A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead in 100% of their meetings
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
The Bearded Grillbillies
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1515
peak 1516 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2017-08-11
latest 2020-06-26
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 43%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 155.22 · weakest Brisket (141.66)
Road miles
40
mi across 5 mapped stops
Schedule strength
48%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1562)
Purse competed for
$20K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
464.23 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
308.50 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (3 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 strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of HARCO LOCO BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
3 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3 years, then back at Maryland State BBQ Bash (2017-08-11).
- last seen 2014-08-08
- back 2017-08-11
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.
The Bearded Grillbillies has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 82 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#2637 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2642 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
Level with The Bearded Grillbillies on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2617 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
3 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Head-to-head#2620 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1526
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2616 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 3 years before The Bearded Grillbillies's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2621 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 100%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154.8456 | 150.2172 | 152.14 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 156.5716 | 153.6572 | 155.22 | top 44% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151.9772 | 151.9772 | 151.98 | top 91% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 141.6572 | 141.6572 | 141.66 | top 97% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 2 | 0 | top 60% |
| MD | 2 | 0 | top 25% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 21% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York County BBQ Festival | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 60% | 2020-06-26 |
| Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 25% | 2019-08-09 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.9 yrs
2017-08-11 → 2020-06-26
Busiest season
2020
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MD
3 of 5 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
2
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 155.22 · weakest Brisket (141.66)
Walk rate
20%
a top-10 call in 1 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
20%
1 of 5 contests
Master average
464.23
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
308.50
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
201
174–91 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
40
5 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1562
average field rating faced — tougher than 48% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$19,650
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3 yrs
2014-08-08 → 2017-08-11
Power rating
1515
peak 1516 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2014
- First tracked contest MD State BBQ Bash, Presented by Mars Super Markets
- 2017
- First overall top-10 Maryland State BBQ Bash
- First overall podium Maryland State BBQ Bash
- Peak power rating (1516) Maryland State BBQ Bash
- 2018
- Career-best overall score601.5660 *York County BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)156.5716 *York County BBQ Festival
- 2019
- First call Maryland State BBQ Bash
- 2020
- Most recent contest York County BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.6 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2017-08-11 |
| +5.3 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2019-08-09 |
| +1.9 | York County BBQ Festival | 2020-06-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.4 | *York County BBQ Festival | 2018-06-29 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 36% | 85.7% | 85.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | — | — |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | top 6% | 45.4% | 45.4% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-26 | York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA | 19 / 53 (308.5028) | 18 (154.8456) | 18 (153.6572) | — | — |
| 2019-08-09 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 13 / 30 (305.6344) | 20 (150.2172) | 8 (155.4172) | — | — |
| 2018-06-29 | *York County BBQ Festival Delta, PA | 28 / 33 (601.5660) | 26 (151.3600) | 24 (156.5716) | 30 (151.9772) | 32 (141.6572) |
| 2017-08-11 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | 3 / 47 (326.9028) | — | — | — | — |
| 2014-08-08 | MD State BBQ Bash, Presented by Mars Super Markets Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |