Smoke Eaters

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#4777

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1467

peak 1467 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-07-26

latest 2021-08-20

Best ToY finish

#1174

Master 2021

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 12 contests

Avg finish

top 70%

overall standings

Best overall

645.0516 / 720

Master · 6th Annual Big Island BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

622.05 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 616.63 (+5.42)

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

166.9256

Pork · Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ

Consistency

±27.52

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 159.42 · weakest Chicken (150.48)

Road miles

6,233

mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 1571 mi

Schedule strength

25%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1534)

Purse competed for

$20K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

616.63 / 720

8 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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.

A tough matchup

4–0 behind in the head-to-head

DRY 2 DA BONE ahead in 100% of their meetings

DRY 2 DA BONE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The weak link

−8.9 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.94 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 13%.

Chicken avg 150.48
Pork avg 159.42
0 calls in 8 entries

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Piggy Blues BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

The comeback

2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival (2021-08-20).

last seen 2019-08-16
back 2021-08-20

Pork nemesis

4 of 4 shared pork entries lost

DRY 2 DA BONE ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, DRY 2 DA BONE has out-cooked them in 4 of 4 shared pork entries.

The long haul

6,233 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,233 miles across 12 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,571 miles to Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ.

12 mapped stops
furthest 1,571 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.

145 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Grilluminati

#4793 of the rated field

1467 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1511

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1511 at their best, 44 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

JIM BOB'S BBQ

#4783 of the rated field

1467 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1467

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than Smoke Eaters has cooked, 8 to 12, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2019-07-05

⚔ Head-to-head

TOM'S SMOKIN' GOOD TIMES BBQ

#4760 of the rated field

1467 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 7 years before Smoke Eaters's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

AJ’S SMOKEHOUSE BBQ

#4795 of the rated field

1467 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1467

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 11 years after Smoke Eaters did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-05-23

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ TEAM NATTE

#4766 of the rated field

1467 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1467

No shared contest yet.

Level with Smoke Eaters on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2023-09-10

⚔ Head-to-head

R.C.BUCK'S GRILLIN' TEAM

#4758 of the rated field

1467 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1467

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2020-09-11

⚔ Head-to-head

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	0	0	0	160.0116	133.7028	150.48	top 84%
Pork Ribs	8	0	0	0	165.1316	122.3200	155.42	top 67%
Pork	8	1	1	1	166.9256	147.9428	159.42	top 65%
Brisket	8	1	0	0	164.5716	134.2400	151.32	top 65%

“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	Avg finish
MN	3	top 68%
WY	2	top 78%
IL	1	top 85%
IA	1	top 86%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	3	0	top 61%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 75%

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 8.1 yrs 2013-07-26 → 2021-08-20

Busiest season 2015 3 contests

Contests a season 1.7 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in NC 3 of 12 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 8 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 159.42 · weakest Chicken (150.48)

Walk rate 8% a top-10 call in 1 of 12 contests

Overall top-10 rate 8% 1 of 12 contests

Master average 616.63 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 271 96–258 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 6,233 12 mapped stops · furthest 1,571 mi

Schedule strength 1534 average field rating faced — tougher than 25% of rated contests

Purse competed for $20,000 listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 2 yrs 2019-08-16 → 2021-08-20

Power rating 1467 peak 1467 · #4777 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Jul 26 First tracked contest Up in Smoke BBQ Bash
Aug 23 Career-best overall score645.0516 6th Annual Big Island BBQ
2014
May 2 First call Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ
May 2 First category win (Pork) Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ
May 2 First overall top-10 Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ
May 2 Career-best single call (Pork)166.9256 Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ
May 2 Peak power rating (1498) Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ
2017
Sep 22 10th tracked contest Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge
2021
Aug 20 Most recent contest Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.6	Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ	2014-05-02

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.7	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	2013-07-26
-9.6	Windy City BBQ Classic	2015-09-11
-8.1	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival	2019-08-16
-8	Big Island BBQ	2014-08-22
-3.2	Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival	2021-08-20

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	1	0	0	0%	top 70%	86.9%	86.9%
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 87%	82%	82%
2017	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2016	2	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2015	3	0	0	0%	top 76%	89%	87.4%
2014	2	1	1	50%	top 53%	88.3%	82.9%
2013	2	0	0	0%	top 72%	89.6%	87.9%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021-08-20	Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	21 / 30 (625.6576)	27 (151.4288)	18 (160.0000)	23 (157.6800)	21 (156.5488)
2019-08-16	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	26 / 30 (590.6284)	29 (141.6572)	23 (153.6916)	28 (147.9428)	23 (147.3368)
2017-09-22	Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge Newton, NC	—	—	—	—	—
2016-09-23	Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge Newton, NC	—	—	—	—	—
2016-08-26	Franklin BBQ Festival Presented By Franklin Noon Rotary Club Franklin, TN	—	—	—	—	—
2015-09-25	Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge Newton, NC	—	—	—	—	—
2015-09-11	Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL	52 / 61 (617.5428)	57 (152.5256)	41 (157.0972)	44 (159.9656)	50 (147.9544)
2015-08-07	Med City BBQ & Musicfest Rochester, MN	31 / 47 (640.5488)	33 (160.0116)	17 (165.1316)	21 (165.7372)	40 (149.6684)
2014-08-22	Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN	44 / 54 (635.8972)	45 (157.7028)	41 (161.7144)	32 (163.9544)	43 (152.5256)
2014-05-02	Nassau Bahamas Smokin' Hot BBQ Nassau Bahamas, 00907	6 / 24 (557.1884)	17 (133.7028)	23 (122.3200)	1 (166.9256)	8 (134.2400)
2013-08-23	6th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN	29 / 50 (645.0516)	36 (159.9772)	30 (162.2400)	38 (158.2628)	14 (164.5716)
2013-07-26	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	57 / 66 (620.5488)	64 (146.8344)	40 (161.1428)	60 (154.8572)	44 (157.7144)

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
2021 ↗	Master	#1174 (75 pts)	#1544 (55 pts)	#1202 (90 pts)	#1247 (65 pts)	#1193 (75 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#2530 (55 pts)	#2538 (55 pts)	#1996 (65 pts)	#2529 (55 pts)	#1973 (65 pts)