Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.
- Pork ×1
Castiron Cookers
Castiron Cookers is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 36 at the Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) (2025). Also listed in KCBS results as “Cast Iron Cookers”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1518
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 44 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Oct 16, 2025
latest Oct 15, 2026 · 1 year on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
11% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 43%
overall standings
Best overall
702.8000 / 720
Competitor Series · Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
679.90
last 5 Master vs avg 680.20 (-0.30)
Walk rate
56%
contests with a top-10 call
Best single call
180 🔥
Consistency
±8.29
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 172.41 · weakest Pork Ribs (168.48)
Road miles
3,689
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 682 mi
Schedule strength
53%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1569)
Purse competed for
$260K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
680.20 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Castiron Cookers, each with one reason worth a look.
Castiron Cookers has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 79 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#2,543 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1519
Fewer contests behind them than Castiron Cookers has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,545 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1526
Level with Castiron Cookers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,547 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1519
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before Castiron Cookers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,546 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1519
They were already cooking in 2013, 12 years before Castiron Cookers's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,553 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1532
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Castiron Cookers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,565 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1518
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Castiron Cookers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| LC BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| RAZORRACKS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke Central BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 177.7144 | 153.0628 | 169.91 | top 48% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 163.4172 | 168.48 | top 62% |
| Pork | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 180 🔥 | 163.9428 | 172.41 | top 38% |
| Brisket | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 177.7028 | 163.4400 | 172.27 | top 30% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 41% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 43% | Oct 15, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
8 contests
Contests a season
4.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
3 of 9 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
7
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
566
finished ahead 500 times, behind 365
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Peak power rating (1518) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
- First perfect 180 (Pork) Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY)
- Most recent contest Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
20255 milestones
- First tracked contest Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
- First call Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
- First overall top-10 Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score702.8000 Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
- Career-best overall score702.8000 Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.6 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Apr 3, 2026 |
| +7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Sep 30, 2026 |
| +2.7 | Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff | Sep 11, 2026 |
| +0.1 | Big BBQ Bash | Sep 25, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 47% | 96.3% | 94.5% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 19% | 97.6% | 97.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2026 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA | 25 / 38 (680.5028) | 26 (169.7028) | 38 (163.4172) | 9 (176.5716) | 19 (170.8112) |
| Oct 9, 2026 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) unrated Lynchburg, TN | 25 / 99 (693.1084) | 59 (169.7372) | 94 (165.6684) | 3 (180) | 6 (177.7028) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS | 98 / 158 (681.6000) | 156 (153.0628) | 67 (173.1200) | 7 (178.8572) | 22 (176.5600) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 139 / 360 (685.0400) | 55 (175.4172) | 274 (165.6800) | 72 (175.4056) | 185 (168.5372) |
| Sep 25, 2026 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Townsend, TN | 17 / 30 (668.3884) | 18 (166.2400) | 18 (166.2400) | 21 (166.2400) | 13 (169.6684) |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 33 / 75 (671.3600) | 15 (173.1200) | 25 (170.8572) | 50 (163.9428) | 42 (163.4400) |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 15 / 42 (681.6800) | 15 (174.2628) | 28 (166.2744) | 24 (167.4400) | 5 (173.7028) |
| Oct 16, 2025 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA | 7 / 36 (702.8000) | 9 (177.7144) | 7 (176.5600) | 22 (170.8228) | 4 (177.7028) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.