A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX ahead in 100% of their meetings
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Top Shelf
Top Shelf is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 26th of 40 at the Red, White, and BBQ Day 1 (2019). They are ranked #4936 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1464
peak 1464 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Feb 26, 2015
latest May 24, 2019 · 4.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 81%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.94
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 154.57 · weakest Pork Ribs (152.66)
Road miles
880
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 874 mi
Schedule strength
49%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)
Purse competed for
$8,000
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
616.38 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
300.49 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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 Top Shelf, each with one reason worth a look.
136 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,952 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,940 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
They turned up 5 years after Top Shelf did, first appearing in 2020.
⚔ Compare careers#4,918 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Level with Top Shelf on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,913 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,925 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,957 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9884 | 146.8456 | 154.15 | top 79% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8228 | 148.0116 | 152.66 | top 78% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5600 | 142.8456 | 153.42 | top 84% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5944 | 145.1316 | 154.57 | top 72% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 84% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 81% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown | 4 | 32 | 0 | top 85% | Feb 16, 2018 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TX
4 of 5 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
2
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
198
finished ahead 49 times, behind 200
Longest layoff
1.3 yrs
Feb 16, 2018 → May 24, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20191 milestone
- Most recent contest Red, White, and BBQ Day 1
20171 milestone
- Career-best overall score629.5768 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown (JUDGES FULL)
20153 milestones
- First tracked contest Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
- Career-best single call (Brisket)164.5944 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
- Peak power rating (1493) Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.6 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown | Feb 25, 2016 |
| -9.5 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown (JUDGES FULL) | Feb 16, 2017 |
| -7.2 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown | Feb 26, 2015 |
| -6.9 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown | Feb 16, 2018 |
| -2.7 | Red, White, and BBQ Day 1 | May 24, 2019 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 65% | 83.5% | 83.5% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 84.7% | 84.7% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 90% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 90% | 84.3% | 84.3% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 86% | 86% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2019 | Red, White, and BBQ Day 1 🏅 Westmont, IL | 26 / 40 (300.4912) | 27 (146.8456) | 23 (153.6456) | — | — |
| Feb 16, 2018 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX | 32 / 38 (609.6456) | 36 (153.1312) | 34 (149.0972) | 35 (149.1200) | 26 (158.2972) |
| Feb 16, 2017 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown (JUDGES FULL) Huntsville, TX | 37 / 41 (629.5768) | 38 (157.0624) | 29 (162.8228) | 31 (164.5600) | 40 (145.1316) |
| Feb 25, 2016 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX | 38 / 42 (606.8456) | 40 (149.7028) | 35 (149.7144) | 32 (157.1656) | 37 (150.2628) |
| Feb 26, 2015 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX | 47 / 61 (619.4400) | 27 (163.9884) | 54 (148.0116) | 55 (142.8456) | 20 (164.5944) |