A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
GSP Barbecue ahead in 100% of their meetings
GSP Barbecue has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Big Back BBQ
Big Back BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 15th of 28 at the MD State BBQ Bash (2026). They are ranked #3746 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1505 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Jun 5, 2015
latest Oct 16, 2026 · 11.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
30%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.36
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 165.34 · weakest Chicken (159.46)
Road miles
1,944
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 965 mi
Schedule strength
37%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1549)
Purse competed for
$26K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
638.83 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
330.58 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Big Back BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
137 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,731 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1489
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,757 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1488
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Big Back BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,766 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,744 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1488
3 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Compare careers#3,729 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1489
Level with Big Back BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,759 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1488
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 154.2972 | 159.46 | top 78% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1084 | 155.9316 | 165.34 | top 51% |
| Pork | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1084 | 153.6456 | 159.71 | top 70% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 150.8000 | 160.08 | top 54% |
“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 62% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 63% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 16 | 0 | top 51% | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 20 | 0 | top 77% | Jun 12, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
4 of 10 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
8
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
400
finished ahead 215 times, behind 312
Longest layoff
7.1 yrs
Apr 27, 2018 → Jun 13, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.1084 MD State BBQ Bash
- 10th tracked contest WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20251 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score340.5600 WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20161 milestone
- Career-best overall score646.2172 Smokin' on the Summit BBQ
20153 milestones
- First tracked contest Smokin' on the Summit
- First call Smokin' on the Summit
- Peak power rating (1505) Smokin' on the Summit
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.7 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 17, 2025 |
| +5.4 | Smokin' on the Summit | Jun 5, 2015 |
| +4.9 | MD State BBQ Bash | Oct 9, 2026 |
| +1.2 | Smokin' on the Summit BBQ | Jun 3, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.7 | Racing for the BBQ | Jul 24, 2015 |
| -9 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 13, 2025 |
| -5 | 9th Annual VFW Post 846 BBQ Challenge | Apr 21, 2017 |
| -2.9 | Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest -Re-Boot (JUDGES FULL) | Apr 27, 2018 |
| -1.1 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 12, 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 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 60% | 92.7% | 91.7% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 65% | 94.6% | 92% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 88.1% | 88.1% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 51% | 89.8% | 89.8% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 61% | 89.5% | 88.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 2026 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 26 / 43 (327.3712) | 36 (155.9428) | 10 (171.4284) | — | — |
| Oct 9, 2026 | MD State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD | 15 / 28 (329.6228) | 35 (156.5144) | 5 (173.1084) | — | — |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 20 / 31 (333.6688) | 16 (169.6916) | 24 (163.9772) | — | — |
| Oct 17, 2025 | WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 16 / 39 (340.5600) | 20 (167.9656) | 13 (172.5944) | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 31 / 35 (321.6572) | 33 (158.8228) | 28 (162.8344) | — | — |
| Apr 27, 2018 | Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest -Re-Boot (JUDGES FULL) Sugar Creek, MO | 38 / 53 (635.2684) | 37 (162.8572) | 37 (161.6800) | 40 (159.9312) | 41 (150.8000) |
| Apr 21, 2017 | 9th Annual VFW Post 846 BBQ Challenge Overland Park, KS | 49 / 64 (634.0916) | 53 (155.3828) | 24 (165.6800) | 56 (155.3600) | 48 (157.6688) |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Smokin' on the Summit BBQ Lee's Summit, MO | 34 / 67 (646.2172) | 41 (157.7372) | 56 (155.9316) | 19 (169.1084) | 24 (163.4400) |
| Jul 24, 2015 | Racing for the BBQ Lees Summit, MO | 53 / 63 (634.1028) | 57 (155.4172) | 35 (161.6800) | 53 (160.5028) | 46 (156.5028) |
| Jun 5, 2015 | Smokin' on the Summit Lee's Summit, MO | 29 / 78 (644.4684) | 58 (154.2972) | 24 (164.5256) | 60 (153.6456) | 5 (172) |