The comeback
1.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.8 years, then back at Silicon Valley BBQ Championships (2015-06-26).
- last seen 2013-08-31
- back 2015-06-26
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1491
peak 1491 · rated over 1 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2018-05-05
latest 2018-05-05
Best ToY finish
#2516
Master 2018
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 89%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 161.13 · weakest Pork Ribs (147.11)
Road miles
6,816
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 2580 mi
Master avg
618.11 / 720
1 Master contest · 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 long haul
6,816
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,816 miles across 6 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 2,580 miles to Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series).
- 6 mapped stops
- furthest 2,580 mi
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.
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE has 1 rated contest — 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 147 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.
#3620 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3610 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 5 years after WHERE THERE'S SMOKE did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Head-to-head#3609 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1491
No shared contest yet.
Level with WHERE THERE'S SMOKE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3618 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1491
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3590 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1491
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3599 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1491
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, 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 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 155.3944 | 153.7028 | 154.55 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149.0744 | 145.1428 | 147.11 | top 77% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 152.5144 | 152.5144 | 152.51 | top 93% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1316 | 161.1316 | 161.13 | top 70% |
“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.
The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
0 yrs
2018-05-05 → 2018-05-05
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
CA
4 of 6 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
1
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
2 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Brisket
averages 161.13 · weakest Pork Ribs (147.11)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Master average
618.11
out of 720 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
26
3–23 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
6,816
6 mapped stops · furthest 2,580 mi
Longest layoff
1.8 yrs
2013-08-31 → 2015-06-26
Power rating
1491
peak 1491 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series)
- First call Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series)
- 2018
- Career-best overall score618.1148 Atlanta BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Brisket)161.1316 Atlanta BBQ Festival
- Most recent contest Silicon Valley BBQ Championship
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 85.8% | 85.8% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-22 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018-05-05 | Atlanta BBQ Festival Atlanta, GA | 24 / 27 (618.1148) | 25 (155.3944) | 23 (149.0744) | 25 (152.5144) | 19 (161.1316) |
| 2017-06-23 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016-06-24 | Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships Santa Clara, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015-06-26 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championships Santa Clara, CA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013-08-31 | Blues, Views and BBQ (Competitor's Series) Westport, CT | — | 10 (153.7028) | 15 (145.1428) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #2516 (57 pts) | #2565 (52 pts) | #1992 (62 pts) | #2561 (52 pts) | #1890 (82 pts) |