SMOKIN' AXE BBQ CA
Rating
1547
peak 1556
Contests
37
in the data
First seen
2019-04-26
latest 2026-03-20
Best ToY finish
#262
Master 2023
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
1
9 podiums
Overall top-10s
10
of 37 contests
Avg finish
top 53%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
676.61 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 667.32 (+9.28)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±19.18
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 168.29 · weakest Brisket (164.17)
Road miles
9751
mi across 37 mapped stops · furthest 1416 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
TEAM BACON has finished one call ahead of SMOKIN' AXE BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
BAR-B-CUDA BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
Cynical BBQ has come out ahead in 24 of their 26 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of PRISON BREAK BBQ in 15 of their 16 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship is their spot: an average finish in the top 19% across 2 visits.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay (2023-05-27) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 29-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, CROOKED PIGS.
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 37 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 177.1428 | 152.5260 | 166.76 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 37 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 178.3200 | 152.5372 | 168.11 | top 45% |
| Pork | 37 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 178.8572 | 150.2400 | 168.29 | top 46% |
| Brisket | 37 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 173.7028 | 143.3716 | 164.17 | top 56% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 26 | 0 | top 56% |
| OR | 6 | 1 | top 44% |
| KS | 3 | 0 | top 57% |
| NV | 1 | 0 | top 47% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 47% |
| Medium (20–39) | 28 | 1 | top 51% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 62% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2019 (10 contests)
- Cooks mostly in CA (26 of 37 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (37 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay (2023-05-27)
- Wins it all in 3% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 667.32
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 686.7884 | 686.79 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 697.0744 | 677.96 |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 693.6572 | 687.37 |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 697.1544 | 677.64 |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 672.6056 | 661.88 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 667.2912 | 654.20 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 660.5028 | 660.50 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 672.5028 | 646.94 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Dinuba's BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 8 / 27 (686.7884) | 10 (174.8456) | 4 (174.2744) | 22 (166.8456) | 8 (170.8228) |
| 2025-08-08 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) Felton, CA | 14 / 25 (676.4800) | 11 (171.4056) | 6 (173.1316) | 7 (173.1200) | 24 (158.8228) |
| 2025-05-31 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 2) Sweet Home, OR | 22 / 28 (674.1368) | 13 (173.1200) | 26 (165.0856) | 9 (173.7028) | 24 (162.2284) |
| 2025-05-30 | The Santiam Smoke Show (Day 1) Sweet Home, OR | 26 / 30 (665.0628) | 9 (171.9772) | 25 (162.2628) | 29 (158.2400) | 6 (172.5828) |
| 2025-05-24 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 10 / 26 (680.5596) | 23 (162.2284) | 2 (178.3200) | 16 (167.4056) | 4 (172.6056) |
| 2025-04-25 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 6 / 31 (689.7144) | 5 (176.5716) | 17 (167.9772) | 4 (172.5600) | 4 (172.6056) |
| 2025-01-25 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 2) Hollister, CA | 5 / 27 (697.0744) | 15 (173.1200) | 8 (175.4172) | 3 (178.8572) | 18 (169.6800) |
| 2025-01-24 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 1) Hollister, CA | 26 / 31 (662.7084) | 28 (162.7884) | 20 (166.8456) | 10 (173.1200) | 27 (159.9544) |
| 2024-07-06 | 2024 Icebox Cookoff Sweet Home, OR | 13 / 37 (686.2172) | 7 (176.0000) | 3 (177.7144) | 32 (165.1200) | 23 (167.3828) |
| 2024-06-14 | CBCA Clayton BBQ and Brews Festival (MASTERS) Clayton, CA | 5 / 25 (689.1088) | 12 (169.7144) | 10 (167.9888) | 3 (177.7028) | 5 (173.7028) |
| 2024-05-25 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 6 / 27 (690.2512) | 12 (171.4400) | 7 (173.1428) | 7 (175.4056) | 10 (170.2628) |
| 2024-04-26 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 6 / 34 (693.6572) | 7 (176.5600) | 9 (176.0116) | 18 (170.2628) | 14 (170.8228) |
| 2024-03-01 | The Golden State Battle VI Hollister, CA | 15 / 33 (677.6112) | 27 (167.9772) | 18 (167.3828) | 3 (177.7028) | 25 (164.5484) |
| 2023-10-13 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 18 / 39 (680.4572) | 12 (174.2744) | 15 (171.4172) | 15 (170.8228) | 24 (163.9428) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 190 / 487 (678.7544) | 297 (166.2400) | 297 (166.2400) | 12 (178.8572) | 224 (167.4172) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 182 / 211 (667.9196) | 135 (169.1656) | 104 (170.8456) | 177 (165.0856) | 181 (162.8228) |
| 2023-08-04 | Dinuba's Annual BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 16 / 29 (670.7084) | 18 (167.9772) | 18 (167.3828) | 5 (175.4056) | 23 (159.9428) |
| 2023-05-27 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 1 / 25 (697.1544) | 3 (177.1428) | 7 (173.7028) | 7 (173.7144) | 5 (172.5944) |
| 2023-04-28 | Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 8 / 27 (681.6340) | 8 (173.1084) | 17 (167.9772) | 8 (172.5484) | 10 (168.0000) |
| 2023-03-03 | The Golden State Battle V Hollister, CA | 18 / 28 (666.8232) | 10 (173.7144) | 26 (155.3944) | 6 (175.4516) | 18 (162.2628) |
| 2022-09-23 | The Great Kearney BBQ Smoke-Out Fresno, CA | 21 / 43 (659.3944) | 32 (160.5828) | 25 (165.1200) | 16 (168.5372) | 22 (165.1544) |
| 2022-07-08 | Clayton BBQ Cook-off Clayton, CA | 14 / 27 (653.6340) | 16 (162.8112) | 12 (163.4172) | 18 (161.1428) | 8 (166.2628) |
| 2022-07-01 | 2nd Annual VFW Post 3396 Armed Forces BBQ Challenge (MASTERS) Sparks, NV | 8 / 17 (672.6056) | 13 (162.2628) | 5 (170.8800) | 7 (170.2972) | 7 (169.1656) |
| 2021-06-04 | 2nd Annual Throwdown in the Vineyards Murphy, CA | 17 / 29 (663.9432) | 18 (165.7144) | 15 (166.8344) | 19 (163.9772) | 12 (167.4172) |
| 2021-04-17 | The Golden State Battle III - Day 2 Hollister, CA | 23 / 26 (667.2912) | 26 (158.8228) | 8 (173.7144) | 22 (163.9312) | 16 (170.8228) |
| 2021-04-16 | The Golden State Battle III - Day 1 Hollister, CA | 37 / 41 (631.3600) | 29 (157.7256) | 34 (154.8344) | 18 (170.2972) | 37 (148.5028) |
| 2020-01-24 | The Golden State Battle II Hollister, CA | 33 / 46 (660.5028) | 40 (162.8572) | 2 (175.4400) | 43 (150.2400) | 12 (171.9656) |
| 2019-09-20 | 5th Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship | 15 / 44 (672.5028) | 25 (165.6800) | 15 (169.1428) | 26 (165.0856) | 9 (172.5944) |
| 2019-08-16 | Lassen Annual BBQ Cook-Off Susanville, CA | 14 / 25 (644.4916) | 18 (153.7144) | 7 (164.5600) | 13 (164.5372) | 12 (161.6800) |
| 2019-07-26 | Gilroy Garli-Que BBQ Challenge Gilroy, CA | 29 / 36 (627.3600) | 27 (158.2516) | 12 (168.5712) | 32 (153.1200) | 33 (147.4172) |
| 2019-07-12 | Clayton BBQ Cook-off Clayton, CA | 15 / 31 (665.0628) | 1 (177.1428) | 6 (170.8572) | 17 (165.0972) | 27 (151.9656) |
| 2019-07-05 | Smoke & Hops Harmony, CA | 18 / 26 (663.9544) | 23 (156.5372) | 9 (167.9772) | 14 (169.1200) | 13 (170.3200) |
| 2019-06-21 | Silicon Valley BBQ Championship Santa Clara, CA | 32 (647.8860) | 25 (165.1316) | 17 (166.2744) | 35 (157.0972) | 29 (159.3828) |
| 2019-05-31 | Throwdown in the Vineyards Murphy, CA | 14 / 20 (633.5776) | 20 (152.5260) | 2 (171.4172) | 6 (166.2628) | 18 (143.3716) |
| 2019-05-24 | Big Bear Grill & Chill Big Bear Lake, CA | 19 / 25 (641.5884) | 23 (157.1312) | 19 (159.3944) | 6 (169.6800) | 19 (155.3828) |
| 2019-05-03 | Elk Grove Western Festival and BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA | 23 / 27 (630.1828) | 20 (162.2400) | 23 (152.5372) | 22 (158.2628) | 21 (157.1428) |
| 2019-04-26 | Lodi Beerfest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 31 / 48 (642.8344) | 31 (161.6684) | 33 (160.5944) | 16 (167.9772) | 36 (152.5944) |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #564 (147 pts) | #676 (127 pts) | #573 (202 pts) | #803 (67 pts) | #598 (147 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #289 (758 pts) | #291 (773 pts) | #303 (848 pts) | #220 (1008 pts) | #281 (833 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #299 (744 pts) | #375 (619 pts) | #334 (754 pts) | #291 (769 pts) | #403 (544 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #262 (824 pts) | #275 (834 pts) | #399 (619 pts) | #225 (944 pts) | #341 (639 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #590 (324 pts) | #707 (259 pts) | #628 (344 pts) | #591 (339 pts) | #560 (369 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #912 (121 pts) | #1075 (111 pts) | #773 (206 pts) | #839 (161 pts) | #857 (156 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #856 (60 pts) | #896 (60 pts) | #448 (260 pts) | #899 (60 pts) | #670 (125 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #512 (647 pts) | #517 (677 pts) | #304 (997 pts) | #462 (757 pts) | #522 (647 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #508 (705 pts) | #527 (700 pts) | #469 (790 pts) | #433 (835 pts) | #432 (835 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1088 (292 pts) | #880 (442 pts) | #1052 (337 pts) | #1105 (317 pts) | #1277 (237 pts) |