High-water mark
685.6456
career-best overall
95.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 685.6456 at American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST — 95.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2021-09-16
ULTIMATE TAILGATE
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1500
peak 1505 · rated over 11 contests ⓘ
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
2013-10-03
latest 2021-09-16
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 11 contests
Avg finish
top 56%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
645.84 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 647.90 (-2.07)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.55
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 164.92 · weakest Brisket (159.92)
Road miles
139
mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 38 mi
Schedule strength
53%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)
Purse competed for
$129K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
647.90 / 720
11 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (7 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.
A tough matchup
10–0
behind in the head-to-head
BURNT FINGER BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
BURNT FINGER BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.
The weak link
−5.0
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.00 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 159.92
- Chicken avg 164.92
- 0 calls in 11 entries
A strong matchup
8–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Smoke & Beer BBQ in 8 of their 8 shared contests.
The comeback
2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST (2021-09-16).
- last seen 2019-09-12
- back 2021-09-16
Chicken nemesis
8 of 10
shared chicken entries lost
GETTIN' SAUCED ahead 80% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, GETTIN' SAUCED has out-cooked them in 8 of 10 shared chicken entries.
An October team
Top 43%
average finish in October
Something about October: average finish in the top 43% across 4 contests, versus top 56% the rest of the year.
- 4 October contests
- top 56% the rest of the year
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.
121 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3210 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1501
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to ULTIMATE TAILGATE)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team ULTIMATE TAILGATE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3220 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 5%
- Peak
- 1524
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to ULTIMATE TAILGATE)
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 22 contests to 11.
⚔ Head-to-head#3199 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1507
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to ULTIMATE TAILGATE)
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head#3209 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
Level with ULTIMATE TAILGATE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3201 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 17% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-head#3190 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1525
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theslabs.com | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| THE SMOKING HILLS | 10 | 2 | 8 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| B & C SMOKERS | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' SAUCED | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| 50 SHADES OF QUE | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| BURNT FINGER BBQ | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| DIRT ROAD BBQ | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HI-TECH SMOKERS | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| DIXIE MOON | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| Bare Bones BBQ Team | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| Sons of a Brisket | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| PARK AVENUE PORK | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| LOVE 2 Q | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKE ON WHEELS | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1656 | 155.3828 | 164.92 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 174.8572 | 142.2520 | 160.24 | top 58% |
| Pork | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 177.7028 | 145.6684 | 162.83 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1428 | 147.9316 | 159.92 | top 57% |
“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 yrs
2013-10-03 → 2021-09-16
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.4
across 8 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
6 of 11 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
11
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
11 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 164.92 · weakest Brisket (159.92)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 11 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 11 contests
Master average
647.90
out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
1,888
1,933–2,300 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
139
11 mapped stops · furthest 38 mi
Schedule strength
1568
average field rating faced — tougher than 53% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$129,335
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2 yrs
2019-09-12 → 2021-09-16
Power rating
1500
peak 1505 · #3203 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest 34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
- Peak power rating (1505) 34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
- 2015
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score674.7888 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
- 2019
- 10th tracked contest 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST
- 2021
- Career-best overall score685.6456 American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST
- Career-best single call (Pork)177.7028 American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.3 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | 2021-09-16 |
| +8.2 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open | 2015-10-03 |
| +5.4 | 34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open | 2013-10-03 |
| +4.4 | 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN) | 2016-10-29 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.8 | 39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) | 2018-09-15 |
| -7.8 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) | 2017-09-01 |
| -5.8 | 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open | 2014-10-02 |
| -5.1 | *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ | 2016-09-09 |
| -3.4 | Balloons & BBQ Festival at Kansas Speedway | 2014-08-08 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 6% | — | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 57% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 89.2% | 88% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 60% | 91.3% | 90% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 17% | 93.7% | 93.7% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 71% | 89.7% | 88.8% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 36% | 90% | 90% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 29 / 467 (505.0740) | 196 (167.9656) | 222 (166.8344) | 12 (177.7028) | 48 (173.1428) |
| 2019-09-12 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 269 / 468 (654.1596) | 169 (168.5256) | 141 (168.5600) | 352 (158.2628) | 324 (158.8112) |
| 2018-09-15 | 39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 398 / 467 (622.8228) | 77 (173.1656) | 429 (149.6688) | 446 (145.6684) | 374 (154.3200) |
| 2017-09-01 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 342 / 407 (624.4120) | 320 (158.2284) | 397 (142.2520) | 111 (170.2744) | 325 (153.6572) |
| 2017-03-31 | Smokin On Big Creek BBQ Contest Benefiting Operation BBQ Relief(TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) Pleasant Hill, MO | 38 / 59 (642.1368) | 33 (164.5600) | 51 (156.5256) | 42 (158.8228) | 29 (162.2284) |
| 2016-10-29 | 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 254 / 557 (657.0860) | 400 (158.8000) | 217 (166.8688) | 359 (161.6800) | 114 (169.7372) |
| 2016-09-09 | *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO | 57 / 76 (639.2452) | 38 (165.1428) | 68 (150.2168) | 22 (171.4056) | 68 (152.4800) |
| 2015-10-03 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO | 103 / 606 (674.7888) | 136 (169.7144) | 34 (174.8572) | 187 (167.9656) | 299 (162.2516) |
| 2014-10-02 | 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO | 407 / 552 (633.0400) | 452 (155.3828) | 354 (159.9772) | 457 (154.2400) | 240 (163.4400) |
| 2014-08-08 | Balloons & BBQ Festival at Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS | 36 / 53 (645.6572) | 18 (170.9372) | 16 (168.5600) | 43 (158.2284) | 51 (147.9316) |
| 2013-10-03 | 34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO | 195 / 535 (647.9540) | 249 (161.7256) | 291 (158.2972) | 134 (166.8340) | 220 (161.0972) |