Riding a hot streak
6
straight overall top-10s
Currently on a 6-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 6
Belly Buss Barbeque
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1539
peak 1539 · rated over 16 contests ⓘ
Best runs
6
straight top-10s
Contests
17
in the data
First seen
2019-08-02
latest 2021-09-25
Best ToY finish
#167
Master 2021
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
7
of 17 contests
Avg finish
top 54%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
678.00 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 654.46 (+23.54)
Walk rate
47%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
and counting
Consistency
±23.37
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 163.75 · weakest Brisket (161.01)
Road miles
3,689
mi across 17 mapped stops · furthest 730 mi
Schedule strength
68%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)
Purse competed for
$66K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 16 state-championship entries
Master avg
654.46 / 720
15 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
602.77 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.
Storylines (11 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.
On the rise
+73
rating points in a year
Their power rating has climbed 73 points across 8 contests since 2020-10-16 — from 1466 up to 1539.
- 8 contests since 2020-10-16
- now 1539
High-water mark
695.9312
career-best overall
96.7% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 695.9312 at Central Maine BBQ Cook Off — 96.7% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2021-06-19
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
S & G BBQ has finished one call ahead of Belly Buss Barbeque 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Their season
2021
their best year
2021 was the year it came together: 7 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 29%.
- 7 contests
- 6 overall top-10s
- 1 category wins
- average top 29%
A tough matchup
7–0
behind in the head-to-head
iBQ'n ahead in 100% of their meetings
iBQ'n has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of RGDBBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Pork nemesis
7 of 7
shared pork entries lost
iBQ'n ahead 100% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, iBQ'n has out-cooked them in 7 of 7 shared pork entries.
Boom or bust
±18.79%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±18.79% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
- averages 95.7% of a perfect score
- best 167.4%
An August team
Top 39%
average finish in August
Something about August: average finish in the top 39% across 3 contests, versus top 54% the rest of the year.
- 3 August contests
- top 54% the rest of the year
The long haul
3,689
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,689 miles across 17 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 730 miles to Central Maine BBQ Cook Off.
- 17 mapped stops
- furthest 730 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.
73 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1973 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1539
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to Belly Buss Barbeque)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Belly Buss Barbeque has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1966 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1554
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 16 contests to 17, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#1984 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1539
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#1959 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 61%
- Peak
- 1539
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 18 contests, alongside a 61% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-head#1981 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1540
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 4 years before Belly Buss Barbeque's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#1960 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1543
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Belly Buss Barbeque's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE BBQ BUS | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| iBQ'n | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Mac Attack BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PADDY MCQ'S | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| FIREHOUSE SMOKE | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Shiggin aint easy | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| KEVLAR BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BooyaQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| PB&J's BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| S & G BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SmokinGhost BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| A MAZIE Q | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 177.1544 | 152.5828 | 163.23 | top 59% |
| Pork Ribs | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 177.7372 | 146.1944 | 162.23 | top 55% |
| Pork | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 175.4056 | 145.6228 | 163.75 | top 50% |
| Brisket | 16 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 173.7256 | 147.4172 | 161.01 | top 56% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 4 | 0 | top 65% |
| IN | 3 | 0 | top 94% |
| ME | 2 | 0 | top 25% |
| MA | 1 | 0 | top 38% |
| NY | 1 | 0 | top 20% |
| NH | 1 | 0 | top 31% |
| PA | 1 | 0 | top 11% |
| NJ | 1 | 0 | top 50% |
| WI | 1 | 0 | top 78% |
| OH | 1 | 0 | top 39% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 20% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 67% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 50% |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.1 yrs
2019-08-02 → 2021-09-25
Busiest season
2021
7 contests
Contests a season
5.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IN
4 of 17 contests · 10 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
16
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
17 entries · 1 win · 6 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 163.75 · weakest Brisket (161.01)
Walk rate
47%
a top-10 call in 8 of 17 contests
Overall top-10 rate
41%
7 of 17 contests
Best top-10 run
6
straight contests — and still running
Master average
654.46
out of 720 · 15 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
602.77
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
358
256–357 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
3,689
17 mapped stops · furthest 730 mi
Schedule strength
1586
average field rating faced — tougher than 68% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$66,000
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 16 state-championship entries
Power rating
1539
peak 1539 · #1971 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown
- First call Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown
- First overall top-10 Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score602.7656 Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown
- 2020
- 10th tracked contest Best of the Midwest BBQ
- 2021
- First overall podium Central Maine BBQ Cook Off
- Career-best overall score695.9312 Central Maine BBQ Cook Off
- First category win (Pork Ribs) I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.7372 I Love Barbecue & Music Festival
- Peak power rating (1539) Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown
- Most recent contest Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Central Maine BBQ Cook Off | 2021-06-19 |
| +14.5 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | 2021-05-14 |
| +14.4 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | 2021-09-03 |
| +10.5 | Granite State BBQ Championship | 2021-06-12 |
| +10 | Kora Kare For Kids Shriner's Ride-In and BBQ Competition | 2021-08-20 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.7 | New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival | 2019-09-27 |
| -10.4 | Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival | 2019-09-13 |
| -9.1 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl | 2020-07-17 |
| -8 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ Day 1 | 2020-09-11 |
| -6.4 | Rockin BBQ | 2020-05-29 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 86% | top 29% | 96.7% | 93.6% |
| 2020 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14% | top 76% | 93.3% | 89.1% |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 67% | 167.4% | 113.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-25 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown 🏅 Southwick, MA | 10 / 26 (659.3944) | 18 (157.1200) | 4 (167.9888) | 12 (166.8456) | 7 (167.4400) |
| 2021-09-03 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival 🏅 Lake Placid, NY | 3 / 15 (687.9772) | 5 (171.4172) | 1 (177.7372) | 6 (173.7028) | 9 (165.1200) |
| 2021-08-20 | Kora Kare For Kids Shriner's Ride-In and BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME | 8 / 26 (676.4800) | 18 (162.2628) | 7 (170.8344) | 12 (170.2628) | 6 (173.1200) |
| 2021-06-19 | Central Maine BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Skowhegan, ME | 3 / 15 (695.9312) | 4 (177.1544) | 6 (171.4056) | 3 (175.4056) | 6 (171.9656) |
| 2021-06-12 | Granite State BBQ Championship 🏅 Hancock, NH | 10 / 32 (670.2056) | 11 (170.8684) | 22 (159.3944) | 4 (170.8228) | 11 (169.1200) |
| 2021-05-14 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 5 / 46 (670.8116) | 24 (162.8572) | 5 (172.0000) | 2 (171.4172) | 13 (164.5372) |
| 2021-04-23 | New Jersey KnoQ-out: Day 1-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Blairstown, NJ | 20 / 40 (657.6116) | 13 (170.2628) | 31 (158.2972) | 18 (167.4060) | 23 (161.6456) |
| 2020-10-16 | Best of the Midwest BBQ 🏅 Union Grove, WI | 39 / 50 (634.1600) | 46 (154.2284) | 27 (163.4172) | 34 (159.9544) | 35 (156.5600) |
| 2020-09-18 | Smokin in the Hills 🏅 Hillsboro, OH | 16 / 41 (671.9656) | 24 (166.2628) | 21 (165.7144) | 19 (166.2628) | 2 (173.7256) |
| 2020-09-11 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ Day 1 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 34 / 36 (628.9368) | 34 (159.9428) | 28 (162.8112) | 35 (153.0972) | 35 (153.0856) |
| 2020-09-11 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ - One Meat Companion Contest Warsaw, IN | — | — | 32 (146.1944) | — | — |
| 2020-08-07 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 28 / 42 (650.2284) | 26 (162.8572) | 21 (165.1084) | 32 (161.1544) | 29 (161.1084) |
| 2020-07-17 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl 🏅 Sault Ste Marie, MI | 29 / 31 (627.9200) | 25 (157.6800) | 25 (157.6800) | 23 (159.9772) | 29 (152.5828) |
| 2020-05-29 | Rockin BBQ 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 57 / 66 (636.4684) | 39 (162.8228) | 47 (158.8572) | 33 (163.3712) | 65 (151.4172) |
| 2019-09-27 | New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival 🏅 New Albany, IN | 23 / 23 (617.5200) | 19 (162.2400) | 22 (157.0972) | 22 (150.7656) | 23 (147.4172) |
| 2019-09-13 | Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival 🏅 Mears, MI | 28 / 35 (631.2920) | 27 (161.1088) | 33 (148.5144) | 18 (163.9772) | 26 (157.6916) |
| 2019-08-02 | Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 8 / 40 (602.7656) | 5 (152.5828) | 6 (154.8800) | 10 (145.6228) | 5 (149.6800) |
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 | #167 (1104 pts) | #240 (839 pts) | #175 (1094 pts) | #151 (1164 pts) | #214 (919 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #283 (401 pts) | #342 (361 pts) | #280 (454 pts) | #312 (396 pts) | #207 (556 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1581 (118 pts) | #1495 (138 pts) | #1559 (123 pts) | #1406 (158 pts) | #1637 (118 pts) |