The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Take It Easy BBQ has finished one call ahead of Hillbilly Bar-B-Q 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Hillbilly Bar-B-Q
Hillbilly Bar-B-Q is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 25 at the Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) (2025). They are ranked #4044 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Hillbilly Bar B Q”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1482
peak 1482 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
May 28, 2016
latest Aug 15, 2026 · 10.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
17% of 12 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 64%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
324.93 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 323.75 (+1.18)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±9.26
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 160.48 · weakest Pork (81.71)
Road miles
2,417
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 1,812 mi
Schedule strength
76%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1597)
Purse competed for
$51K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
526.81 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
323.75 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
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 Hillbilly Bar-B-Q, each with one reason worth a look.
135 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,032 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 39%
- Peak
- 1521
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Hillbilly Bar-B-Q)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Hillbilly Bar-B-Q has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,046 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1502
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,054 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1482
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,049 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Hillbilly Bar-B-Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,031 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1501
Level with Hillbilly Bar-B-Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,037 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1526
They turned up 6 years after Hillbilly Bar-B-Q did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take It Easy BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HORMONAL ESCAPE COMPETITION BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| OnlyCans Competition BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| 1Bite Stand | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Two Pigs And A Smoker | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.0116 | 147.9656 | 160.48 | top 52% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 169.6800 | 120.5256 | 159.91 | top 63% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 143.4288 | 20 | 81.71 | top 92% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154.2972 | 138.8344 | 146.57 | top 91% |
“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) | 8 | 0 | top 60% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge | 3 | 7 | 0 | top 40% | Mar 27, 2026 |
| Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 51% | Aug 15, 2026 |
| Trekking for CDH | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 78% | Sep 13, 2025 |
| BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) | 2 | 37 | 0 | top 98% | May 27, 2017 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
2.4
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
5 of 12 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
4
4 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
12 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
210
finished ahead 113 times, behind 278
Longest layoff
7.3 yrs
May 27, 2017 → Sep 14, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.6800 Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Most recent contest Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)
20253 milestones
- First call Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1)
- First overall top-10 Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score331.3600 Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1)
20163 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
- Career-best overall score570.8004 BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
- Peak power rating (1487) BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.4 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) | Mar 28, 2025 |
| +9.1 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) | Mar 29, 2025 |
| +4.4 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | Aug 15, 2026 |
| +2.1 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) | Aug 14, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.9 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) | May 27, 2017 |
| -13.1 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay | May 28, 2016 |
| -7.9 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 13, 2025 |
| -5.7 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 14, 2024 |
| -2.2 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge | Mar 27, 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 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25% | top 54% | 92.2% | 90.6% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60% | top 48% | 93% | 90.6% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 71% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 67.1% | 67.1% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 79.3% | 79.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 14 / 32 (331.9200) | 11 (165.6800) | 13 (166.2400) | — | — |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) 🏅 Troy, IL | 15 / 26 (326.7772) | 13 (163.3944) | 15 (163.3828) | — | — |
| Mar 28, 2026 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Robert, MO | — | — | 7 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 16 / 26 (319.3484) | 16 (158.2628) | 16 (161.0856) | — | — |
| Sep 13, 2025 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 23 / 27 (311.8284) | 22 (154.7656) | 23 (157.0628) | — | — |
| Sep 13, 2025 | Trekking for CDH (ONE MEAT RIBS) Pierron, IL | — | — | 19 (162.8000) | — | — |
| Mar 29, 2025 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 7 / 25 (334.7772) | 8 (165.0972) | 4 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Mar 29, 2025 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Robert, MO | — | — | 9 (167.4400) | — | — |
| Mar 28, 2025 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 8 / 27 (331.3600) | 8 (166.2744) | 9 (165.0856) | — | — |
| Sep 14, 2024 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 25 / 35 (310.2056) | 25 (147.9656) | 20 (162.2400) | — | — |
| May 27, 2017 | BBQ Blues & Brews on the Bay (JUDGES FULL) North Bend, OR | 37 / 37 (482.8228) | 29 (154.8456) | 35 (153.6800) | 37 (20) | 32 (154.2972) |
| May 28, 2016 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 41 / 43 (570.8004) | 12 (168.0116) | 41 (120.5256) | 36 (143.4288) | 41 (138.8344) |