A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The Hawg Pen
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1485 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2017-06-02
latest 2019-09-12
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 72%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
624.50
last 3 Master vs avg 624.50 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.17
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.15 · weakest Pork (149.87)
Road miles
16
mi across 3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
46%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1559)
Purse competed for
$68K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
624.50 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 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.
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 Hawg Pen has 3 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 148 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.
#3882 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to The Hawg Pen)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team The Hawg Pen has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3850 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1529
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to The Hawg Pen)
They've been 1529 at their best, 44 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#3891 of the rated field
- Contests
- 37
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 5%
- Peak
- 1533
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to The Hawg Pen)
37 contests to 3: their number has had years to settle where The Hawg Pen's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#3890 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
Level with The Hawg Pen on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3881 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after The Hawg Pen did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Head-to-head#3879 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1084 | 153.6800 | 159.22 | top 64% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2628 | 158.2972 | 161.15 | top 61% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.7028 | 141.0744 | 149.87 | top 82% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.8800 | 146.8116 | 154.27 | top 67% |
“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.
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Kelley Wilson BBQ | 2 | 31 | 0 | top 62% | 2018-06-01 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.3 yrs
2017-06-02 → 2019-09-12
Busiest season
2019
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MO
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 161.15 · weakest Pork (149.87)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
624.50
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
534
64–510 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
16
3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1559
average field rating faced — tougher than 46% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$68,425
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1.3 yrs
2018-06-01 → 2019-09-12
Power rating
1485
peak 1485 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2017
- First tracked contest *Kelley Wilson BBQ
- Peak power rating (1499) *Kelley Wilson BBQ
- 2018
- Career-best overall score642.7540 *Kelley Wilson BBQ
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)166.2628 *Kelley Wilson BBQ
- 2019
- Most recent contest 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.2 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST | 2019-09-12 |
| -1.8 | *Kelley Wilson BBQ | 2018-06-01 |
| -1.5 | *Kelley Wilson BBQ | 2017-06-02 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 84.1% | 84.1% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 65% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 59% | 86.8% | 86.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-12 | 40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 433 / 468 (605.6228) | 359 (158.8568) | 350 (158.8800) | 457 (141.0744) | 428 (146.8116) |
| 2018-06-01 | *Kelley Wilson BBQ Kansas City, MO | 31 / 48 (642.7540) | 39 (153.6800) | 23 (166.2628) | 24 (165.7028) | 32 (157.1084) |
| 2017-06-02 | *Kelley Wilson BBQ Kansas City, MO | 36 / 61 (625.1200) | 20 (165.1084) | 36 (158.2972) | 60 (142.8344) | 27 (158.8800) |