The comeback
3.5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3.5 years, then back at Gladstone Smokefest (ONE MEAT RIBS) (Oct 3, 2025).
- last seen Mar 25, 2022
- back Oct 3, 2025
BABSLAB BBQ
BABSLAB BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 3 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 16th of 25 at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest (2022). They finished #1502 in the 2021 Master Series Team of the Year standings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Bab Slab BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1492
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 2
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
Jul 16, 2021
latest Mar 25, 2022
Avg finish
top 73%
overall standings
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 173.12 · weakest Brisket (158.82)
Road miles
58
across 3 mapped stops
Purse competed for
$7,000
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
658.73 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
329.07 / 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)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1200 | 169.1200 | 169.12 | top 50% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9544 | 157.6688 | 159.00 | top 77% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 173.1200 | 173.12 | top 42% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.8228 | 158.8228 | 158.82 | top 82% |
“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.
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MO
3 of 3 contests
Contests visited
2
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
54
finished ahead 15 times, behind 41
Longest layoff
3.5 yrs
Mar 25, 2022 → Oct 3, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest Gladstone Smokefest (ONE MEAT RIBS)
20221 milestone
20214 milestones
- First tracked contest Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Day 1
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7316 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Day 1
- Career-best overall score658.7316 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Day 1
- Career-best single call (Pork)173.1200 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Day 1
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2025 | Gladstone Smokefest (ONE MEAT RIBS) Gladstone, MO | — | — | 11 (159.3832) | — | — |
| Mar 25, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO | 16 / 25 (329.0744) | 9 (169.1200) | 19 (159.9544) | — | — |
| Jul 16, 2021 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Day 1 🏅 Cameron, MO | 27 / 33 (658.7316) | 21 (169.1200) | 30 (157.6688) | 14 (173.1200) | 27 (158.8228) |