A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
ACES HIGH BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
ACES HIGH BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1474
peak 1474 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2018-03-02
latest 2026-05-01
Best ToY finish
#927
Master 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 87%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
617.36
last 3 Master vs avg 617.36 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.25
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 156.71 · weakest Brisket (148.91)
Road miles
297
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 183 mi
Schedule strength
54%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1569)
Purse competed for
$10K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
617.36 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (2 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.
The comeback
8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 8 years, then back at ND BBQ Championship (2026-05-01).
- last seen 2018-05-11
- back 2026-05-01
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.
SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 146 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4424 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4436 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
Level with SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4433 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4440 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4459 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1473
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before SMOKE MY BUTT BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4443 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1504 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9544 | 150.8456 | 156.54 | top 90% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6456 | 150.2400 | 156.71 | top 88% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2400 | 147.3828 | 155.20 | top 86% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.6800 | 139.9772 | 148.91 | top 77% |
“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.
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
8.2 yrs
2018-03-02 → 2026-05-01
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MN
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 156.71 · weakest Brisket (148.91)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
617.36
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
156
26–169 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
297
3 mapped stops · furthest 183 mi
Schedule strength
1569
average field rating faced — tougher than 54% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$10,200
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
8 yrs
2018-05-11 → 2026-05-01
Power rating
1474
peak 1474 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2018
- First tracked contest Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship
- Peak power rating (1488) Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship
- Career-best overall score644.9940 Minnesota in May
- Career-best single call (Brisket)165.6800 Minnesota in May
- 2026
- Most recent contest ND BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.8 | ND BBQ Championship | 2026-05-01 |
| -11.7 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship | 2018-03-02 |
| -2.8 | Minnesota in May | 2018-05-11 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 84.7% | 84.7% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 89.6% | 86.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 71 / 71 (610.0572) | 63 (159.9544) | 61 (161.6456) | 70 (147.3828) | 70 (141.0744) |
| 2018-05-11 | Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN | 47 / 70 (644.9940) | 59 (158.8228) | 57 (158.2512) | 48 (162.2400) | 24 (165.6800) |
| 2018-03-02 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship Onamia, MN | 54 / 57 (597.0400) | 55 (150.8456) | 55 (150.2400) | 51 (155.9772) | 56 (139.9772) |
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 | #927 (60 pts) | #1010 (60 pts) | #1051 (60 pts) | #970 (60 pts) | #950 (60 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2012 (60 pts) | #1996 (60 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |