They almost always walk
89%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 8 of 9 contests
A top-10 category call in 89% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
BAMA-QUE
BAMA-QUE is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2021. Their best overall finish is 4th of 23 at the Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) (2020). They are ranked #1897 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “BAMA QUE”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1543
peak 1543 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Mar 13, 2015
latest May 21, 2021 · 6.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
5
56% of 9 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 37%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
89%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.17
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.72 · weakest Pork (161.70)
Road miles
1,087
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 171 mi
Schedule strength
35%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1546)
Purse competed for
$36K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
489.07 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
327.21 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
494.23 / 540
3 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to BAMA-QUE, each with one reason worth a look.
61 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,902 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 24%
- Peak
- 1544
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to BAMA-QUE)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team BAMA-QUE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,894 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1547
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,891 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1545
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 8 years before BAMA-QUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,899 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1546
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,898 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1550
Level with BAMA-QUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,903 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 71%
- Peak
- 1544
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEE LA Q | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| RIBLIFE | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| REDBONES BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 172.5484 | 159.9656 | 167.72 | top 26% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 170.8688 | 146.7544 | 162.38 | top 52% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.9772 | 156.5600 | 161.70 | top 50% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 35% |
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 38% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 25% | Mar 12, 2021 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2020
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
6 of 9 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
7
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
191
finished ahead 145 times, behind 99
Longest layoff
3.6 yrs
Mar 13, 2015 → Oct 12, 2018
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20214 milestones
- Career-best overall score498.1712 Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)172.5484 Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1543) Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY)
20191 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score337.6800 Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY)
20153 milestones
- First tracked contest 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
- First call 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
- First overall top-10 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.4 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 13, 2020 |
| +8 | Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 11, 2019 |
| +6.9 | Roast-N-Boast | Oct 9, 2020 |
| +6.8 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 12, 2021 |
| +6 | 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY) | Mar 13, 2015 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -1.2 | Smokin In the Square | Mar 15, 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 41% | 93% | 92.6% |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 92% | 91.3% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 45% | 93.8% | 89.5% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 35% | 67.9% | 67.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2021 | Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY) Meridian, MS | 11 / 22 (334.7656) | 6 (170.8228) | 18 (163.9428) | — | — |
| Mar 12, 2021 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 9 / 28 (498.1712) | 5 (172.5484) | 14 (159.9428) | 12 (165.6800) | — |
| Oct 9, 2020 | Roast-N-Boast 🏅 Columbus, MS | 11 / 36 (487.4516) | 8 (162.8572) | 11 (168) | 19 (156.5944) | — |
| Sep 25, 2020 | Southern Sounds BBQ & Bluefest Backyard Contest 🏅 Semmes, AL | 10 / 23 (329.6916) | 5 (171.4172) | 18 (158.2744) | — | — |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 4 / 23 (497.0628) | 2 (171.4056) | 18 (157.6800) | 6 (167.9772) | — |
| Oct 11, 2019 | Butlerfest 2019 (BACKYARD ONLY) Butler, AL | 6 / 20 (337.6800) | 7 (166.8228) | 4 (170.8572) | — | — |
| Mar 15, 2019 | Smokin In the Square 🏅 Pensacola, FL | 21 / 35 (306.7200) | 12 (159.9656) | 25 (146.7544) | — | — |
| Oct 12, 2018 | Butler Fest 2018 Butler, AL | — | 6 (166.2628) | 4 (170.8688) | — | — |
| Mar 13, 2015 | 2015 BBQ & Brew (BACKYARD CONTEST ONLY) Fairhope, AL | 6 / 17 (489.0744) | 4 (167.4172) | 5 (165.0972) | 13 (156.5600) | — |