NEW RIVER BOYS

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

Power ranking

#3043

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1504

peak 1516 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2019-10-25

latest 2022-11-12

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

500.4456 / 360

Backyard · Zom-B-Q

Perfect 180s

Current form

388.25 ▼

last 5 Backyard vs avg 410.89 (-22.63)

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1544

Pork Ribs · Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague

Consistency

±79.22

std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 162.01 · weakest Pork (159.03)

Road miles

756

mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 390 mi

Schedule strength

83%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1609)

Purse competed for

$25K

listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 6 state-championship entries

Backyard avg

410.89 / 360

9 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (9 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.

They almost always walk

67% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 6 of 9 contests

A top-10 category call in 67% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

500.4456 career-best overall

139.0% of a perfect 360

Their best day on record: 500.4456 at Zom-B-Q — 139.0% of a perfect 360.

Backyard
2020-10-30

Their season

2020 their best year

2020 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 43%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 43%

A tough matchup

7–1 behind in the head-to-head

LEM'S MEAT VARNISH ahead in 88% of their meetings

LEM'S MEAT VARNISH has come out ahead in 7 of their 8 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SmoKing Aces BBQ - NC in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

8 of 9 shared chicken entries lost

Gold-N-Blue Barbecue ahead 89% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Gold-N-Blue Barbecue has out-cooked them in 8 of 9 shared chicken entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1609 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 83% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1609 power rating — a tougher draw than 83% of every rated contest in the data.

8 rated contests

Boom or bust

±22.01% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±22.01% 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 114.1% of a perfect score
best 139.0%

An October team

Top 52% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 52% across 5 contests, versus top 66% the rest of the year.

5 October contests
top 66% the rest of the year

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.

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

Bailey Acres BBQ

#3045 of the rated field

1504 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-08-29

⚔ Head-to-head

STEVO'S BBQ

#3033 of the rated field

1504 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1504

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2020-08-14

⚔ Head-to-head

RUBBED RITE BBQ

#3052 of the rated field

1504 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1505

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 4 years before NEW RIVER BOYS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

GOVERNORS BBQ

#3058 of the rated field

1504 ▼ 0 power rating

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

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before NEW RIVER BOYS's first contest.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2018-04-06

⚔ Head-to-head

BURNIN BUTTS BBQ

#3025 of the rated field

1505 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

Level with NEW RIVER BOYS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2015-05-29

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE DOG BBQ

#3053 of the rated field

1504 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1515

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before NEW RIVER BOYS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 9 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
Gold-N-Blue Barbecue	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
Bowmans Butt & BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
LEM'S MEAT VARNISH	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
ELITE BBQ SMOKERS	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
D’Qued Barbeque	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Smack That Butt BBQ	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Still Workin' On It	5	2	2	40%	⚔ compare
POOR BOYS BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Under the Radar	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
The Fat is Where It's At	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	4	0	0	170.2628	152.5716	162.01	top 69%
Pork Ribs	9	3	1	1	177.1544	144.4572	160.53	top 61%
Pork	5	3	0	0	167.3828	145.6684	159.03	top 49%
Brisket	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—

“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
VA	8	0	top 62%
AL	1	0	top 90%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	5	top 80%
Medium (20–39)	3	top 33%
Large (40+)	1	top 90%

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

On the trail 3 yrs 2019-10-25 → 2022-11-12

Busiest season 2021 4 contests

Contests a season 2.3 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in VA 8 of 9 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 9 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 162.01 · weakest Pork (159.03)

Walk rate 67% a top-10 call in 6 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 33% 3 of 9 contests

Backyard average 410.89 out of 360 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 142 126–187 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 756 9 mapped stops · furthest 390 mi

Schedule strength 1609 average field rating faced — tougher than 83% of rated contests

Purse competed for $25,300 listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 6 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2021-10-16 → 2022-11-12

Power rating 1504 peak 1516 · #3043 of 6,413 rated

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

2019
Oct 25 First tracked contest Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US)
Oct 25 First call Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US)
Oct 25 First overall top-10 Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US)
Oct 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score461.6340 Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US)
2020
Oct 30 Career-best overall score500.4456 Zom-B-Q
Oct 30 Peak power rating (1516) Zom-B-Q
2021
Oct 15 First category win (Pork Ribs) Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague
Oct 15 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.1544 Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague
2022
Nov 12 Most recent contest 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.4	Zom-B-Q	2020-10-30
+11.9	Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague	2021-10-15
+8.7	The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q	2020-10-29

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.2	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown at Americamps - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY)	2021-09-24
-9.7	Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague	2021-10-16
-5.8	BBQ WYTHE US DAY 1	2020-08-07
-0.9	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown at Americamps - Day 2 (BACKYARD ONLY)	2021-09-25
-0.3	Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US)	2019-10-25

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)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2022	1	0	0	0%	top 90%	89.5%	89.5%
2021	4	1	1	50%	top 82%	137.6%	112.4%
2020	3	1	0	100%	top 43%	139%	119.9%
2019	1	1	0	100%	top 45%	128.2%	128.2%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2022-11-12	4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL	44 / 49 (322.1828)	42 (162.8000)	44 (159.3828)	—	—
2021-10-16	Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague 🏅 Galax, VA	19 / 15 (322.1712)	19 (155.9428)	15 (166.2284)	—	—
2021-10-15	Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague 🏅 Galax, VA	5 / 15 (340.5372)	17 (163.3828)	1 (177.1544)	—	—
2021-09-25	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown at Americamps - Day 2 (BACKYARD ONLY) Ashland, VA	12 / 18 (495.3948)	10 (168.5944)	12 (166.2860)	15 (160.5144)	—
2021-09-24	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown at Americamps - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY) Ashland, VA	19 / 19 (460.9828)	18 (152.5716)	19 (146.7772)	14 (161.6340)	—
2020-10-30	Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA	7 / 33 (500.4456)	5 (170.2628)	13 (162.8000)	6 (167.3828)	—
2020-10-29	The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA	11 / 33 (484.4344)	17 (155.3600)	6 (169.1200)	9 (159.9544)	—
2020-08-07	BBQ WYTHE US DAY 1 🏅 WYTHE, VA	14 / 19 (310.1944)	8 (165.7372)	15 (144.4572)	—	—
2019-10-25	Zom-B-Q(BBQ Wythe US) 🏅 Wytheville, VA	9 / 20 (461.6340)	7 (163.4056)	9 (152.5600)	9 (145.6684)	—

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
2023 ↗	Backyard	—	#333 (60 pts)	#344 (60 pts)	—	—
2021 ↗	Backyard	—	#92 (355 pts)	#62 (545 pts)	—	—