Riding a hot streak
4
straight overall top-10s
Currently on a 4-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 4
Berg's BBQ
Berg's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 18 at the Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026). They are ranked #2077 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1536
peak 1536 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Aug 5, 2022
latest Aug 15, 2026 · 4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
4
44% of 9 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 45%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
339.61 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 331.86 (+7.75)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.53
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.74 · weakest Chicken (163.22)
Road miles
663
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 132 mi
Schedule strength
68%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1587)
Purse competed for
$39K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
331.86 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Berg's BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
72 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,068 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1536
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,074 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 71%
- Peak
- 1538
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 7 contests, alongside a 71% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#2,083 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1535
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Berg's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,066 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1536
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,064 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1536
Level with Berg's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,076 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1536
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAWGS BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY GQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Bear BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Sensuous BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Ten Bones | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Not Bad BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Mike's Smokehouse | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Porket About It | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1084 | 141.0628 | 163.22 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 177.7144 | 150.8344 | 168.74 | top 38% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 40% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 22% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
8 contests
Contests a season
4.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
6 of 9 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
7
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 0 wins · 5 calls
Opponents faced
174
finished ahead 217 times, behind 106
Longest layoff
3.8 yrs
Aug 5, 2022 → May 8, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20268 milestones
- First call Minnesota in May
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score333.0856 Minnesota in May
- First overall top-10 Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
- First overall podium Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score350.8228 Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.7144 Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1536) Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)
20221 milestone
- First tracked contest B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 15, 2026 |
| +13 | Minnesota in May | May 8, 2026 |
| +12.4 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 12, 2026 |
| +12.2 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 13, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.8 | B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 5, 2022 |
| -4.1 | Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 29, 2026 |
| -1.2 | Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 7, 2026 |
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 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 75% | top 37% | 97.5% | 94% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 81.1% | 81.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2026 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 3 / 18 (350.8228) | 7 (173.1084) | 2 (177.7144) | — | — |
| Aug 7, 2026 | Chippewa Valley Ribfest (BACKYARD ONLY) Montevideo, MN | 9 / 14 (334.2056) | 13 (163.9312) | 5 (170.2744) | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 9 / 37 (338.2288) | 7 (170.8344) | 14 (167.3944) | — | — |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 10 / 40 (343.9772) | 21 (169.1200) | 4 (174.8572) | — | — |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 6 (176.5600) | — | — |
| May 29, 2026 | Spring into Summer Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Owatonna, MN | 18 / 25 (330.8228) | 22 (163.9656) | 12 (166.8572) | — | — |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 14 / 77 (333.0856) | 26 (160.5256) | 7 (172.5600) | — | — |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 39 (161.6456) | — | — |
| Aug 5, 2022 | B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Roseville, MN | 20 / 21 (291.8972) | 20 (141.0628) | 18 (150.8344) | — | — |