The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
All About the Wood has finished one call ahead of Wolf Valley BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Wolf Valley BBQ
Wolf Valley BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 16 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 23 at the Rekindled Ironman (2025). They are ranked #2768 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1512
peak 1533 · rated over 14 contests
Contests
16
in the data
First seen
Mar 24, 2023
latest May 15, 2026 · 3.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
25% of 16 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
325.65 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 311.66 (+13.99)
Walk rate
31%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±50.62
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 166.39 · weakest Pork (135.37)
Road miles
754
across 16 mapped stops · furthest 166 mi
Schedule strength
62%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1578)
Purse competed for
$103K
listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 15 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
311.66 / 360
12 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
474.49 / 540
2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #188 (212 pts) | #166 (267 pts) | #213 (192 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #98 (557 pts) | #81 (697 pts) | #145 (427 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #250 (171 pts) | #231 (196 pts) | #279 (146 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #172 (276 pts) | #173 (283 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Wolf Valley BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
127 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,783 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1531
Careers of much the same size, 13 contests to 16, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,769 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1525
13 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 8% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#2,751 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1517
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Wolf Valley BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,757 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 21%
- Peak
- 1536
They were already cooking in 2015, 8 years before Wolf Valley BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,763 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1515
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,771 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1512
Level with Wolf Valley BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | 12 | 7 | 5 | 58% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 12 | 1 | 10 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| 3 EYZ BBQ | 11 | 4 | 7 | 36% | ⚔ compare |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 11 | 3 | 7 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKECRAFT - MD | 11 | 1 | 8 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| 4 BOXERS Q | 10 | 7 | 3 | 70% | ⚔ compare |
| MRC_Barbecue | 10 | 2 | 8 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Leaning Jowler BBQ | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Backwooder BBQ | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| All About the Wood | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| UP IN SMOKERS | 8 | 5 | 2 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| HotMess BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Weber's Backyard BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Piggy & Swine BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 13 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 176.5600 | 149.6228 | 166.39 | top 37% |
| Pork Ribs | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 142.2516 | 158.75 | top 53% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.3600 | 78.8456 | 135.37 | top 53% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 64% |
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 0 | top 50% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 43% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) | 6 | 5 | 0 | top 45% | May 15, 2026 |
| BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | 4 | 15 | 0 | top 43% | Mar 23, 2024 |
| Rekindled Ironman | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 39% | Apr 3, 2026 |
| York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 85% | Jun 27, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
5 contests
Contests a season
4
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PA
10 of 16 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
4 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
14 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
223
finished ahead 316 times, behind 404
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)
20252 milestones
- First overall podium Rekindled Ironman
- Peak power rating (1533) Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)
20244 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score324.5028 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)
- First overall top-10 Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2)
- 10th tracked contest Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5600 Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2)
20233 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Chicken)
- First call BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)
- Career-best overall score480.5028 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.8 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) | May 18, 2024 |
| +13.3 | Rekindled Ironman | Apr 4, 2025 |
| +11.8 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) | May 16, 2025 |
| +7.1 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | Mar 23, 2024 |
| +4.4 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) | Mar 24, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.5 | York County BBQ Festival | Jun 16, 2023 |
| -6.8 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) | Jun 27, 2025 |
| -5.7 | Rekindled Ironman | Apr 3, 2026 |
| -5.7 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | May 19, 2023 |
| -5.3 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) | May 17, 2025 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 64% | 91.7% | 90.9% |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50% | top 41% | 94.3% | 91.2% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20% | top 37% | 96.2% | 92.4% |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20% | top 60% | 89% | 74.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2026 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 16 / 25 (330.2400) | 13 (167.3712) | 18 (162.8688) | — | — |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Rekindled Ironman 🏅 Seven Valleys, PA | 9 / 14 (323.9084) | 5 (171.9656) | 10 (151.9428) | — | — |
| Jun 27, 2025 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA | 19 / 26 (316.4912) | 13 (166.2284) | 23 (150.2628) | — | — |
| May 17, 2025 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 13 / 21 (318.7772) | 11 (161.6572) | 13 (157.1200) | — | — |
| May 16, 2025 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 5 / 28 (338.8344) | 2 (172.0116) | 10 (166.8228) | — | — |
| Apr 4, 2025 | Rekindled Ironman 🏅 Seven Valleys, PA | 3 / 23 (339.4516) | 2 (174.2972) | 6 (165.1544) | — | — |
| May 18, 2024 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 5 / 26 (346.2516) | 2 (176.5600) | 6 (169.6916) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 17 / 37 (330.2400) | 13 (167.4172) | 17 (162.8228) | — | — |
| Mar 23, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 15 / 42 (329.6572) | 12 (167.9772) | 21 (161.6800) | 28 (78.8456) | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 22 / 45 (324.5028) | 20 (162.8228) | 21 (161.6800) | 23 (159.3600) | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Chicken) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 16, 2023 | York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA | 28 / 29 (291.8744) | 28 (149.6228) | 27 (142.2516) | — | — |
| May 19, 2023 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 22 / 37 (149.6572) | — | 21 (149.6572) | — | — |
| Mar 25, 2023 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 23 / 46 (468.4688) | 23 (153.1200) | 17 (162.2860) | 23 (153.0628) | — |
| Mar 24, 2023 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 19 / 53 (480.5028) | 6 (172) | 20 (158.2856) | 23 (150.2172) | — |
| Mar 24, 2023 | BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Chicken) Urbanna, VA | — | — | — | — | — |