A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Serial Griller ahead in 100% of their meetings
Serial Griller has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
CAVE MAN BBQ
CAVE MAN BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 16th of 17 at the Smokin in the Valley (2019). They are ranked #5665 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “CAVEMAN BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1447
peak 1447 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jun 13, 2014
latest Nov 9, 2019 · 5.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 84%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
583.43 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 584.45 (-1.02)
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.53
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 151.21 · weakest Brisket (136.80)
Road miles
14,300
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 11,638 mi
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1546)
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
584.45 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
309.12 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to CAVE MAN BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
106 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,649 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,653 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
Level with CAVE MAN BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,648 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,670 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,663 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
Fewer contests behind them than CAVE MAN BBQ has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#5,651 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1447
Fewer contests behind them than CAVE MAN BBQ has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serial Griller | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 156.0460 | 139.9428 | 148.64 | top 90% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5600 | 134.2972 | 147.80 | top 80% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.4056 | 142.8800 | 151.21 | top 80% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 161.7028 | 126.7888 | 136.80 | top 83% |
“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 94% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 83% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off | 2 | 24 | 0 | top 87% | May 18, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
VA
7 of 9 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
172
finished ahead 57 times, behind 176
Longest layoff
1 yrs
May 15, 2015 → May 20, 2016
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20193 milestones
- First call Smokin in the Valley
- Career-best overall score608.6288 Smokin in the Valley
- Most recent contest Smokin in the Valley
20181 milestone
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)164.5600 Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off
20142 milestones
- First tracked contest California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1492) California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.9 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition | Apr 26, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Smokin in the Valley | Nov 9, 2019 |
| -11.4 | Chesapeake Jubilee | May 20, 2016 |
| -10.4 | Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off | May 15, 2015 |
| -8.5 | California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship | Jun 13, 2014 |
| -8.4 | Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off | May 18, 2018 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 72% | 85.9% | 85.2% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 82.8% | 82.8% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 79.4% | 79.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 80.3% | 80.3% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 78.1% | 78.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 81.9% | 81.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9, 2019 | Smokin in the Valley Herne Hill WA | 16 / 17 (608.6288) | 13 (156.0460) | 15 (148) | 17 (142.8800) | 8 (161.7028) |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition 🏅 Lanexa, VA | 16 / 32 (309.1200) | — | — | — | — |
| May 18, 2018 | Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off Chesapeake, VA | 24 / 27 (596.3656) | 24 (153.1084) | 13 (164.5600) | 23 (151.3828) | 26 (127.3144) |
| Apr 27, 2018 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lenexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 19, 2017 | Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off Chesapeake, VA | 29 / 34 (571.8056) | 31 (139.9428) | 24 (148.5488) | 27 (151.9428) | 29 (131.3712) |
| Apr 28, 2017 | 4th Annual Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lanexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 20, 2016 | Chesapeake Jubilee Chesapeake, VA | 25 / 26 (578.1372) | 24 (153.6456) | 25 (142.2972) | 18 (155.4056) | 25 (126.7888) |
| May 15, 2015 | Chesapeake Jubilee BBQ Cook-Off Chesapeake, VA | 32 / 36 (562.2172) | 32 (141.0856) | 34 (134.2972) | 23 (154.2856) | 31 (132.5488) |
| Jun 13, 2014 | California Honey Harvest Festival & BBQ Championship Fillmore, CA | 26 / 30 (589.5656) | 30 (148) | 25 (149.0856) | 25 (151.3828) | 27 (141.0972) |