BIG AL AND THE BOYS BARBECUE

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

Power ranking

#1854

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1545

peak 1545 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-10-24

latest 2019-10-25

Best ToY finish

#1342

Master 2019

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

691.9200 / 720

Master · *Smoke On the Trails

Perfect 180s

Current form

677.84 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 663.76 (+14.08)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

176.5600

Pork · *Border War Barbeque

Consistency

±21.99

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 169.70 · weakest Chicken (164.04)

Road miles

211

mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 48 mi

Schedule strength

69%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)

Purse competed for

$10K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

663.76 / 720

8 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

63% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 5 of 8 contests

A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

691.9200 career-best overall

96.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 691.9200 at *Smoke On the Trails — 96.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
2018-09-28

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

ALL FORKED UP FOR Q has finished one call ahead of BIG AL AND THE BOYS BARBECUE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2018 their best year

2018 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 33%.

4 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 33%

A tough matchup

5–1 behind in the head-to-head

DIRT ROAD BBQ ahead in 83% of their meetings

DIRT ROAD BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.7 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.66 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 63%.

Chicken avg 164.04
Pork avg 169.70
0 calls in 8 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of HOUSE'S BAR-B-QUE in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

The comeback

2.8 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.8 years, then back at Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ (2018-07-27).

last seen 2015-10-23
back 2018-07-27

Pork nemesis

5 of 6 shared pork entries lost

DIRT ROAD BBQ ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, DIRT ROAD BBQ has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared pork entries.

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.

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

K-Dubs BBQ

#1862 of the rated field

1544 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1544

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-11-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Grillbilly's BBQ

#1852 of the rated field

1545 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1545

No shared contest yet.

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 13 contests to 8.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

F.B.I. BBQ - FAT BOYS OF ILLINOIS

#1858 of the rated field

1544 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1544

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 3 years before BIG AL AND THE BOYS BARBECUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

MR. BIBS

#1851 of the rated field

1545 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1545

No shared contest yet.

Level with BIG AL AND THE BOYS BARBECUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2021-09-16

⚔ Head-to-head

Nickel City Smokers

#1845 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1545

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2018-09-22

⚔ Head-to-head

Bourbon Barrel Smokers

#1847 of the rated field

1545 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1545

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after BIG AL AND THE BOYS BARBECUE did, first appearing in 2021.

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
HIGH i QUE	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
HOUSE'S BAR-B-QUE	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Wildhouse BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
BALDIN' SMOKIN' BANDITOS	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Fat&Dumb BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
MAN MEAT BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Pork Pullers	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' SAUCED	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	0	0	170.8344	157.0972	164.04	top 63%
Pork Ribs	8	2	0	176.5600	151.4172	165.62	top 50%
Pork	8	5	1	176.5600	156.5256	169.70	top 36%
Brisket	8	1	0	173.7028	152.5488	164.40	top 47%

“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 contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	2	0	top 68%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 35%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Border War Barbeque	2	10	0	top 34%	2019-10-25
Border War BBQ	2	24	0	top 76%	2015-10-23

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

On the trail 5 yrs 2014-10-24 → 2019-10-25

Busiest season 2018 4 contests

Contests a season 2 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 8 of 8 contests

Contests visited 6 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 169.70 · weakest Chicken (164.04)

Walk rate 63% a top-10 call in 5 of 8 contests

Overall top-10 rate 38% 3 of 8 contests

Best top-10 run 3 straight contests

Master average 663.76 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 237 241–139 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 211 8 mapped stops · furthest 48 mi

Schedule strength 1586 average field rating faced — tougher than 69% of rated contests

Purse competed for $10,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 2.8 yrs 2015-10-23 → 2018-07-27

Power rating 1545 peak 1545 · #1854 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Oct 24 First tracked contest Border War BBQ
2018
Jul 27 First call Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ
Jul 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.1944 Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ
Sep 28 First overall top-10 *Smoke On the Trails
Sep 28 Career-best overall score691.9200 *Smoke On the Trails
Oct 26 Career-best single call (Pork)176.5600 *Border War Barbeque
2019
Oct 25 Peak power rating (1545) Border War Barbeque
Oct 25 Most recent contest Border War Barbeque

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.9	*Smoke On the Trails	2018-09-28
+15	Cookin on the Kaw BBQ Contest(JUDGES FULL)	2019-10-11
+14.3	*Border War Barbeque	2018-10-26
+6.5	*East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival	2018-08-24
+3.7	Border War Barbeque	2019-10-25

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.2	Border War BBQ	2014-10-24
-2.2	Border War BBQ	2015-10-23
-0.5	Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ	2018-07-27

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	2	1	50%	top 29%	93.5%	93.5%
2018	4	2	100%	top 33%	96.1%	93.6%
2015	1	0	0%	top 69%	89.6%	89.6%
2014	1	0	0%	top 83%	86.3%	86.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-10-25	Border War Barbeque 🏅 Osawatomie, KS	22 / 44 (673.0172)	28 (165.0972)	15 (170.8228)	26 (166.2628)	19 (170.8344)
2019-10-11	Cookin on the Kaw BBQ Contest(JUDGES FULL) 🏅 DeSoto, KS	4 / 51 (176.5600)	19 (170.8344)	41 (158.2288)	10 (173.1200)	8 (173.7028)
2018-10-26	*Border War Barbeque Osawatomie, KS	10 / 56 (688.4800)	27 (168.5256)	13 (173.7144)	5 (176.5600)	24 (169.6800)
2018-09-28	*Smoke On the Trails Gardner, KS	7 / 68 (691.9200)	34 (167.9772)	4 (176.5600)	2 (176.5600)	14 (170.8228)
2018-08-24	*East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	26 / 67 (659.9204)	38 (159.3828)	49 (159.4288)	6 (176.0000)	22 (165.1088)
2018-07-27	Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ Iola, KS	18 / 27 (654.1944)	25 (157.0972)	10 (170.8572)	8 (172.5600)	24 (153.6800)
2015-10-23	Border War BBQ Osawatomie, KS	24 / 35 (645.0860)	29 (162.2744)	20 (163.9656)	29 (160.0000)	21 (158.8460)
2014-10-24	Border War BBQ Osawatomie, KS	34 / 41 (621.6116)	29 (161.1200)	37 (151.4172)	32 (156.5256)	30 (152.5488)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#1342 (155 pts)	#1441 (150 pts)	#1347 (170 pts)	#1247 (195 pts)	#1100 (245 pts)