Smokin' Bandits BBQ TN
Rating
1582
peak 1582 · rated over 11 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
2019-05-11
latest 2026-05-01
Best ToY finish
#358
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
1
1 reserve
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
7
of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 23%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
331.77
last 4 Backyard vs avg 331.77 (+0.00)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
and counting
Consistency
±2.03
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 172.55 · weakest Pork (164.77)
Road miles
233
mi across 11 mapped stops
Schedule strength
49%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1544)
Purse competed for
$76K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
679.06 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
331.77 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 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.
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
LEE LA Q has finished one call ahead of Smokin' Bandits BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Purdom's BBQ in 7 of their 8 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) is their spot: an average finish in the top 15% across 3 visits.
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 41-team field at Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES).
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 5 of 36 at their very first tracked contest, Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) ().
🔁 The comeback
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Great Americana BBQ Festival (2021-08-27).
Teams like this (closest power rating, TN first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pig Destroyer | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| LEE LA Q | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Purdom's BBQ | 8 | 7 | 1 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG ORANGE SMOKERS | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Hogs B Hatin' | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| 2 Swine Crew | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| SimpleManBBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin Pimp | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Carter's BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Big B BBQ Company | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| sHOGun BBQ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| RTQue | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| MANOS AL FUEGO | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke a Fatty BBQ Nashville | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| VETERAN PORK PULLERS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 161.0968 | 167.96 | top 36% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 178.8572 | 161.6800 | 169.79 | top 30% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 154.7884 | 164.77 | top 36% |
| Brisket | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.8456 | 170.2512 | 172.55 | top 27% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 21% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 1 | top 25% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 4 | 21 | 0 | top 31% | 2026-03-20 |
| Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) | 3 | 3 | 0 | top 15% | 2024-04-19 |
| Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2 | 2 | 0 | top 23% | 2026-05-01 |
| Great Americana BBQ Festival | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 30% | 2021-08-27 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2026 (2 contests)
- Cooks mostly in TN (12 of 12 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (12 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) (2019-05-11)
- Wins it all in 8% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 679.06 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 331.77 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 — First tracked contest · Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- 📣 — First call · Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- 🏆 2019-05-11 — First Grand Championship · Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- ⭐ 2019-08-23 — Career-best overall score (684.5256) · Great Americana BBQ Festival
- 📈 2026-05-01 — Peak power rating (1582) · Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16 | Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) | 2019-05-11 |
| +13 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) | 2023-05-12 |
| +12.6 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2025-04-25 |
| +11.5 | Great Americana BBQ Festival | 2019-08-23 |
| +8.2 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2024-03-15 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 14% | — | — |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 36% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50% | top 20% | 93% | 93% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 22% | 92% | 92% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 22% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 44% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 9% | 95.1% | 95.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 9 / 23 (513.0512) | 13 (167.3828) | 16 (167.9656) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 42 / 125 (329.0512) | 38 (167.3712) | 46 (161.6800) | 5 (175.4172) | — |
| 2025-04-25 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITOR SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 2 / 31 (527.3828) | 16 (168.5256) | 1 (178.8572) | — | — |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 33 / 100 (334.7656) | 37 (165.0856) | 27 (169.6800) | 41 (159.3944) | — |
| 2024-04-19 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 8 / 37 (515.3600) | 22 (166.2400) | 17 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 21 / 93 (331.3712) | 36 (161.0968) | 10 (170.2744) | 41 (154.7884) | — |
| 2023-05-12 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 3 / 32 (515.9428) | 14 (163.9772) | 3 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 27 / 80 (331.8968) | 23 (167.9540) | 27 (163.9428) | — | — |
| 2021-08-27 | Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN | 11 / 25 (673.5884) | 15 (163.9428) | 5 (173.7144) | 15 (165.6800) | 11 (170.2512) |
| 2019-08-23 | Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN | 6 / 39 (684.5256) | 6 (174.2856) | 23 (166.8344) | 13 (168.5600) | 4 (174.8456) |
| 2019-05-11 | Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 1 / 41 (522.3088) | 2 (176.5600) | 2 (172.5716) | — | — |
| Dr.George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) Murfreesboro, TN | 5 / 36 (515.3484) | 4 (173.1084) | 14 (166.2400) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #358 (80 pts) | #377 (60 pts) | #291 (135 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #324 (70 pts) | #344 (60 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #917 (120 pts) | #1130 (100 pts) | #855 (175 pts) | #1113 (100 pts) | #957 (120 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1285 (175 pts) | #1346 (175 pts) | #1970 (70 pts) | #1584 (120 pts) | #1198 (210 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1717 (113 pts) | #1485 (148 pts) | #1428 (168 pts) | #2507 (58 pts) | #1551 (128 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1981 (100 pts) | #2178 (75 pts) | #1602 (165 pts) | #1773 (125 pts) | #2266 (60 pts) |