Pops BBQ 22 CA
Rating
1493
peak 1493
Contests
37
in the data
First seen
2019-03-29
latest 2026-04-24
Best ToY finish
#318
Master 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
4
11 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
of 37 contests
Avg finish
top 61%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
678.69 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 665.70 (+12.98)
Walk rate
59%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±18.10
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.16 · weakest Brisket (163.31)
Road miles
7137
mi across 37 mapped stops · furthest 579 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
PRISON BREAK BBQ has finished one call ahead of Pops BBQ 22 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
RBQ has landed one call behind them 4 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
BULL MARKET BBQ has come out ahead in 27 of their 29 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Coaches Pit BBQ in 9 of their 11 shared contests.
📅 A June team
Something about June: average finish in the top 50% across 3 contests, versus top 61% the rest of the year.
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 37 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 180.0000 🔥 | 158.2516 | 171.16 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 37 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 178.2972 | 151.3600 | 166.75 | top 55% |
| Pork | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 145.0740 | 164.48 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 37 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 174.2628 | 143.9316 | 163.31 | top 61% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 31 | 0 | top 65% |
| AZ | 4 | 0 | top 43% |
| OR | 1 | 0 | top 16% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 45% |
| Medium (20–39) | 21 | 0 | top 62% |
| Large (40+) | 13 | 0 | top 62% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in CA (31 of 37 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (37 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 665.70
- 2 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 693.1088 | 684.38 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 689.1544 | 670.78 |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 688.5716 | 672.67 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 682.1368 | 678.58 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 675.3484 | 667.30 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 695.4172 | 665.01 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 644.4112 | 644.41 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 654.7200 | 636.71 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-24 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 16 / 29 (674.8116) | 17 (169.1200) | 21 (165.0972) | 13 (169.7372) | 10 (170.8572) |
| 2026-03-20 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 12 / 27 (682.8572) | 15 (172.0344) | 16 (168.5256) | 14 (170.2856) | 6 (172.0116) |
| 2026-01-30 | The Golden State Battle VIII Riverside, CA | 11 / 41 (693.1088) | 8 (176.5716) | 20 (170.8572) | 10 (175.4056) | 18 (170.2744) |
| 2026-01-16 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 14 / 53 (686.7312) | 24 (171.9772) | 21 (171.9656) | 32 (168.5256) | 12 (174.2628) |
| 2025-08-09 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 2) Felton, CA | 17 / 21 (655.9204) | 1 (176.0000) | 9 (169.7144) | 20 (155.9544) | 18 (154.2516) |
| 2025-08-08 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) Felton, CA | 20 / 25 (662.1376) | 15 (169.6916) | 23 (158.8232) | 17 (163.9428) | 12 (169.6800) |
| 2025-04-25 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 21 / 31 (666.7768) | 17 (171.4056) | 26 (162.2400) | 18 (166.8456) | 15 (166.2856) |
| 2025-03-14 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 6 / 26 (689.1544) | 13 (170.8800) | 5 (177.7144) | 7 (174.8800) | 19 (165.6800) |
| 2025-01-25 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 2) Hollister, CA | 18 / 27 (687.4400) | 22 (169.7372) | 9 (174.8572) | 14 (172.0000) | 13 (170.8456) |
| 2025-01-24 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 1) Hollister, CA | 28 / 31 (659.8508) | 24 (165.6684) | 15 (171.9656) | 29 (156.5140) | 16 (165.7028) |
| 2025-01-17 | 10th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 22 / 48 (674.1944) | 3 (177.7028) | 7 (173.1200) | 36 (160.5372) | 31 (162.8344) |
| 2024-07-06 | 2024 Icebox Cookoff Sweet Home, OR | 6 / 37 (688.5716) | 1 (180.0000) | 6 (176.5600) | 15 (172.0000) | 34 (160.0116) |
| 2024-06-14 | CBCA Clayton BBQ and Brews Festival (MASTERS) Clayton, CA | 10 / 25 (679.9428) | 2 (177.1428) | 1 (176.5944) | 16 (164.5256) | 15 (161.6800) |
| 2024-05-24 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off Felton, CA | 13 / 21 (667.8856) | 9 (173.1200) | 6 (172.5600) | 18 (158.8228) | 13 (163.3828) |
| 2024-04-26 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 25 / 34 (670.2172) | 4 (177.7028) | 28 (163.9544) | 10 (174.2856) | 30 (154.2744) |
| 2024-03-01 | The Golden State Battle VI Hollister, CA | 30 / 33 (656.4228) | 32 (162.7884) | 17 (167.4172) | 24 (165.1200) | 28 (161.0972) |
| 2024-01-12 | 9th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 34 / 58 (673.0056) | 33 (170.8228) | 21 (171.4056) | 25 (170.8344) | 42 (159.9428) |
| 2023-11-17 | Golden State Battle of Indio Indio, CA | 29 / 40 (682.1368) | 35 (168.5256) | 7 (176.5600) | 24 (171.9656) | 33 (165.0856) |
| 2023-06-02 | Horse Town Brew n Que Festival Norco, CA | 26 / 43 (675.9316) | 9 (175.4172) | 37 (163.9772) | 27 (169.1200) | 21 (167.4172) |
| 2023-05-26 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook-Off Felton, CA | 5 / 19 (677.6796) | 3 (174.2628) | 9 (167.4056) | 10 (167.9884) | 8 (168.0228) |
| 2022-04-02 | 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship - Day 2 Arcadia, CA | 23 / 27 (658.6856) | 22 (166.2400) | 22 (166.8228) | 23 (163.9656) | 23 (161.6572) |
| 2022-04-01 | 9th Annual Santa Anita Winners' Circle BBQ Championship Arcadia, CA | 26 / 37 (664.4228) | 16 (170.8228) | 26 (165.6800) | 29 (162.2400) | 20 (165.6800) |
| 2022-01-22 | The Golden State Battle IV - Day 2 Santa Barbara, CA | 19 / 25 (675.3484) | 5 (177.7144) | 19 (166.8456) | 15 (168.5484) | 20 (162.2400) |
| 2022-01-21 | The Golden State Battle IV - Day 1 Santa Barbara, CA | 20 / 30 (665.5996) | 24 (163.9428) | 2 (178.2972) | 20 (167.4056) | 25 (155.9540) |
| 2022-01-14 | Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 24 / 59 (672.4340) | 27 (169.1084) | 36 (165.1200) | 34 (166.2284) | 9 (171.9772) |
| 2021-11-05 | Indio California State BBQ Championship & Festival Indio, CA | 24 / 33 (652.9600) | 24 (163.9428) | 33 (151.3600) | 18 (169.1200) | 17 (168.5372) |
| 2021-10-15 | Lassen Annual BBQ Cook-off Susanville, CA | 7 / 11 (657.0052) | 6 (166.8456) | 5 (166.2400) | 10 (150.7768) | 3 (173.1428) |
| 2021-06-04 | 2nd Annual Throwdown in the Vineyards Murphy, CA | 14 / 29 (667.8284) | 4 (176.5600) | 22 (163.9544) | 22 (159.3484) | 11 (167.9656) |
| 2021-04-17 | The Golden State Battle III - Day 2 Hollister, CA | 5 / 26 (695.4172) | 1 (180.0000) | 4 (176.5944) | 11 (171.4056) | 18 (167.4172) |
| 2021-04-16 | The Golden State Battle III - Day 1 Hollister, CA | 26 / 41 (651.8396) | 17 (166.2284) | 29 (159.9428) | 35 (158.8456) | 22 (166.8228) |
| 2020-01-24 | The Golden State Battle II Hollister, CA | 38 / 46 (644.4112) | 26 (167.3828) | 39 (155.3944) | 37 (160.5256) | 32 (161.1084) |
| 2019-09-20 | 5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship | 32 / 44 (650.1600) | 2 (179.4400) | 35 (159.3828) | 29 (161.6800) | 38 (149.6572) |
| 2019-07-26 | Gilroy Garli-Que BBQ Challenge Gilroy, CA | 25 / 36 (654.7200) | 2 (177.1428) | 20 (166.2744) | 29 (155.9200) | 30 (155.3828) |
| 2019-06-21 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA | 39 (620.4340) | 13 (171.4516) | 36 (154.8000) | 46 (145.0740) | 39 (149.1084) |
| 2019-04-26 | Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 38 / 48 (625.6116) | 37 (158.2516) | 35 (158.2628) | 37 (152.5256) | 30 (156.5716) |
| 2019-03-30 | 8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 2 Arcadia, CA | 45 / 47 (633.5204) | 34 (167.3944) | 45 (151.9316) | 46 (152.5256) | 38 (161.6688) |
| 2019-03-29 | 8th Annual Santa Anita Winners Circle BBQ Championship Day 1 Arcadia, CA | 59 / 70 (635.8288) | 55 (159.9428) | 50 (161.6800) | 25 (170.2744) | 67 (143.9316) |
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 | #318 (362 pts) | #400 (322 pts) | #485 (262 pts) | #383 (302 pts) | #301 (387 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #348 (621 pts) | #237 (941 pts) | #315 (831 pts) | #359 (631 pts) | #348 (656 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #338 (643 pts) | #206 (1053 pts) | #236 (1013 pts) | #360 (608 pts) | #432 (503 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #679 (229 pts) | #537 (364 pts) | #890 (189 pts) | #816 (179 pts) | #749 (219 pts) |