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Dead Last BBQ

Dead Last BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 47 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival (2014). They are ranked #1722 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,722
of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1551
peak 1638 · rated over 46 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

47
in the data

First seen

May 10, 2013
latest Apr 10, 2026 · 12.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#355
Master 2014 · every season

Grand champs

1
0 reserve · wins it all 2% of the time

Category wins

3
6 podiums

Overall top-10s

7
15% of 47 contests

Best top-10 run

3
straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 40%
overall standings

Best overall

685.7372 / 720
Master · East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival

Perfect 180s

0

Current form

588.02 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 652.24 (-64.23)

Walk rate

49%
contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4400
Chicken · Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship

Consistency

±32.14
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken
avg 165.33 · weakest Brisket (161.76)

Road miles

2,790
across 47 mapped stops · furthest 605 mi

Schedule strength

23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)

Purse competed for

$119K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅
won from 21 state-championship entries

Master avg

652.24 / 720
47 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE has finished one call ahead of Dead Last BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2014 1 Grand Championship

2014 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 17%.

  • 6 contests
  • 2 overall top-10s
  • 1 category win
  • average top 17%
Show 6 more storylines

A strong matchup

20–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 95% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of PORK 'N MINDY in 20 of their 21 shared contests.

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off (Jun 4, 2021).

  • last seen Sep 27, 2019
  • back Jun 4, 2021

Chicken nemesis

15 of 18 shared chicken entries lost

B & C SMOKERS ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, B & C SMOKERS has out-cooked them in 15 of 18 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BALDIN' SMOKIN' BANDITOS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 21% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 21% across 7 contests, versus top 40% the rest of the year.

  • 7 September contests
  • top 40% the rest of the year

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

YearSeriesOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
2019 ↗ Master #1471 (120 pts) #1208 (205 pts) #1575 (120 pts) #1042 (265 pts) #1536 (120 pts)
2018 ↗ Master #1524 (120 pts) #1598 (120 pts) #1555 (130 pts) #1380 (175 pts) #1586 (120 pts)
2017 ↗ Master #846 (435 pts) #883 (440 pts) #933 (410 pts) #732 (560 pts) #736 (535 pts)
2016 ↗ Master #530 (745 pts) #637 (645 pts) #379 (1,005 pts) #665 (605 pts) #587 (685 pts)
2015 ↗ Master #1549 (145 pts) #1520 (175 pts) #1776 (120 pts) #2171 (70 pts) #1763 (120 pts)
2014 ↗ Master #355 (1,036 pts) #525 (736 pts) #508 (781 pts) #596 (656 pts) #377 (991 pts)
2013 ↗ Master #484 (639 pts) #426 (724 pts) #429 (744 pts) #506 (644 pts) #487 (659 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Dead Last BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

67 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

MOO COW
#1,730 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
17
GCs
0
Top-10s
35%
Peak
1566
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to Dead Last BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Dead Last BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

  • rated over 17 contests
  • last seen Jun 1, 2018
⚔ Head-to-head
BIG BUTT BBQ
#1,729 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
13
GCs
0
Top-10s
15%
Peak
1551
3–2 in 5 shared contests (60% to Dead Last BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

  • rated over 13 contests
  • last seen Apr 22, 2016
⚔ Head-to-head
Wicked Pig
#1,716 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
6
GCs
0
Top-10s
33%
Peak
1551
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Dead Last BBQ)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Dead Last BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

  • rated over 6 contests
⚔ Head-to-head
GRILLKUNST
#1,719 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
34
GCs
1
Top-10s
47%
Peak
1573

Careers of much the same size, 34 contests to 47, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

  • rated over 32 contests
  • last seen Aug 11, 2018
⚔ Compare careers
FREE RANGE BBQ
#1,726 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
25
GCs
0
Top-10s
16%
Peak
1581

25 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 16% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

  • rated over 24 contests
  • last seen Aug 24, 2018
⚔ Compare careers
HERDING SMOKE
#1,728 of the rated field
1551 power rating
Contests
15
GCs
1
Top-10s
40%
Peak
1552

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

  • rated over 15 contests
  • last seen Sep 26, 2015
⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

OpponentMeetingsAheadBehindWin rate
PORK 'N MINDY 21 20 1 95% ⚔ compare
PASSIONS OF THE PIT 20 16 4 80% ⚔ compare
BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE 20 2 18 10% ⚔ compare
B & C SMOKERS 18 4 14 22% ⚔ compare
913 BBQ 18 3 15 17% ⚔ compare
Griswold Grillers 17 14 3 82% ⚔ compare
Four Men and A Pig 17 4 13 24% ⚔ compare
Big Wigs BBQ 17 2 15 12% ⚔ compare
DIRT ROAD BBQ 17 0 17 0% ⚔ compare
T'S SMOKIN PIT 16 13 3 81% ⚔ compare
FUNNY FARM BBQ 16 8 8 50% ⚔ compare
Theslabs.com 16 6 10 38% ⚔ compare
KC Rib doctor 15 13 2 87% ⚔ compare
Evening Wood 15 13 2 87% ⚔ compare
3 GUYS WITH WOOD 15 10 5 67% ⚔ compare

By meat

CategoryEntriesCallsWinsPodiumsBestWorstAverageAvg finish
Chicken 47 10 2 2 179.4400 145.1428 165.33 top 40%
Pork Ribs 47 8 0 1 177.1428 148.0002 164.88 top 41%
Pork 46 5 0 1 177.7372 145.6912 163.75 top 47%
Brisket 47 7 1 2 176 134.8456 161.76 top 44%

“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

FieldContestsGCsAvg finish
Medium (20–39)30top 29%
Large (40+)441top 41%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

WhereContestsGCsAvg finish
KS301top 32%
MO70top 42%
TX60top 79%
NE40top 36%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

ContestVisitsBestGCsAvg finishLast visit
East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival 6 1 1 top 28% Aug 23, 2019
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 5 4 0 top 17% Sep 27, 2019
Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL) 5 9 0 top 35% May 5, 2017
Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 4 13 0 top 28% Jun 24, 2016
Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off 3 25 0 top 75% Apr 10, 2026
Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 3 30 0 top 83% Mar 28, 2025
RiverFest Red White and Que 3 12 0 top 34% Jul 15, 2016
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque 2 23 0 top 31% Sep 21, 2018
Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout 2 11 0 top 41% Jun 13, 2014

More numbers

Busiest season 2016 8 contests
Contests a season 3.6 across 13 seasons in the data
Most contests held in KS 30 of 47 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited 23 9 of them more than once
First title Aug 22, 2014 East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival
Opponents faced 1,898 finished ahead 2,950 times, behind 1,919
Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Sep 27, 2019 → Jun 4, 2021

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20261 milestone
  1. Most recent contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off
20162 milestones
  1. 25th tracked contest RiverFest Red White and Que
  2. Peak power rating (1638) Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
20151 milestone
  1. Career-best single call (Chicken)179.4400 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
20146 milestones
  1. 10th tracked contest RiverFest Red White and Que
  2. First overall podium East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival
  3. First Grand Championship East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival
  4. Biggest field won (69 teams) East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival
  5. Career-best overall score685.7372 East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival
  6. First category win (Brisket) Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
20134 milestones
  1. First tracked contest Sertoma 48 BBQ
  2. First call Sertoma 48 BBQ
  3. First overall top-10 Holy Smoke BBQ Contest
  4. First overall past 90% of a perfect score664.5484 Holy Smoke BBQ Contest

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

SwingContestDate
+14.5East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots FestivalAug 22, 2014
+12.3Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State ChampionshipJun 27, 2014
+12.2Shawnee Great Grillers State ChampionshipSep 26, 2014
+11.2Holy Smoke BBQ ContestAug 23, 2013
+10.9BBQ and Fly In on the RiverAug 14, 2015

📉 Toughest weekends

SwingContestDate
-17.3Cedar Fest BBQ CookoffMar 28, 2025
-14.5Cedar Fest BBQ Cook OffApr 10, 2026
-13.5Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-OffApr 1, 2022
-11.9Cedar Fest BBQ CookoffMar 31, 2023
-10.9Cedar Fest BBQ CookoffApr 5, 2024

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

SeasonContestsGCsTop-10sCategory winsWalk rateAvg finishBest overall (% of perfect)Avg overall (% of perfect)
20261000 0% top 90% 83% 83%
20251000 0% top 98% 65.1% 65.1%
20241000 0% top 75% 86.2% 86.2%
20231000 0% top 77% 88.2% 88.2%
20221000 0% top 84% 85.9% 85.9%
20211000 100% top 52% 90% 90%
20193000 67% top 46% 92.7% 91%
20183000 0% top 31% 92.8% 91.5%
20177000 29% top 42% 92% 90.7%
20168010 50% top 35% 94.1% 91.8%
20158022 63% top 31% 94.7% 92.4%
20146121 83% top 17% 95.2% 93.3%
20136020 67% top 38% 92.9% 90.5%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

DateEventOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
Apr 10, 2026 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 37 / 41 (597.6344) 32 (158.8344) 35 (155.9316) 39 (148.0228) 40 (134.8456)
Mar 28, 2025 Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 47 / 48 (468.5484) 25 (165.1428) 41 (154.8456) — 44 (148.5600)
Apr 5, 2024 Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 30 / 40 (620.4112) 16 (166.8456) 30 (157.6684) 36 (150.2628) 36 (145.6344)
Mar 31, 2023 Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 44 / 57 (634.7196) 45 (157.0972) 45 (159.3712) 54 (149.6684) 15 (168.5828)
Apr 1, 2022 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 47 / 56 (618.7652) 20 (167.9656) 55 (149.1200) 53 (145.6912) 42 (155.9884)
Jun 4, 2021 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX 25 / 48 (648.0228) 5 (175.4056) 33 (161.1772) 31 (164) 41 (147.4400)
Sep 27, 2019 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 31 / 102 (663.3140) 55 (164.5600) 36 (166.2628) 43 (166.2628) 29 (166.2284)
Aug 23, 2019 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS 31 / 66 (667.3032) 9 (173.1200) 37 (163.9772) 15 (170.8344) 42 (159.3716)
Jun 21, 2019 The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 113 / 183 (635.3256) 154 (151.9428) 101 (158.2400) 8 (174.3200) 143 (150.8228)
Sep 21, 2018 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque 🏅 Shawnee, KS 23 / 107 (667.9088) 15 (170.8344) 49 (165.0972) 70 (159.9772) 17 (172)
Aug 24, 2018 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 34 / 67 (653.0172) 55 (153.6572) 23 (168.0116) 15 (171.9772) 34 (159.3712)
Jun 22, 2018 The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle Lenexa, KS 40 / 185 (655.8972) 128 (154.8456) 28 (169.1316) 24 (170.8344) 71 (161.0856)
Sep 22, 2017 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship Barbeque 🏅 Shawnee, KS 45 / 112 (655.4056) 55 (162.3200) 66 (161.0856) 35 (166.8572) 30 (165.1428)
Aug 25, 2017 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 22 / 57 (662.1828) 34 (158.8456) 18 (167.3944) 34 (162.8228) 9 (173.1200)
Jul 21, 2017 Riverfest Community Festival Bellevue, NE 19 / 46 (660.0456) 22 (165.7256) 22 (161.7372) 2 (177.7372) 30 (154.8456)
Jun 23, 2017 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 56 / 184 (644.5716) 84 (159.4172) 38 (166.3316) 159 (149.1200) 18 (169.7028)
Jun 2, 2017 Kelley Wilson BBQ Kansas City, MO 19 / 61 (655.8284) 24 (162.2400) 33 (161.6684) 12 (170.2628) 21 (161.6572)
May 5, 2017 Sertoma 48 BBQ (JUDGESFULL) Lawrence, KS 19 / 44 (657.5888) 12 (169.7144) 29 (161.6688) 30 (160.5256) 14 (165.6800)
Apr 21, 2017 9th Annual VFW Post 846 BBQ Challenge Overland Park, KS 46 / 64 (637.0400) 52 (155.4172) 43 (158.2172) 41 (164.5828) 46 (158.8228)
Oct 29, 2016 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS 292 / 557 (653.6344) 494 (151.4172) 28 (174.8800) 140 (169.6800) 359 (157.6572)
Sep 23, 2016 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 24 / 111 (666.8112) 54 (162.8344) 9 (172.0228) 57 (163.9656) 21 (167.9884)
Aug 26, 2016 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 7 / 61 (677.6572) 25 (164.5372) 4 (174.2744) 15 (169.7256) 13 (169.1200)
Jul 15, 2016 RiverFest Red White and Que Bellevue, NE 15 / 45 (662.8112) 20 (164.0228) 3 (177.1428) 36 (155.9428) 17 (165.7028)
Jun 24, 2016 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 52 / 183 (646.8228) 172 (145.1428) 53 (165.1428) 36 (167.4172) 25 (169.1200)
Jun 3, 2016 Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition (KWBBQ) Kansas City, MO 15 / 45 (663.9088) 14 (168.5372) 33 (159.9660) 13 (168.5828) 10 (166.8228)
May 6, 2016 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 14 / 42 (670.8000) 14 (169.7028) 11 (171.4172) 22 (166.2744) 23 (163.4056)
Apr 8, 2016 The Best Damn BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake Smithville, MO 35 / 53 (646.7776) 19 (167.4628) 16 (167.4060) 40 (159.3944) 45 (152.5144)
Oct 3, 2015 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO 280 / 606 (654.2744) 303 (163.9772) 226 (166.8344) 380 (161.1428) 294 (162.3200)
Oct 2, 2015 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO 163 / 187 (654.1828) 101 (169.1200) 83 (169.1200) 179 (155.9772) 161 (159.9656)
Sep 25, 2015 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 11 / 112 (681.0856) 1 (179.4400) 28 (169.1200) 67 (158.2400) 7 (174.2856)
Aug 28, 2015 East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 12 / 65 (665.5768) 1 (177.7028) 51 (153.6228) 19 (166.8456) 12 (167.4056)
Aug 14, 2015 BBQ and Fly In on the River Excelsior Springs, MO 8 / 67 (681.6800) 19 (168.5600) 9 (172.5600) 19 (168.5828) 11 (171.9772)
Jul 17, 2015 RiverFest Red White and Que Bellevue, NE 16 / 45 (660.5260) 4 (174.3088) 13 (167.4172) 29 (158.2400) 25 (160.5600)
Jun 26, 2015 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 38 / 183 (654.7428) 92 (159.9656) 35 (167.4172) 19 (169.1544) 87 (158.2056)
May 8, 2015 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 9 / 45 (670.2400) 6 (173.1428) 13 (168.5716) 23 (163.4400) 13 (165.0856)
Sep 26, 2014 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 4 / 112 (682.8232) 28 (168.5600) 27 (167.4060) 20 (170.8572) 1 (176)
Aug 22, 2014 East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 1 / 69 (685.7372) 8 (171.9884) 5 (173.7144) 9 (169.7372) 5 (170.2972)
Jul 18, 2014 RiverFest Red White and Que Bellevue, NE 12 / 35 (667.9544) 15 (165.7372) 4 (172.5600) 14 (167.9772) 18 (161.6800)
Jun 27, 2014 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 13 / 184 (664.5716) 28 (168.0228) 76 (160.5716) 58 (162.8572) 5 (173.1200)
Jun 13, 2014 Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout Tonganoxie, KS 11 / 41 (669.0400) 5 (173.1544) 12 (167.9656) 25 (162.8000) 14 (165.1200)
May 9, 2014 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 17 / 54 (661.6916) 17 (166.8800) 22 (165.1316) 12 (168.0228) 27 (161.6572)
Oct 18, 2013 Autumn Blaze BBQ Smoke Off State Championship Contest 🏅 Garnett, KS 8 / 25 (669.0628) 4 (174.2972) 5 (169.6916) 10 (166.8456) 16 (158.2284)
Sep 27, 2013 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 23 / 114 (661.7032) 15 (169.1200) 12 (170.8916) 8 (173.1428) 88 (148.5488)
Aug 23, 2013 Holy Smoke BBQ Contest Liberty, MO 6 / 31 (664.5484) 8 (167.4400) 12 (163.4400) 11 (166.2856) 3 (167.3828)
Jun 21, 2013 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 104 / 183 (626.8570) 24 (168.5714) 151 (148.0002) 84 (160.5712) 131 (149.7142)
Jun 7, 2013 Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout Tonganoxie, KS 27 / 49 (644) 21 (164) 33 (158.8572) 34 (159.4284) 18 (161.7144)
May 10, 2013 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 22 / 49 (642.2856) 30 (158.8572) 9 (167.4286) 30 (157.7142) 30 (158.2856)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

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