YOU NEED A BBQ AB
Rating
1577
peak 1600
Contests
30
in the data
First seen
2019-05-25
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#229
Master 2023
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
3
11 podiums
Overall top-10s
15
of 30 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
679.83 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 648.62 (+31.21)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
best run (overall)
Consistency
±95.27
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 168.75 · weakest Pork (165.29)
Road miles
10981
mi across 30 mapped stops · furthest 1289 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ has finished one call ahead of YOU NEED A BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Homestead Smoke Shack has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
SMELLAQUE has come out ahead in 22 of their 26 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of MOTLEY QUE in 17 of their 20 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Barbeque on the Bow Festival is their spot: an average finish in the top 18% across 2 visits.
📅 A June team
Something about June: average finish in the top 25% across 4 contests, versus top 36% the rest of the year.
Teams like this (closest power rating, AB first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 28 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 176.5944 | 153.7256 | 165.47 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 28 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 155.4516 | 167.08 | top 41% |
| Pork | 27 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 177.7028 | 141.0740 | 165.29 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 27 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 177.1428 | 150.7884 | 168.75 | top 30% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 17 | 0 | top 38% |
| MT | 5 | 0 | top 35% |
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 52% |
| BC | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 37% |
| Medium (20–39) | 20 | 0 | top 40% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 28% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in AB (19 of 30 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (28 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 648.62
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 679.9316 | 679.93 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 695.3368 | 669.62 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 681.6456 | 670.91 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 689.6804 | 685.09 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 679.3368 | 674.07 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 630.8228 | 630.82 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 627.9084 | 627.91 |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 672.6400 | 549.19 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 8 / 23 (679.9316) | 6 (170.8344) | 8 (169.1200) | 15 (162.8344) | 3 (177.1428) |
| 2026-05-23 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Calmar, AB | — | 6 (170.2744) | — | — | — |
| 2026-05-23 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Calmar, AB | — | — | 13 (165.1200) | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 47 / 401 (695.3368) | 91 (174.2628) | 145 (171.9656) | 102 (174.2628) | 61 (174.8456) |
| 2025-09-27 | Smoke in the Valley Edmonton, AB | 14 / 23 (661.0516) | 23 (158.7884) | 6 (170.8572) | 12 (166.2516) | 13 (165.1544) |
| 2025-08-30 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 11 / 38 (674.8572) | 27 (165.7028) | 6 (172.0000) | 19 (168.5600) | 9 (168.5944) |
| 2025-08-22 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 14 / 38 (687.9772) | 7 (176.5944) | 26 (166.8456) | 27 (168.5372) | 9 (176.0000) |
| 2025-07-26 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 25 / 32 (651.8396) | 20 (166.2628) | 28 (161.0968) | 25 (161.6572) | 18 (162.8228) |
| 2025-05-24 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 21 / 34 (646.6744) | 20 (161.6800) | 17 (161.6572) | 24 (158.8116) | 16 (164.5256) |
| 2024-08-23 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 18 / 39 (681.6456) | 17 (169.7028) | 30 (163.4172) | 8 (174.2628) | 8 (174.2628) |
| 2024-06-01 | Columbia Valley Smoke Show Invermere, BC | 5 / 9 (681.0972) | 6 (163.9772) | 4 (171.4172) | 5 (169.7028) | 2 (176.0000) |
| 2024-05-25 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 14 / 39 (675.9200) | 26 (164.5372) | 18 (165.1428) | 14 (170.8344) | 6 (175.4056) |
| 2024-04-05 | Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS | 89 / 97 (644.9712) | 90 (157.1084) | 84 (162.2628) | 85 (162.8000) | 78 (162.8000) |
| 2023-09-16 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival) Sherwood Park, Edmonton, AB | 15 / 29 (673.6916) | 10 (170.2856) | 19 (163.9888) | 16 (164.5372) | 5 (174.8800) |
| 2023-09-02 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 3 / 40 (689.0968) | 22 (166.8112) | 5 (174.8572) | 12 (172.5828) | 4 (174.8456) |
| 2023-08-25 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 7 / 44 (689.6576) | 32 (163.9660) | 1 (180.0000) | 6 (173.7144) | 7 (171.9772) |
| 2023-08-05 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 3 / 17 (683.3368) | 4 (172.5484) | 5 (170.2744) | 8 (165.1084) | 2 (175.4056) |
| 2023-06-03 | Small Town Smoke Down Bassano, AB | 4 / 23 (689.6804) | 13 (169.1316) | 11 (169.1316) | 4 (176.0000) | 5 (175.4172) |
| 2022-09-03 | Barbeque on the Bow Calgary, AB | 2 / 36 (679.3368) | 5 (172.5484) | 6 (170.2628) | 13 (167.9884) | 6 (168.5372) |
| 2022-08-26 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 19 / 37 (671.2680) | 12 (171.9772) | 27 (163.3596) | 20 (167.4056) | 17 (168.5256) |
| 2022-06-03 | Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta Bassano, AB | 5 / 31 (674.9144) | 26 (155.3828) | 1 (177.1544) | 3 (176.0572) | 12 (166.3200) |
| 2022-05-28 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival SHERWOOD PARK, AB | 7 / 39 (670.7772) | 14 (165.0972) | 5 (169.7028) | 2 (177.7028) | 22 (158.2744) |
| 2021-08-14 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival SHERWOOD PARK, AB | 13 / 25 (630.8228) | 13 (157.7144) | 14 (157.7028) | 15 (157.1200) | 10 (158.2856) |
| 2020-09-26 | BBQ on the Bow Didsbury, AB | 9 / 21 (627.9084) | 12 (155.4056) | 11 (155.4516) | 12 (161.1084) | 11 (155.9428) |
| 2019-08-31 | BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T3B 0H7 | 4 / 37 (166.2972) | 15 (160.5600) | 10 (162.8456) | 19 (158.8456) | 1 (171.4056) |
| 2019-08-23 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 7 / 29 (666.7316) | 14 (163.9544) | 6 (168.5372) | 10 (159.9428) | 2 (174.2972) |
| 2019-08-10 | Battle River BBQ Showdown Camrose, AB | 8 / 20 (631.3028) | 4 (162.2628) | 8 (162.8228) | 18 (141.0744) | 3 (165.1428) |
| 2019-06-15 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, T6E 5K1 | 5 / 44 (672.6400) | 2 (172.0572) | 9 (168.0000) | 14 (163.9656) | 9 (168.6172) |
| 2019-05-25 | Heritage Heat Western Smokin BBQ Mountain View, AB | 17 / 22 (608.9708) | 17 (153.7256) | 7 (163.3828) | 21 (141.0740) | 15 (150.7884) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #578 (143 pts) | #403 (321 pts) | #503 (246 pts) | #729 (98 pts) | #459 (223 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #385 (544 pts) | #452 (509 pts) | #404 (614 pts) | #456 (444 pts) | #353 (654 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #456 (429 pts) | #537 (369 pts) | #557 (399 pts) | #433 (489 pts) | #362 (624 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #229 (919 pts) | #402 (564 pts) | #295 (839 pts) | #294 (734 pts) | #216 (969 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #330 (696 pts) | #466 (481 pts) | #364 (701 pts) | #346 (696 pts) | #481 (471 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1029 (110 pts) | #1087 (110 pts) | #1144 (105 pts) | #1113 (100 pts) | #934 (125 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #438 (746 pts) | #449 (761 pts) | #469 (741 pts) | #695 (481 pts) | #320 (1001 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #339 (995 pts) | #460 (790 pts) | #246 (1205 pts) | #384 (920 pts) | #467 (785 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #491 (765 pts) | #846 (465 pts) | #610 (660 pts) | #606 (665 pts) | #337 (1110 pts) |