They almost always walk
67%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 6 of 9 contests
A top-10 category call in 67% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
4 Paws BBQ
4 Paws BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 60 at the Atlanta BBQ Store Classic (2023). They are ranked #2251 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1529
peak 1539 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Apr 28, 2023
latest Sep 25, 2026 · 3.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
44% of 9 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 44%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
338.21 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 336.49 (+1.72)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.43
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.51 · weakest Brisket (158.24)
Road miles
590
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 110 mi
Schedule strength
45%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1559)
Purse competed for
$58K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
647.76 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
336.49 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
496.45 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, 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.
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 4 Paws BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
71 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,246 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1530
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to 4 Paws BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 4 Paws BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,252 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 56%
- Peak
- 1529
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,250 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1529
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before 4 Paws BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,243 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1537
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,247 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1534
They were already cooking in 2013, 10 years before 4 Paws BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,254 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1529
Level with 4 Paws BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bentley Que | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 155.8968 | 167.51 | top 48% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 174.8456 | 159.3600 | 167.45 | top 40% |
| Pork | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4056 | 155.9200 | 165.79 | top 38% |
| Brisket | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 161.6572 | 154.8228 | 158.24 | top 49% |
“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 48% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 8% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 36% | May 17, 2024 |
| BBQ, Boogie & Blues | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 26% | Apr 26, 2024 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
4 contests
Contests a season
3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TN
4 of 9 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
7
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
246
finished ahead 238 times, behind 135
Longest layoff
2 yrs
May 17, 2024 → May 15, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Peak power rating (1539) Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score647.7600 Big BBQ Bash
- Most recent contest Big BBQ Bash
20235 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ Boogie & Blues
- First call BBQ Boogie & Blues
- First overall top-10 BBQ Boogie & Blues
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score496.4456 BBQ Boogie & Blues
- Career-best single call (Pork)175.4056 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.3 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 17, 2023 |
| +11.5 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 19, 2023 |
| +9 | BBQ, Boogie & Blues | Apr 26, 2024 |
| +5.2 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 12, 2026 |
| +5 | BBQ Boogie & Blues | Apr 28, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10 | Big BBQ Bash | Sep 25, 2026 |
| -7.5 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) | Oct 13, 2023 |
| -3.2 | High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 15, 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 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 61% | 95.2% | 92.8% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 33% | 93.6% | 92.8% |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 75% | top 36% | 95.9% | 93.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Townsend, TN | 25 / 30 (647.7600) | 12 (170.8228) | 25 (159.3600) | 28 (155.9200) | 23 (161.6572) |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 12 / 31 (342.7884) | 17 (169.6684) | 8 (173.1200) | — | — |
| May 15, 2026 | High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 18 / 29 (335.3484) | 24 (164.5256) | 12 (170.8228) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 18 / 39 (337.0628) | 9 (174.2628) | 29 (162.8000) | 20 (161.6684) | — |
| Apr 26, 2024 | BBQ, Boogie & Blues 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 7 / 34 (330.7656) | 7 (165.0972) | 7 (165.6684) | 3 (168.5600) | 7 (154.8228) |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 5 / 60 (345.0856) | 7 (171.9656) | 9 (173.1200) | 5 (175.4056) | — |
| Oct 13, 2023 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 21 / 27 (322.1368) | 26 (155.8968) | 16 (166.2400) | — | — |
| May 19, 2023 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 9 / 34 (342.2284) | 23 (167.3828) | 3 (174.8456) | — | — |
| Apr 28, 2023 | BBQ Boogie & Blues 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 10 / 32 (496.4456) | 10 (167.9656) | 10 (161.0972) | 9 (167.3828) | — |