The comeback
4 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4 years, then back at Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1) (Aug 23, 2019).
- last seen Sep 11, 2015
- back Aug 23, 2019
Fat Side Up
Fat Side Up is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 5th of 30 at the World Championship Hot wing Contest and Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) (2021). They finished #2158 in the 2015 Master Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1468
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 32 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jul 25, 2014
latest Aug 27, 2021 · 7.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
11% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 72%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.04
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 156.18 · weakest Brisket (144.14)
Road miles
1,012
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 596 mi
Schedule strength
33%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1544)
Purse competed for
$64K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
608.48 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2158 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2225 (60 pts) | #2214 (60 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Fat Side Up, each with one reason worth a look.
Fat Side Up has 3 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 154 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,723 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1468
Fewer contests behind them than Fat Side Up has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,729 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
They turned up 8 years after Fat Side Up did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careers#4,737 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
Level with Fat Side Up on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,719 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
Fewer contests behind them than Fat Side Up has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,742 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
Fewer contests behind them than Fat Side Up has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,698 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
Fewer contests behind them than Fat Side Up has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.2628 | 150.2632 | 153.50 | top 92% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4172 | 138.8688 | 154.66 | top 65% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.0800 | 146.7772 | 156.18 | top 74% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148.5372 | 135.3828 | 144.14 | top 89% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 53% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 90% |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TN
6 of 9 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
190
finished ahead 60 times, behind 145
Longest layoff
4 yrs
Sep 11, 2015 → Aug 23, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES)
20211 milestone
- First overall top-10 World Championship Hot wing Contest and Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES)
20193 milestones
- First call Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1)
- Career-best overall score624.9716 Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)171.4172 Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1)
20141 milestone
- Peak power rating (1489) Taste of Grand Rapids 2014
—2 milestones
- First tracked contest Southern Hotwing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score172.5600 Southern Hotwing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.4 | Windy City BBQ Classic | Sep 11, 2015 |
| -11 | Taste of Grand Rapids 2014 | Jul 25, 2014 |
| -8.2 | Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1) | Aug 23, 2019 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | 95.9% | 95.9% |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | top 17% | 96.8% | 96.8% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 90% | 86.8% | 86.8% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 85% | 85% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 81.7% | 81.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 2026 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 25, 2025 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 20, 2024 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 22, 2022 | World Championship Hot Wing Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 27, 2021 | World Championship Hot wing Contest and Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Memphis, TN | 5 / 30 (174.3200) | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1) 🏅 Brandon, MS | 26 / 29 (624.9716) | 27 (158.2628) | 4 (171.4172) | 29 (146.7772) | 28 (148.5144) |
| Sep 11, 2015 | Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL | 57 / 61 (611.8628) | 58 (151.9656) | 52 (153.6800) | 49 (157.6800) | 48 (148.5372) |
| Jul 25, 2014 | Taste of Grand Rapids 2014 Grand Rapids, MI | 48 / 55 (588.5948) | 48 (150.2632) | 53 (138.8688) | 23 (164.0800) | 51 (135.3828) |
| — | Southern Hotwing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Memphis, TN | 14 (172.5600) | — | — | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.