A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Cynical BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Cynical BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Barks BBQ
Barks BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 31 at the 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest (2026). They finished #1309 in the 2022 Master Series Team of the Year standings. Also listed in KCBS results as “.Barks BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1483
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Mar 23, 2018
latest Sep 18, 2026 · 8.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
20% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 74%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±19.62
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 162.09 · weakest Brisket (145.47)
Road miles
55
across 5 mapped stops
Schedule strength
67%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1585)
Purse competed for
$9,400
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
623.06 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
319.91 / 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1309 (60 pts) | #1341 (60 pts) | #1363 (70 pts) | #1220 (95 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Barks BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Barks BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 137 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,035 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1482
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,038 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1482
Level with Barks BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,052 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1482
They turned up 5 years after Barks BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#4,031 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1483
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,023 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Barks BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,020 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1483
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Barks BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 161.0856 | 147.9428 | 155.53 | top 72% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.3828 | 152.4684 | 162.09 | top 59% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 147.9428 | 160.73 | top 68% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150.8344 | 142.1828 | 145.47 | top 95% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 53% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 94% |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
CA
5 of 5 contests
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Opponents faced
147
finished ahead 42 times, behind 180
Longest layoff
4.5 yrs
Apr 1, 2022 → Sep 18, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- First call 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest
- First overall top-10 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest
- Most recent contest 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest
20223 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.9944 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship
- Career-best overall score648.9944 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship
- Career-best single call (Pork)169.6916 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship
20181 milestone
- Peak power rating (1489) 7th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship
20171 milestone
- First tracked contest SoCal BBQ Bash and Expo (JUDGES FULL)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9 | 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest | Sep 18, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | 8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 1 | Mar 29, 2019 |
| -10.7 | 7th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship | Mar 23, 2018 |
| -4.9 | 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship | Apr 1, 2022 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 26% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 85.9% | 85.9% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | 22nd Annual Burnt Offerings BBQ Contest 🏅 Riverside, CA | 8 / 31 (319.9084) | 7 (153.6800) | 5 (166.2284) | — | — |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship 🏅 Arcadia, CA | 30 / 37 (648.9944) | 32 (161.0856) | 23 (167.3828) | 18 (169.6916) | 34 (150.8344) |
| Mar 29, 2019 | 8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 1 🏅 Arcadia, CA | 67 / 70 (601.5656) | 69 (147.9428) | 44 (162.2972) | 67 (147.9428) | 68 (143.3828) |
| Mar 23, 2018 | 7th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Arcadia, CA | 72 / 78 (618.6168) | 62 (159.4056) | 73 (152.4684) | 46 (164.5600) | 75 (142.1828) |
| May 19, 2017 | SoCal BBQ Bash and Expo (JUDGES FULL) Pomona, CA | — | — | — | — | — |