The heartbreaker
1.1084
points from the title
Came within 1.1084 points of the Grand Championship at Separation Colonial BBQ Competition (Jun 7, 2019).
Bethlehem Smoke
Bethlehem Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 36 at the Separation Colonial BBQ Competition (2019), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1714 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1552
peak 1552 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Oct 6, 2017
latest Jun 7, 2019 · 1.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
60% of 5 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 25%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±2.49
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 165.40 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.40)
Road miles
216
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 81 mi
Schedule strength
60%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1575)
Purse competed for
$24K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
647.01 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
330.22 / 360
3 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Bethlehem Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
62 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,721 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 67%
- Peak
- 1551
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,722 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1551
Level with Bethlehem Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,715 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1553
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,706 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1552
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 3 years before Bethlehem Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,717 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1551
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 4 years before Bethlehem Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,699 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1552
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokestack Redemption | 5 | 1 | 3 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.1200 | 163.3944 | 165.40 | top 31% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 165.0740 | 157.7144 | 161.40 | top 35% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5600 | 155.9200 | 162.24 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8000 | 162.2628 | 162.53 | top 50% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 25% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 25% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
3 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PA
3 of 5 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
176
finished ahead 205 times, behind 53
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20197 milestones
- First overall top-10 Interstate BBQ Festival
- First call Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
- First overall podium Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- First Reserve Championship Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.1200 Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1552) Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
20173 milestones
- First tracked contest Keystone Classic BBQ
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.1944 Keystone Classic BBQ
- Career-best overall score654.1944 Keystone Classic BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.9 | Interstate BBQ Festival | Apr 19, 2019 |
| +15.1 | Separation Colonial BBQ Competition | Jun 7, 2019 |
| +13.2 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | May 17, 2019 |
| +6.1 | Keystone Classic BBQ | Oct 6, 2017 |
| +1.3 | Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship | Oct 5, 2018 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 67% | top 7% | 92.7% | 91.7% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 57% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 44% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 2019 | Separation Colonial BBQ Competition 🏅 New Castle, DE | 2 / 36 (333.6916) | 4 (169.1200) | 2 (164.5716) | — | — |
| May 17, 2019 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 4 / 44 (329.0284) | 7 (163.9544) | 2 (165.0740) | — | — |
| Apr 19, 2019 | Interstate BBQ Festival 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 4 / 54 (327.9428) | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 5, 2018 | Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA | 24 / 42 (639.8172) | 23 (163.3944) | 27 (158.2400) | 32 (155.9200) | 19 (162.2628) |
| Oct 6, 2017 | Keystone Classic BBQ Harrisburg, PA | 17 / 39 (654.1944) | 17 (165.1200) | 25 (157.7144) | 12 (168.5600) | 21 (162.8000) |