The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Hot Thang BBQ has finished one call ahead of Half Chicken Man 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Half Chicken Man
Half Chicken Man is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 16th of 40 at the BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (2026). They are ranked #3540 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1492
peak 1492 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Mar 22, 2025
latest Mar 28, 2026 · 1 year on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.00
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 160.63 · weakest Chicken (155.69)
Road miles
97
across 5 mapped stops
Schedule strength
88%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1621)
Purse competed for
$23K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
316.32 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Half Chicken Man, each with one reason worth a look.
140 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,518 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1493
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Half Chicken Man's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,561 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,521 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
They were already cooking in 2014, 11 years before Half Chicken Man's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,539 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
Level with Half Chicken Man on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,525 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1492
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Half Chicken Man's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,543 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1510
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Half Chicken Man'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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| smokey anderson bbq | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Buckshot's BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| BLUE & GRAY BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Dog Bite Barbecue | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Piggy & Swine BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Bastian's Barbecue Co. | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| 3 EYZ BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| B'S QUE | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Capt. Blue BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE & SHINE BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 144.4340 | 155.69 | top 57% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2284 | 154.7656 | 160.63 | top 51% |
“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 68% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 48% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) | 3 | 16 | 0 | top 50% | Mar 28, 2026 |
| Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2) | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 76% | Aug 9, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
2.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
VA
5 of 5 contests
Contests visited
2
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
98
finished ahead 83 times, behind 184
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20265 milestones
- First call BBQ Gives Back (Day 1)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.7540 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score330.7540 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)170.8228 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1)
- Most recent contest BBQ Gives Back (Day 2)
20252 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)
- Peak power rating (1498) BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.2 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) | Mar 27, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8 | Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1) | Aug 8, 2025 |
| -3.2 | Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2) | Aug 9, 2025 |
| -1.6 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | Mar 22, 2025 |
| -0.2 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) | Mar 28, 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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 46% | 91.9% | 89.1% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 69% | 88.4% | 87.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 2026 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 19 / 36 (310.6624) | 19 (144.4340) | 11 (166.2284) | — | — |
| Mar 27, 2026 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 16 / 40 (330.7540) | 9 (170.8228) | 17 (159.9312) | — | — |
| Aug 9, 2025 | Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2) 🏅 Doswell, VA | 17 / 25 (318.1712) | 17 (158.7884) | 16 (159.3828) | — | — |
| Aug 8, 2025 | Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1) 🏅 Doswell, VA | 21 / 25 (307.8740) | 21 (145.0512) | 16 (162.8228) | — | — |
| Mar 22, 2025 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 24 / 43 (314.1256) | 24 (159.3600) | 24 (154.7656) | — | — |