Holy Smokes AZ
Rating
1431
peak 1431
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
2019-07-12
latest 2026-04-10
Best ToY finish
#1589
Master 2014
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 78%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
564.64 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 583.43 (-18.79)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±100.03
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 159.61 · weakest Brisket (151.37)
Road miles
10340
mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 2173 mi
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Meat Candy Q has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Teams like this (closest power rating, AZ first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8228 | 131.4284 | 153.89 | top 83% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 149.0628 | 159.61 | top 68% |
| Pork | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.8572 | 152.5028 | 159.07 | top 77% |
| Brisket | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 141.6344 | 151.37 | top 80% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 3 | 0 | top 64% |
| AZ | 3 | 0 | top 89% |
| TX | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| IN | 1 | 0 | top 61% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 90% |
| NY | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
| OH | 1 | 0 | top 64% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 64% |
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 0 | top 77% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 91% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2023 (3 contests)
- Cooks mostly in GA (3 of 12 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (11 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 583.43
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 595.9084 | 595.91 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 692.5028 | 692.50 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 311.8628 | 311.86 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 628.3892 | 617.11 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 618.1144 | 618.11 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 470.7884 | 470.79 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 623.8172 | 623.82 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 652.4572 | 626.71 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-10 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off Cedar Park, TX | 38 / 41 (595.9084) | 41 (131.4284) | 34 (156.0344) | 30 (158.7884) | 35 (149.6572) |
| 2025-10-03 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival Lyons, GA | 12 / 32 (692.5028) | 28 (166.8228) | 8 (174.2628) | 9 (174.8572) | 4 (176.5600) |
| 2025-07-25 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) New Freedom, PA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-06-14 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Logansport, IN | 17 / 28 (311.8628) | 21 (151.9200) | 14 (159.9428) | — | — |
| 2023-06-02 | Honeybee BBQ Competition Lafayette, GA | 27 / 27 (604.9260) | 27 (153.6572) | 27 (150.2172) | 26 (158.2400) | 27 (142.8116) |
| 2023-04-21 | Smokin in the Creek BBQ Sugar Creek, MO | 46 / 51 (618.0228) | 39 (157.0628) | 50 (149.0628) | 45 (158.8116) | 46 (153.0856) |
| 2023-03-10 | BBQ & Brew Fest - Best in the Southwest Yuma, AZ | 30 / 32 (628.3892) | 30 (162.2744) | 25 (162.8460) | 29 (159.3600) | 30 (143.9088) |
| 2022-02-18 | BBQ & Brew 'Best in the Southwest' Festival Yuma, AZ | 30 / 34 (618.1144) | 33 (150.2744) | 22 (165.1200) | 28 (159.9656) | 31 (142.7544) |
| 2021-09-24 | BBQ Boogie & Blues Calhoun, GA | 15 / 27 (470.7884) | 14 (159.9656) | 13 (158.2628) | 19 (152.5600) | — |
| 2020-02-28 | Best in the Desert Southwest KCBS BBQ Competition Yuma, AZ | 25 / 29 (623.8172) | 15 (166.2628) | 25 (155.3600) | 24 (156.5144) | 26 (145.6800) |
| 2019-07-20 | Ribs and Rhythm & Blues Auburn, NY | 31 / 34 (600.9600) | 32 (141.1084) | 19 (165.7144) | 27 (152.5028) | 33 (141.6344) |
| 2019-07-12 | Adath Israel Kosher BBQ Cook-off (KOSHER SERIES) Cincinnati, OH | 9 / 14 (652.4572) | 12 (151.9656) | 8 (158.8344) | — | 8 (166.2400) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2012 (60 pts) | #1996 (60 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2274 (60 pts) | #2353 (60 pts) | #2349 (60 pts) | #2326 (60 pts) | #2345 (60 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2158 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2225 (60 pts) | #2214 (60 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #1589 (150 pts) | #1666 (150 pts) | #1653 (150 pts) | #1668 (150 pts) | #1664 (150 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1647 (133 pts) | #1485 (163 pts) | #1727 (133 pts) | #1748 (133 pts) | #1680 (133 pts) |