 (185 pts)	#1309 (60 pts)	#826 (165 pts)	#1245 (60 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#769 (95 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#490 (235 pts)	#542 (185 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#530 (623 pts)	#657 (523 pts)	#372 (878 pts)	#572 (608 pts)	#714 (468 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)