High-water mark
675.9200
career-best overall
93.9% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 675.9200 at Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship — 93.9% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 28, 2023
POPS BBQ
POPS BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 10th of 27 at the Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship (2023). They are ranked #3896 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Pop's BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1485 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Apr 12, 2013
latest Apr 28, 2023 · 10 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 66%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±26.64
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 164.80 · weakest Brisket (158.50)
Road miles
2,202
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 1,828 mi
Schedule strength
20%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1528)
Purse competed for
$12K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
647.05 / 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #917 (127 pts) | #1008 (122 pts) | #1109 (122 pts) | #874 (157 pts) | #1175 (92 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to POPS BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
159 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,879 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,893 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1506
Level with POPS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,922 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
They turned up 11 years after POPS BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Compare careers#3,878 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,921 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,889 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 3 years before POPS 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 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 149.1428 | 164.80 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4288 | 141.1438 | 163.10 | top 49% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1084 | 146.8570 | 160.66 | top 69% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8570 | 152.5712 | 158.50 | top 70% |
“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 68% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 60% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MS
3 of 5 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
119
finished ahead 50 times, behind 95
Longest layoff
8.4 yrs
Oct 17, 2014 → Mar 3, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20235 milestones
- First call The Golden State Battle V
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176 The Golden State Battle V
- First overall top-10 Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship
- Career-best overall score675.9200 Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship
- Most recent contest Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship
20133 milestones
- First tracked contest Grilling on the River '13
- Peak power rating (1487) Grilling on the River '13
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score656.5708 The Desoto Shrine Club 5th Annual 2013 BBQ Cookoff
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +7.1 | Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship | Apr 28, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.4 | Grilling on the River '13 | Apr 12, 2013 |
| -4.2 | Roast N' Boast | Oct 17, 2014 |
| -2.2 | The Desoto Shrine Club 5th Annual 2013 BBQ Cookoff | Jun 14, 2013 |
| -2.2 | The Golden State Battle V | Mar 3, 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 54% | 93.9% | 93.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 91.2% | 87.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2023 | Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship 🏅 Lodi, CA | 10 / 27 (675.9200) | 11 (170.8344) | 11 (170.2972) | 7 (173.1084) | 17 (161.6800) |
| Mar 3, 2023 | The Golden State Battle V 🏅 Hollister, CA | 20 / 28 (665.0172) | 5 (176) | 7 (171.4288) | 26 (160.5028) | 23 (157.0856) |
| Oct 17, 2014 | Roast N' Boast Columbus, MS | 17 / 25 (637.7368) | 15 (163.4284) | 12 (164.0456) | 24 (151.9656) | 15 (158.2972) |
| Jun 14, 2013 | The Desoto Shrine Club 5th Annual 2013 BBQ Cookoff Hernando, MS | 24 / 40 (656.5708) | 24 (164.5714) | 13 (168.5712) | 12 (170.8570) | 34 (152.5712) |
| Apr 12, 2013 | Grilling on the River '13 Columbus, MS | 29 / 31 (600.0006) | 29 (149.1428) | 31 (141.1438) | 31 (146.8570) | 19 (162.8570) |