PAPA JIM'S BBQ IL
Rating
1492
peak 1504 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
2019-06-07
latest 2022-09-29
Best ToY finish
#544
Master 2022
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 53%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
631.83 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 643.50 (-11.67)
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±54.46
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 169.36 · weakest Pork (150.77)
Road miles
1339
mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 362 mi
Schedule strength
66%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$93K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
643.50 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
506.21 / 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.
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Heavy Smoke BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Justice BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
😤 Chicken nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, TRIPLE H BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 7 shared chicken entries.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 4 of 22 at their very first tracked contest, Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY) ().
🔁 The comeback
Off the trail for 1.9 years, then back at Route 66 Smoke Out (2021-05-01).
Teams like this (closest power rating, IL first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmokinGhost BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Heavy Smoke BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Up From The Pits BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| T-MAC SMOKIN | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Fergolicious BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SHOT IN THE DARK COMPETITION BBQ TEAM | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| LOVE 2 Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Mulkey's BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SLAPS BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 178.8572 | 159.3484 | 169.36 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.5484 | 153.6228 | 163.71 | top 57% |
| Pork | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 20.0000 | 150.77 | top 52% |
| Brisket | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.7028 | 145.0632 | 162.46 | top 59% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 4 | 0 | top 33% |
| KS | 3 | 0 | top 53% |
| MO | 2 | 0 | top 93% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 57% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 48% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | 2 | 206 | 0 | top 46% | 2022-09-29 |
| Route 66 Smoke Out | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 34% | 2022-05-06 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2022 (6 contests)
- Cooks mostly in KS (4 of 10 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (9 entries)
- Average Master overall score: 643.50 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 506.21 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 — First tracked contest · Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY)
- 📣 — First call · Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY)
- 📈 2021-05-01 — Peak power rating (1504) · Route 66 Smoke Out
- ⭐ 2022-09-29 — Career-best overall score (675.3028) · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.5 | Route 66 Smoke Out | 2022-05-06 |
| +7.1 | Route 66 Smoke Out | 2021-05-01 |
| +3.7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | 2022-09-29 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.7 | Kickin It Route 66 Barbeque Challenge - Day 2 | 2022-03-26 |
| -7.8 | Kickin It Route 66 Barbeque Challenge - Day 1 | 2022-03-25 |
| -3.8 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | 2021-09-16 |
| -3.5 | Blues,Brews & Barbecue | 2019-06-07 |
| -1.2 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST | 2022-09-29 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 18% | 140.6% | 140.6% |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17% | top 67% | 93.8% | 87.8% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 39% | 93.5% | 93% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 48% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-01 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 171 / 249 (675.3028) | 74 (174.2628) | 178 (167.3944) | 214 (164.5372) | 132 (169.1084) |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 237 / 505 (670.1712) | 158 (170.8456) | 431 (157.6572) | 237 (167.9656) | 64 (173.7028) |
| 2022-05-06 | Route 66 Smoke Out 🏅 Dwight, IL | 11 / 33 (675.2796) | 22 (167.3828) | 8 (168.5484) | 3 (176.5600) | 22 (162.7884) |
| 2022-03-26 | Kickin It Route 66 Barbeque Challenge - Day 2 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 39 / 39 (503.8396) | 37 (159.3484) | 21 (167.4056) | 39 (20.0000) | 35 (157.0856) |
| 2022-03-25 | Kickin It Route 66 Barbeque Challenge - Day 1 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 33 / 38 (634.5712) | 25 (165.6684) | 34 (153.6228) | 35 (155.9200) | 31 (159.3600) |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 206 / 467 (665.6340) | 96 (171.9772) | 333 (161.1200) | 92 (171.4056) | 284 (161.1312) |
| 2021-05-01 | Route 66 Smoke Out 🏅 Dwight, IL | 15 / 44 (673.0400) | 24 (167.9656) | 14 (167.9888) | 21 (165.6684) | 10 (171.4172) |
| 2019-06-07 | Blues,Brews & Barbecue 🏅 Beardstown, IL | 12 / 25 (650.1720) | 2 (178.8572) | 14 (161.1316) | 11 (165.1200) | 21 (145.0632) |
| Decatur's Smokin BBQ Festival Backyard Competition Presented by Kenney's Ace Hardware(BACKYARD ONLY) Decatur, IL | 4 / 22 (506.2056) | 8 (167.9656) | 7 (168.5256) | 4 (169.7144) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #544 (368 pts) | #628 (313 pts) | #564 (413 pts) | #476 (473 pts) | #626 (313 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #790 (170 pts) | #961 (125 pts) | #855 (175 pts) | #898 (140 pts) | #759 (195 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1620 (115 pts) | #1075 (250 pts) | #1768 (105 pts) | #1584 (120 pts) | #1947 (70 pts) |