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.
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
2025 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 38%.
BBQ MIKE ahead in 100% of their meetings
BBQ MIKE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Bucknutz BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Off the trail for 8.9 years, then back at American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest (2025-03-21).
WHEN PIGS DIE has landed one call behind them 2 times.
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.
151 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Brown Dog BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headThis is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 6 years after Brown Dog BBQ did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with Brown Dog BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 167.9888 | 133.6916 | 155.59 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 174.2856 | 149.7716 | 165.81 | top 48% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1200 | 161.1200 | 161.12 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148.5600 | 148.5600 | 148.56 | top 82% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 2 | 0 | top 48% |
| MO | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| NE | 1 | 0 | top 17% |
| CO | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 61% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 69% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 80% | 2026-03-20 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.4 | Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown | 2025-07-11 |
| +6.6 | Tri-City BBQ Fest | 2025-09-19 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.1 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 2016-04-15 |
| -11 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest | 2026-03-20 |
| -3.7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest | 2025-03-21 |
| -3.1 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2026-04-03 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 91.9% | 91% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 67% | top 38% | 95.1% | 91.6% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 82.4% | 82.4% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-03 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 29 / 42 (330.8000) | 32 (163.9772) | 24 (166.8228) | — | — |
| 2026-03-20 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO | 30 / 33 (324.5600) | 31 (162.2972) | 26 (162.2628) | — | — |
| 2025-09-19 | Tri-City BBQ Fest 🏅 Denison, IA | 7 / 26 (316.5256) | 8 (145.6456) | 1 (170.8800) | — | — |
| 2025-07-11 | Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown 🏅 Papillion, NE | 4 / 24 (342.2744) | 5 (167.9888) | 3 (174.2856) | — | — |
| 2025-03-21 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO | 23 / 33 (330.7540) | 30 (159.9428) | 15 (170.8112) | — | — |
| 2016-04-15 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Fort Collins, CO | 28 / 28 (593.1432) | 28 (133.6916) | 25 (149.7716) | 18 (161.1200) | 23 (148.5600) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #234 (118 pts) | #241 (118 pts) | #245 (123 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #149 (388 pts) | #156 (343 pts) | #111 (573 pts) | — | — |