Riding a hot streak
4
straight overall top-10s
Currently on a 4-contest overall top-10 run.
- career best 4
Mountain Smoke
Mountain Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 4th of 26 at the Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off (2026). They are ranked #1680 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1553
peak 1553 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Sep 23, 2016
latest Jul 3, 2026 · 9.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
67% of 9 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 38%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
682.68 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 672.14 (+10.54)
Walk rate
89%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.57
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.40 · weakest Pork (166.53)
Road miles
1,401
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 308 mi
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1546)
Purse competed for
$17K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
672.14 / 720
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #650 (201 pts) | #866 (126 pts) | #901 (136 pts) | #792 (136 pts) | #758 (156 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Mountain Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
55 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,677 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1554
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,674 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1553
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 12 years before Mountain Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,678 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 45%
- Peak
- 1553
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,686 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 64%
- Peak
- 1553
Level with Mountain Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,675 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1553
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,683 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 58%
- Peak
- 1578
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 58% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| 12 BAR BLUES CUE | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Kick Back BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SMELLAQUE | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Beer Belly BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 179.4400 | 157.7028 | 170.40 | top 33% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 175.4400 | 160.0116 | 168.44 | top 39% |
| Pork | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 176.5828 | 149.1428 | 166.53 | top 43% |
| Brisket | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 177.7028 | 159.3828 | 166.77 | top 42% |
“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 70% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 29% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Pitmaster Classic | 3 | 6 | 0 | top 27% | Aug 26, 2022 |
| Montana BBQ Cook-off | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 22% | Jun 10, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MT
8 of 9 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
156
finished ahead 152 times, behind 71
Longest layoff
3.9 yrs
Aug 26, 2022 → Jul 3, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Career-best overall score699.9772 Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off
- Peak power rating (1553) Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off
- Most recent contest Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off
20222 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) Montana BBQ Cook-off
- Career-best single call (Chicken)179.4400 Montana BBQ Cook-off
20173 milestones
- First call Montana BBQ Cook-Off
- First overall top-10 Montana BBQ Cook-Off
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score685.6916 Montana BBQ Cook-Off
20161 milestone
- First tracked contest Carnivores Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.8 | Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off | Jul 3, 2026 |
| +12.9 | Montana BBQ Cook-off | Jun 10, 2022 |
| +10.8 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | Aug 26, 2022 |
| +10.5 | Montana BBQ Cook-Off | Jun 24, 2017 |
| +7.8 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | Aug 25, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.3 | Nile Beer-B-Q | Oct 14, 2017 |
| -3 | The Great Northwest Barbecue & Beer Festival | Jul 13, 2018 |
| -1.8 | Carnivores Classic | Sep 23, 2016 |
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 15% | 97.2% | 97.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100% | top 19% | 96.5% | 95.8% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 47% | 92.6% | 92.6% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 44% | 95.2% | 92.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 64% | 88.8% | 88.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2026 | Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Dillon, MT | 4 / 26 (699.9772) | 10 (173.7028) | 9 (175.4172) | 9 (174.8572) | 7 (176) |
| Aug 26, 2022 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 7 / 37 (694.8340) | 9 (173.1084) | 4 (175.4400) | 5 (176.5828) | 13 (169.7028) |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Montana BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Absarokee, MT | 5 / 27 (685.1428) | 1 (179.4400) | 7 (173.7144) | 14 (164.5484) | 9 (167.4400) |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 8 / 26 (666.6856) | 3 (174.2628) | 10 (165.6800) | 11 (162.8116) | 9 (163.9312) |
| Jul 13, 2018 | The Great Northwest Barbecue & Beer Festival Coeur d' Alene, ID | 12 / 19 (666.7544) | 11 (163.9772) | 10 (168.5372) | 4 (174.2972) | 14 (159.9428) |
| Oct 14, 2017 | Nile Beer-B-Q Billings, MT | 13 / 17 (670.7200) | 10 (169.6800) | 11 (165.0972) | 5 (176.5600) | 14 (159.3828) |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 6 / 20 (639.9428) | 4 (166.2628) | 6 (160.0116) | 11 (149.1428) | 4 (164.5256) |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT | 9 / 35 (685.6916) | 2 (175.4400) | 16 (166.8688) | 16 (165.6800) | 3 (177.7028) |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Carnivores Classic Missoula, MT | 16 / 25 (639.4740) | 19 (157.7028) | 12 (165.1772) | 23 (154.3084) | 15 (162.2856) |