JAYBIRD'S BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#2516

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1519

peak 1556 · rated over 27 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2017-09-08

latest 2026-05-01

Best ToY finish

#346

Master 2020

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

6 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 32 contests

Avg finish

top 56%

overall standings

Best overall

684.5144 / 720

Master · All American BBQ Throwdown

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

664.69 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 667.57 (-2.88)

Walk rate

50%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Chicken · Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition

Consistency

±12.02

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.91 · weakest Pork (165.62)

Road miles

4,372

mi across 32 mapped stops · furthest 286 mi

Schedule strength

69%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1587)

Purse competed for

$145K

listed at 25 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 24 state-championship entries

Master avg

667.57 / 720

27 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (13 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180s

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

High-water mark

684.5144 career-best overall

95.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 684.5144 at All American BBQ Throwdown — 95.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
2022-08-05

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

PapaDads BBQ has finished one call ahead of JAYBIRD'S BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2023 their best year

2023 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 42%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10s
1 category wins
average top 42%

A tough matchup

24–3 behind in the head-to-head

iBQ'n ahead in 89% of their meetings

iBQ'n has come out ahead in 24 of their 27 shared contests.

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Heritage Q in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

22 of 27 shared chicken entries lost

iBQ'n ahead 81% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, iBQ'n has out-cooked them in 22 of 27 shared chicken entries.

Going the wrong way

-25 rating points in a year

The rating has slipped 25 points across 5 contests since 2025-05-09 — from 1544 down to 1519.

5 contests since 2025-05-09
now 1519

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

PapaDads BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A July team

Top 38% average finish in July

Something about July: average finish in the top 38% across 4 contests, versus top 56% the rest of the year.

4 July contests
top 56% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,372 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,372 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 286 miles to Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 1.

32 mapped stops
furthest 286 mi

The metronome

±1.67% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.67% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.7% of a perfect score
32 contests

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked Bordertown BBQ Brawl every year from 2018 to 2022 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 5th

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

82 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Grumpy Old Patriot Barbeque

#2521 of the rated field

1519 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1527

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 26 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 26 contests
last seen 2026-08-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Gustoso BBQ

#2527 of the rated field

1519 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1519

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 24 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 24 contests
last seen 2026-06-12

⚔ Head-to-head

FIRESIDE ALCHEMY

#2513 of the rated field

1519 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1526

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before JAYBIRD'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 20 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

SIPPIN ON SMOKE

#2528 of the rated field

1519 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1536

No shared contest yet.

17 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 18% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2019-06-07

⚔ Head-to-head

Big Juicy BBQ

#2509 of the rated field

1519 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1519

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 7 years after JAYBIRD'S BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2026-05-23

⚔ Head-to-head

SLABS OF APPROVAL

#2512 of the rated field

1519 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1543

No shared contest yet.

Level with JAYBIRD'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2017-08-18

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
iBQ'n	27	3	24	11%	⚔ compare
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	24	4	20	17%	⚔ compare
KEVLAR BBQ	23	2	21	9%	⚔ compare
Mac Attack BBQ	21	6	15	29%	⚔ compare
BooyaQ	21	5	16	24%	⚔ compare
PapaDads BBQ	20	9	11	45%	⚔ compare
Q-JITSU	17	6	11	35%	⚔ compare
BAD HABIT BBQ	17	2	15	12%	⚔ compare
Shiggin aint easy	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
TIRE SMOKE BBQ	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
FIREHOUSE SMOKE	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
BO B Q BBQ	15	6	9	40%	⚔ compare
BAD WOLF BBQ	15	6	9	40%	⚔ compare
BIG GUYS Q	14	9	5	64%	⚔ compare
PB&J's BBQ	14	7	7	50%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	27	8	1	2	180.0000 🔥	148.5256	168.91	top 49%
Pork Ribs	31	9	0	2	175.4172	149.6572	166.93	top 50%
Pork	27	5	0	1	174.2628	153.7028	165.62	top 59%
Brisket	27	6	0	1	178.8572	157.1316	166.02	top 53%

“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 state / province

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MI	23	0	top 54%
IN	4	0	top 68%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	18	0	top 58%
Large (40+)	9	0	top 52%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Bordertown BBQ Brawl	5	5	top 50%	2022-07-15
All American BBQ Throwdown	3	11	top 41%	2025-08-01
Smoke in the Mitten	2	20	top 83%	2026-05-01
GLBBQA Spring Fling	2	27	top 51%	2025-04-18
Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition	2	10	top 57%	2024-05-03
8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 2)	2	19	top 77%	2022-05-14
*Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival	2	20	top 60%	2018-09-14

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 8.6 yrs 2017-09-08 → 2026-05-01

Busiest season 2025 6 contests

Contests a season 3.2 across 10 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MI 28 of 32 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 16 7 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 31 entries · 0 wins · 9 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 168.91 · weakest Pork (165.62)

Walk rate 50% a top-10 call in 16 of 32 contests

Overall top-10 rate 16% 5 of 32 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 667.57 out of 720 · 27 contests · 0 GCs

Perfect 180s 1 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 324 442–534 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,372 32 mapped stops · furthest 286 mi

Schedule strength 1587 average field rating faced — tougher than 69% of rated contests

Purse competed for $144,870 listed at 25 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 24 state-championship entries

Power rating 1519 peak 1556 · #2516 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2017
Sep 8 First tracked contest *Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
2018
Sep 14 First call *Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
Sep 14 First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.6228 *Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
2019
Jul 19 First overall top-10 Bordertown BBQ Brawl
2021
Jun 18 10th tracked contest Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 1
2022
Aug 5 Career-best overall score684.5144 All American BBQ Throwdown
2023
May 5 First category win (Chicken) Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition
May 5 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition
2024
Apr 19 Peak power rating (1556) GLBBQA Spring Fling
2025
May 9 25th tracked contest Smoke in the Mitten (ONE MEAT RIBS)
2026
May 1 Most recent contest Smoke in the Mitten

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.7	Bordertown BBQ Brawl	2020-07-17
+11.8	All American BBQ Throwdown	2022-08-05
+11	Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com	2020-09-25
+10.7	Bordertown BBQ Brawl	2019-07-19
+7.4	Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition	2023-05-05

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.6	*Bordertown BBQ Brawl	2018-08-17
-8.6	September Fest	2025-09-19
-8.5	Smoke in the Mitten	2026-05-01
-6.3	8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1)	2022-05-13
-5.7	Smoke in the Mitten	2025-05-09

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	0	0	0%	top 81%	93.6%	92.1%
2025	6	0	0	50%	top 70%	94.1%	92.9%
2024	2	0	0	50%	top 58%	94.7%	93.7%
2023	3	1	1	67%	top 42%	94.8%	94.1%
2022	4	0	0	50%	top 56%	95.1%	93.4%
2021	5	1	0	60%	top 52%	94.9%	92.8%
2020	2	2	0	100%	top 24%	93.6%	93.6%
2019	3	1	0	67%	top 42%	93.2%	92.5%
2018	3	0	0	33%	top 69%	91.3%	89.5%
2017	1	0	0	0%	top 79%	89.2%	89.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-05-01	Smoke in the Mitten 🏅 Westland, MI	30 / 34 (651.9312)	29 (161.6912)	34 (158.8228)	23 (165.1428)	17 (166.2744)
2026-05-01	Smoke in the Mitten (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI	—	—	19 (165.1200)	—	—
2026-04-17	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Coldwater, MI	35 / 48 (673.6344)	36 (167.3828)	35 (166.2744)	31 (168.5600)	20 (171.4172)
2025-09-19	September Fest 🏅 Coldwater, MI	20 / 26 (663.8972)	11 (170.8228)	3 (174.2628)	23 (159.9772)	24 (158.8344)
2025-08-01	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	29 / 43 (665.5540)	31 (167.3712)	14 (170.2744)	34 (161.0856)	23 (166.8228)
2025-08-01	All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI	—	—	22 (166.2744)	—	—
2025-05-09	Smoke in the Mitten 🏅 Westland, MI	20 / 26 (668.4340)	13 (171.4056)	19 (161.1200)	22 (162.7884)	6 (173.1200)
2025-05-09	Smoke in the Mitten (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI	—	—	9 (170.8572)	—	—
2025-04-18	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI	33 / 56 (677.6684)	40 (167.9884)	15 (171.4400)	34 (170.2628)	35 (167.9772)
2024-05-03	Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition 🏅 Westland, MI	19 / 26 (667.9316)	22 (167.9884)	15 (167.4288)	14 (167.9772)	18 (164.5372)
2024-04-19	GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI	27 / 62 (681.6568)	37 (168.5256)	18 (171.4400)	40 (167.3940)	6 (174.2972)
2023-08-04	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	15 / 44 (674.8348)	10 (174.3200)	22 (167.9888)	23 (165.7032)	20 (166.8228)
2023-05-19	Rocking BBQ Warsaw 🏅 Warsaw, IN	18 / 35 (675.9200)	16 (170.8344)	20 (166.8456)	17 (169.6800)	15 (168.5600)
2023-05-05	Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition 🏅 Westland, MI	10 / 25 (682.2284)	1 (180.0000)	10 (170.8572)	16 (165.6912)	17 (165.6800)
2022-08-05	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	11 / 50 (684.5144)	9 (174.8572)	17 (169.6916)	39 (161.1084)	3 (178.8572)
2022-07-15	Bordertown BBQ Brawl 🏅 Sault Ste Marie, MI	15 / 30 (677.0744)	11 (173.1200)	8 (172.0116)	22 (165.0972)	16 (166.8456)
2022-05-14	8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 2) 🏅 Warsaw, IN	19 / 25 (666.2176)	22 (166.2744)	14 (168.5600)	19 (163.9544)	12 (167.4288)
2022-05-13	8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1) 🏅 Warsaw, IN	28 / 36 (661.6000)	34 (161.0856)	12 (168.5600)	15 (170.2972)	28 (161.6572)
2021-09-24	Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com 🏅 Grand Haven, MI	14 / 28 (664.9940)	4 (173.7028)	20 (163.3828)	21 (165.6684)	21 (162.2400)
2021-09-10	Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition 🏅 Mears, MI	8 / 25 (683.4056)	4 (176.0228)	9 (167.9772)	10 (169.1200)	4 (170.2856)
2021-07-16	Bordertown BBQ Brawl 🏅 Sault Ste Marie, MI	15 / 27 (663.3484)	10 (171.4056)	4 (172.5716)	22 (155.9312)	15 (163.4400)
2021-07-16	Bordertown BBQ Brawl - One Meat Rib Contest Sault Ste Marie, MI	—	—	15 (163.3828)	—	—
2021-06-18	Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 1 🏅 Franklin, IN	35 / 51 (661.5772)	19 (171.4172)	29 (165.6916)	33 (165.6800)	44 (158.7884)
2020-09-25	Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com 🏅 Grand Haven, MI	9 / 28 (674.2400)	22 (166.2972)	2 (175.4172)	4 (172.0000)	25 (160.5256)
2020-07-17	Bordertown BBQ Brawl 🏅 Sault Ste Marie, MI	5 / 31 (674.2284)	12 (169.6684)	6 (170.2628)	3 (174.2628)	24 (160.0344)
2019-09-13	Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival 🏅 Mears, MI	14 / 35 (669.1428)	3 (173.1428)	9 (170.2972)	21 (162.8456)	18 (162.8572)
2019-08-02	Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	22 / 40 (658.2400)	22 (165.7028)	29 (161.1200)	21 (164.5600)	13 (166.8572)
2019-07-19	Bordertown BBQ Brawl 🏅 Sault Ste Marie, MI	9 / 28 (670.8116)	5 (172.5600)	25 (157.1200)	7 (172.5600)	10 (168.5716)
2018-10-13	*Smoke & Ale Fall Festival(BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, MI	—	—	—	—	—
2018-09-14	*Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Mears, MI	20 / 48 (657.6228)	29 (148.5256)	14 (165.7028)	5 (173.1200)	8 (170.2744)
2018-08-17	*Bordertown BBQ Brawl Sault Ste Marie, MI	23 / 24 (631.3716)	11 (166.8800)	24 (149.6572)	21 (157.7028)	23 (157.1316)
2017-09-08	*Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Silver Lake, MI	22 / 28 (642.2284)	19 (161.6800)	14 (164.5484)	24 (153.7028)	18 (162.2972)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026 ↗	Master	#788 (119 pts)	#858 (119 pts)	#704 (198 pts)	#759 (129 pts)	#653 (184 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#596 (272 pts)	#564 (352 pts)	#356 (732 pts)	#665 (247 pts)	#534 (352 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#832 (141 pts)	#956 (126 pts)	#826 (196 pts)	#834 (166 pts)	#662 (261 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#541 (330 pts)	#434 (515 pts)	#693 (285 pts)	#643 (265 pts)	#610 (285 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#539 (375 pts)	#546 (395 pts)	#511 (480 pts)	#616 (320 pts)	#449 (510 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#441 (415 pts)	#329 (620 pts)	#360 (571 pts)	#552 (325 pts)	#452 (435 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#346 (319 pts)	#548 (189 pts)	#299 (424 pts)	#285 (434 pts)	#750 (114 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#862 (328 pts)	#697 (488 pts)	#1085 (258 pts)	#929 (318 pts)	#885 (343 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1427 (144 pts)	#1355 (179 pts)	#1427 (169 pts)	#1120 (254 pts)	#1246 (214 pts)