High-water mark
666.8572
career-best overall
92.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 666.8572 at Boots & BBQ Festival — 92.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- May 10, 2013
L&M BBQ
L&M BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 5th of 28 at the Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) (2022). They are ranked #3377 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “L & M BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1496
peak 1502 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Apr 5, 2013
latest May 27, 2023 · 10.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
14% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 57%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
43%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±40.95
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 160.63 · weakest Brisket (153.32)
Road miles
740
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 616 mi
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)
Purse competed for
$21K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
625.49 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
324.22 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
470.78 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #328 (69 pts) | #223 (176 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | — | — | #1424 (62 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #249 (128 pts) | #170 (228 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #238 (86 pts) | #180 (131 pts) | — | — |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1304 (191 pts) | #1612 (146 pts) | #1405 (191 pts) | #896 (361 pts) | #1580 (146 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to L&M BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
114 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,380 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,379 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 7 years before L&M BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,366 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1501
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Compare careers#3,381 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Level with L&M BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,363 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1505
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,359 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1502
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 164 | 147.9998 | 158.66 | top 57% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 168.5256 | 146.8572 | 160.63 | top 48% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 178.8572 | 129.7144 | 153.55 | top 70% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.7142 | 145.1428 | 153.32 | top 71% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 60% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2022
2 contests
Contests a season
1.4
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
4 of 7 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
7 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Opponents faced
211
finished ahead 102 times, behind 146
Longest layoff
6.1 yrs
May 15, 2015 → Jun 25, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20231 milestone
- Most recent contest Westmont Red White & BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
20222 milestones
- First overall top-10 Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1502) Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY)
20136 milestones
- First tracked contest Stillwater Elks 25th Annual Blazathon
- First call Boots & BBQ Festival
- First category win (Pork) Boots & BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.8572 Boots & BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score666.8572 Boots & BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork)178.8572 Boots & BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.8 | Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 28, 2022 |
| +6.8 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day one) | Jun 25, 2021 |
| +5.3 | Boots & BBQ Festival | May 10, 2013 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.1 | Stillwater Elks 25th Annual Blazathon | Apr 5, 2013 |
| -9.5 | Grand Lake BBQ Festival | May 15, 2015 |
| -6.5 | Westmont Red White & BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 27, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 87.2% | 87.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 18% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 87.9% | 87.9% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50% | top 64% | 92.6% | 85.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2023 | Westmont Red White & BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Westmont, IL | 25 / 34 (470.7776) | 23 (159.4288) | 14 (164.5716) | 31 (146.7772) | — |
| Nov 4, 2022 | Saluting with Smoke Single Meat Rib Burn (ONE MEAT RIBS) Yorkville, IL | — | — | 22 (154.8344) | — | — |
| May 28, 2022 | Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) Westmont, IL | 5 / 28 (331.9884) | 10 (163.4628) | 3 (168.5256) | — | — |
| Jun 25, 2021 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day one) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 15 / 49 (316.4572) | 17 (155.3600) | 9 (161.0972) | — | — |
| May 15, 2015 | Grand Lake BBQ Festival Langley, OK | 33 / 35 (639.9088) | 31 (161.7144) | 23 (162.2400) | 32 (158.8572) | 29 (157.0972) |
| May 10, 2013 | Boots & BBQ Festival Claremore, OK | 14 / 36 (666.8572) | 23 (164) | 14 (166.2858) | 1 (178.8572) | 23 (157.7142) |
| Apr 5, 2013 | Stillwater Elks 25th Annual Blazathon Stillwater, OK | 46 / 52 (569.7142) | 27 (147.9998) | 30 (146.8572) | 49 (129.7144) | 35 (145.1428) |