High-water mark
674.1832
career-best overall
93.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 674.1832 at Smokin in The Hills — 93.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Sep 21, 2018
Let's Smoke
Let's Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 9th of 30 at the Smokin in The Hills (2018). They are ranked #3785 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1502 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Sep 22, 2017
latest May 1, 2021 · 3.6 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 66%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.75
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 162.94 · weakest Chicken (160.06)
Road miles
145
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 70 mi
Schedule strength
43%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1556)
Purse competed for
$23K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
646.84 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1226 (62 pts) | #1564 (52 pts) | #1286 (67 pts) | #1563 (52 pts) | #1186 (77 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Let's Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
126 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,791 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 9 contests to 6.
⚔ Compare careers#3,760 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1504
They turned up 7 years after Let's Smoke did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Compare careers#3,778 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
Level with Let's Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,776 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1505
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,783 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1488
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,763 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, 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 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8112 | 157.0628 | 160.06 | top 78% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 154.2628 | 162.15 | top 58% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 174.2744 | 151.3484 | 162.94 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 151.3828 | 161.69 | top 60% |
“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 63% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 80% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smokin in the Hills | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 78% | Sep 18, 2020 |
| Smokin in The Hills | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 45% | Sep 20, 2019 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
OH
4 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
99
finished ahead 54 times, behind 102
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Oct 9, 2015 → Sep 22, 2017
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20211 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Water
20186 milestones
- First call Smokin in The Hills
- First overall top-10 Smokin in The Hills
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score674.1832 Smokin in The Hills
- Career-best overall score674.1832 Smokin in The Hills
- Career-best single call (Pork)174.2744 Smokin in The Hills
- Peak power rating (1502) Smokin in The Hills
20151 milestone
- First tracked contest The River Grill before the Big Chill
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.8 | Smokin in The Hills | Sep 21, 2018 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.4 | Smokin in The Hills (Limited to the first 25 teams) | Sep 22, 2017 |
| -7.2 | Smoke on the Water | May 1, 2021 |
| -5.7 | Smokin in the Hills | Sep 18, 2020 |
| -1 | Smokin in The Hills | Sep 20, 2019 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 88.3% | 88.3% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 61% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 87.8% | 87.8% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2021 | Smoke on the Water 🏅 Liberty, IN | 23 / 27 (630.0568) | 26 (157.0628) | 22 (157.6684) | 26 (151.3484) | 20 (163.9772) |
| Sep 18, 2020 | Smokin in the Hills 🏅 Hillsboro, OH | 33 / 41 (635.8972) | 31 (162.8112) | 33 (158.8688) | 28 (162.8344) | 38 (151.3828) |
| Sep 20, 2019 | Smokin in The Hills 🏅 | 23 / 38 (661.6456) | 30 (162.2400) | 11 (170.2628) | 27 (163.4400) | 16 (165.7028) |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Smokin in The Hills Hillsboro, OH | 9 / 30 (674.1832) | 18 (160.5372) | 5 (169.6800) | 3 (174.2744) | 7 (169.6916) |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Smokin in The Hills (Limited to the first 25 teams) Hillsboro, OH | 19 / 25 (632.4344) | 20 (157.6688) | 21 (154.2628) | 18 (162.8000) | 17 (157.7028) |
| Oct 9, 2015 | The River Grill before the Big Chill Cincinnati, OH | — | — | — | — | — |