When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL

When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Mission Q (Backyard Only) (2021). They are ranked #1896 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,896

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1543

peak 1543 · rated over 12 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Nov 19, 2021

latest Mar 27, 2026 · 4.4 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#218

Backyard 2024 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve · wins it all 8% of the time

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

25% of 12 contests

Avg finish

top 50%

overall standings

Best overall

501.6456 / 540

Backyard · Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)

Perfect 180s

Current form

338.80 ▲

last 5 Backyard vs avg 337.94 (+0.86)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7028

Chicken · Mission Q (Backyard Only)

Consistency

±5.53

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 169.79 · weakest Pork (162.23)

Road miles

719

across 12 mapped stops · furthest 149 mi

Schedule strength

53%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)

Purse competed for

$91K

listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 3 state-championship entries

Backyard avg

337.94 / 360

10 Backyard contests · 1 GC

Backyard (3-meat) avg

499.34 / 540

2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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.

Storylines (9 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Against the odds

23-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 77 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Mission Q (Backyard Only) (Nov 19, 2021) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 23-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, LEE LA Q.

High-water mark

501.6456 career-best overall

92.9% of a perfect 540

Their best day on record: 501.6456 at Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) — 92.9% of a perfect 540.

Backyard
Apr 22, 2022

A tough matchup

10–1 behind in the head-to-head

NORALA BBQ TEAM ahead in 91% of their meetings

NORALA BBQ TEAM has come out ahead in 10 of their 11 shared contests.

The drought

11 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Mission Q (Backyard Only) on Nov 19, 2021 — 11 contests and 4.9 years ago.

last GC Nov 19, 2021
4.9 years ago

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of The Real Squeal BBQ in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

NORALA BBQ TEAM ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, NORALA BBQ TEAM has out-cooked them in 9 of 11 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

1st at their very first contest

Finished 1 of 14 at their very first tracked contest, Mission Q (Backyard Only) (Nov 19, 2021).

Nov 19, 2021
14-team field

Show 2 more storylines

Built for the big stage

Top 43% average finish in large fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 43% finish in large fields against top 65% in small ones.

Large (40+): top 43% (5)
Small (<20 teams): top 65% (4)

The metronome

±1.51% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.51% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 93.6% of a perfect score
12 contests

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026 ↗	Backyard	#289 (95 pts)	#282 (100 pts)	#295 (95 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Backyard	#358 (70 pts)	#286 (135 pts)	#380 (60 pts)	—	—
2024 ↗	Backyard	#218 (200 pts)	#226 (205 pts)	#241 (190 pts)	—	—
2023 ↗	Backyard	—	#154 (312 pts)	#163 (312 pts)	—	—
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#79 (619 pts)	#82 (639 pts)	—	—

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL, each with one reason worth a look.

61 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Slice to Meat You

#1,899 of the rated field

1543 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1546

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Oct 17, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQ WorX

#1,890 of the rated field

1544 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1544

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Jun 19, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Small Batch BBQ MD

#1,901 of the rated field

1543 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1561

Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Jun 27, 2025

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Slow & Easy BBQ

#1,885 of the rated field

1544 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1548

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 10 contests

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Hoosier BBQ

#1,895 of the rated field

1543 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 67%
Peak: 1543

15 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 67% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Sep 19, 2026
on a 5-contest top-10 run

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SMOKING BAD BBQ TEAM

#1,887 of the rated field

1544 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 59%
Peak: 1569

They were already cooking in 2015, 6 years before When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL's first contest.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Sep 14, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
NORALA BBQ TEAM	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
LEE LA Q	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
Scuttlebutts	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare
Hickory Hangover	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
The Real Squeal BBQ	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
LENOX & SON BBQ COMPANY	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
2 Swine Crew	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
RIBLIFE	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
REDBONES BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Bentley Que	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Smokey Bees BBQ - MS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Dogpatch Q	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
Deviant Smoke	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
Mad Rocket Barbecue	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	12	3	1	177.7028	166.2516	169.79	top 49%
Pork Ribs	12	3	0	174.2744	162.2628	168.01	top 51%
Pork	2	1	0	166.2400	158.2284	162.23	top 65%

“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
Small (<20 teams)	4	1	top 65%
Medium (20–39)	3	0	top 42%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 43%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)	3	16	0	top 46%	Mar 27, 2026
Mission Q (Backyard Only)	2	1	1	top 45%	Sep 16, 2022

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 4 contests

Contests a season 2 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in AL 12 of 12 contests

Contests visited 9 2 of them more than once

First title Nov 19, 2021 Mission Q (Backyard Only)

Opponents faced 291 finished ahead 276 times, behind 209

Longest layoff 1 yrs Mar 21, 2025 → Mar 27, 2026

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20262 milestones

Mar 27 Peak power rating (1543) Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)
Mar 27 Most recent contest Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)

20241 milestone

Apr 26 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)

20221 milestone

Apr 22 Career-best overall score501.6456 Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)

20217 milestones

Nov 19 First tracked contest Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 First call Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 First overall top-10 Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 First overall podium Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 First Grand Championship Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 First overall past 90% of a perfect score350.2628 Mission Q (Backyard Only)
Nov 19 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7028 Mission Q (Backyard Only)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+19.3	Mission Q (Backyard Only)	Nov 19, 2021
+7.9	Poosa Q	May 5, 2022
+4.8	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)	Apr 22, 2022
+4.7	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 10, 2022
+4.6	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)	Mar 22, 2024

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.8	Mission Q (Backyard Only)	Sep 16, 2022
-3	Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023	Oct 27, 2023

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	0	0	0%	top 42%	95.4%	95.4%
2025	1	0	0	100%	top 53%	93.2%	93.2%
2024	2	0	0	0%	top 44%	94.6%	94.4%
2023	3	0	1	33%	top 72%	94%	93.1%
2022	4	0	1	25%	top 49%	93%	92.5%
2021	1	1	1	100%	top 7%	97.3%	97.3%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Mar 27, 2026	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL	18 / 43 (343.3712)	17 (172.5484)	18 (170.8228)	—	—
Mar 21, 2025	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL	23 / 43 (335.3828)	10 (172)	29 (163.3828)	—	—
Apr 26, 2024	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL	18 / 40 (340.5144)	18 (170.8344)	19 (169.6800)	—	—
Mar 22, 2024	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL	16 / 38 (338.8116)	15 (170.2744)	17 (168.5372)	—	—
Oct 27, 2023	Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 🏅 Madison, AL	17 / 14 (335.9084)	16 (168.5256)	14 (167.3828)	—	—
Aug 4, 2023	Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL) Madison, AL	28 / 58 (338.2288)	36 (166.2516)	21 (171.9772)	—	—
Apr 14, 2023	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) 🏅 Chelsea, AL	8 / 17 (497.0284)	7 (166.8228)	10 (163.9656)	8 (166.2400)	—
Sep 16, 2022	Mission Q (Backyard Only) Tuscumbia, AL	15 / 18 (331.9084)	14 (169.1084)	14 (162.8000)	—	—
Jun 10, 2022	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	10 / 23 (330.2284)	12 (167.9656)	13 (162.2628)	—	—
May 5, 2022	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	20 / 72 (334.7884)	28 (166.2628)	20 (168.5256)	—	—
Apr 22, 2022	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) Florence, AL	14 / 34 (501.6456)	15 (169.1428)	5 (174.2744)	28 (158.2284)	—
Nov 19, 2021	Mission Q (Backyard Only) Tuscumbia, AL	1 / 14 (350.2628)	2 (177.7028)	5 (172.5600)	—	—

When Pigs Fly - Florence, AL

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (9 found in their record)

Against the odds

High-water mark

A tough matchup

The drought

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Announced themselves early

Built for the big stage

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)