The comeback
3.4 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3.4 years, then back at Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition (Sep 16, 2022).
- last seen May 3, 2019
- back Sep 16, 2022
Down South BBQ
Down South BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 4 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 16th of 16 at the UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series) (2019). They finished #1601 in the 2022 Master Series Team of the Year standings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Downsouth BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1474
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 31 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
May 3, 2019
latest Jan 26, 2024 · 4.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 90%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.79 · weakest Brisket (140.94)
Road miles
1,139
across 4 mapped stops · furthest 1,053 mi
Schedule strength
49%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)
Purse competed for
$33K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
496.48 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
318.78 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Backyard (4-meat) avg
626.66 / 720
1 Backyard (4-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), 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 | #1601 (59 pts) | — | #1040 (144 pts) | #1100 (119 pts) | #1276 (74 pts) |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.6916 | 155.3944 | 159.79 | top 66% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9884 | 136.5372 | 156.38 | top 74% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 148.6284 | 159.56 | top 68% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 152.5256 | 129.6688 | 140.94 | top 93% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 96% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 82% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 2 | 43 | 0 | top 82% | Jan 26, 2024 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
2 of 4 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
3
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
198
finished ahead 42 times, behind 217
Longest layoff
3.4 yrs
May 3, 2019 → Sep 16, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20241 milestone
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
20231 milestone
- Career-best overall score626.6628 Lakeland Pig Festival
20223 milestones
- First call Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)171.9884 Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1488) Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition
20191 milestone
- First tracked contest UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition | Sep 16, 2022 |
| -7.5 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 27, 2023 |
| -7.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 26, 2024 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 88.5% | 88.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 87% | 87% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 96% | 69% | 69% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 79.2% | 79.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2024 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 49 / 61 (318.7772) | 47 (158.2744) | 45 (160.5028) | 43 (156.5600) | 55 (138.1828) |
| Jan 27, 2023 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 43 / 51 (626.6628) | 21 (165.6916) | 46 (156.5028) | 34 (161.0968) | 50 (143.3716) |
| Sep 16, 2022 | Reuniting After War (R.A.W.) BBQ Competition 🏅 Bowling Green, KY | 23 / 24 (496.4796) | — | 8 (171.9884) | 11 (171.9656) | 20 (152.5256) |
| May 3, 2019 | UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 16 / 16 (570.2288) | 13 (155.3944) | 16 (136.5372) | 14 (148.6284) | 16 (129.6688) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.