The comeback
7.7 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 7.7 years, then back at Smoke, Wind & Fire (2021-07-10).
- last seen 2013-10-18
- back 2021-07-10
Bighead BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1492
peak 1502 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2013-10-18
latest 2022-05-28
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 58%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 154.26 · weakest Brisket (148.30)
Road miles
1,557
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 1396 mi
Schedule strength
13%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1519)
Master avg
612.25 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
302.26 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.
Storylines (1 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.
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.
Bighead 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 127 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.
#3538 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3522 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Bighead BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3537 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Level with Bighead BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3527 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head#3542 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Bighead BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3528 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 5 years before Bighead BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 160.5600 | 150.2628 | 154.26 | top 56% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 158.8800 | 150.2628 | 153.71 | top 52% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.9656 | 150.2628 | 153.11 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149.7144 | 146.8800 | 148.30 | top 75% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 59% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 31% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 59% |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
8.6 yrs
2013-10-18 → 2022-05-28
Busiest season
2022
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
AB
1 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 · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 154.26 · weakest Brisket (148.30)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
33%
1 of 3 contests
Master average
612.25
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
302.26
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
105
42–71 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,557
3 mapped stops · furthest 1,396 mi
Schedule strength
1519
average field rating faced — tougher than 13% of rated contests
Longest layoff
7.7 yrs
2013-10-18 → 2021-07-10
Power rating
1492
peak 1502 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL)
- Career-best overall score613.6684 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)160.5600 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL)
- 2021
- First call Smoke, Wind & Fire
- First overall top-10 Smoke, Wind & Fire
- Peak power rating (1502) Smoke, Wind & Fire
- 2022
- Most recent contest Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.3 | Smoke, Wind & Fire | 2021-07-10 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.6 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival | 2022-05-28 |
| -2.4 | 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL) | 2013-10-18 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 84% | 84% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 59% | 85.2% | 85.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-05-28 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival SHERWOOD PARK, AB | 33 / 39 (610.8228) | 36 (151.9656) | 24 (158.8800) | 35 (150.2628) | 30 (149.7144) |
| 2021-07-10 | Smoke, Wind & Fire Lethbridge, T1J4R3 | 5 / 16 (302.2628) | 6 (150.2628) | 3 (152.0000) | — | — |
| 2013-10-18 | 8th Annual Lambs Farm Barn Burner Bar-B-Q (TEAMS FULL) Libertyville, IL | 32 / 54 (613.6684) | 20 (160.5600) | 41 (150.2628) | 24 (155.9656) | 39 (146.8800) |