High-water mark
662.7544
career-best overall
92.0% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 662.7544 at Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival — 92.0% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Oct 13, 2017
Blue Smoke
Blue Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 18 at the Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival (2017). They are ranked #4365 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1476
peak 1476 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Feb 3, 2017
latest May 8, 2026 · 9.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
14% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 67%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
29%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±24.91
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 166.15 · weakest Pork Ribs (153.67)
Road miles
13,160
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 5,596 mi
Schedule strength
42%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1555)
Purse competed for
$34K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
633.35 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
316.47 / 360
2 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.
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 Blue Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
147 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,357 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Blue Smoke)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Blue Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,380 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 21%
- Peak
- 1503
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Blue Smoke)
19 contests to 7: their number has had years to settle where Blue Smoke's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,356 of the rated field
- Contests
- 29
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1528
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Blue Smoke)
They've been 1528 at their best, 52 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,394 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1503
Level with Blue Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,351 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1476
They turned up 6 years after Blue Smoke did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#4,370 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1476
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, 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 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8572 | 149.0968 | 159.23 | top 63% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.4516 | 125.0284 | 153.67 | top 70% |
| Pork | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 155.4516 | 166.15 | top 47% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.0116 | 147.9312 | 155.73 | top 70% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 62% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 79% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 67% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota in May | 2 | 28 | 0 | top 52% | May 8, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
3 contests
Contests a season
1.4
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TX
3 of 7 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
374
finished ahead 132 times, behind 332
Longest layoff
4.2 yrs
Feb 16, 2018 → May 13, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Minnesota in May
20177 milestones
- First tracked contest Humble Rodeo & BBQ ( WFC Qualifier)
- Peak power rating (1491) Humble Rodeo & BBQ ( WFC Qualifier)
- First call Italian Barbecue Championship 2017
- First overall top-10 Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.7544 Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score662.7544 Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork)173.1200 Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.6 | Minnesota in May | May 8, 2026 |
| +4.7 | Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival | Oct 13, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.3 | Humble Rodeo & BBQ ( WFC Qualifier) | Feb 3, 2017 |
| -7 | Italian Barbecue Championship 2017 | Sep 9, 2017 |
| -6.9 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off | May 13, 2022 |
| -5.8 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown | Feb 16, 2018 |
| -5.7 | Minnesota in May | May 9, 2025 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 36% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 67% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 90.7% | 90.7% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 85.8% | 85.8% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 69% | 92% | 87.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 28 / 77 (321.6572) | 31 (158.2400) | 21 (163.4172) | — | — |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 39 / 58 (311.2800) | 39 (151.9200) | 34 (159.3600) | — | — |
| May 13, 2022 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 34 / 42 (653.0056) | 19 (170.8572) | 30 (164.5372) | 35 (163.9428) | 36 (153.6684) |
| Feb 16, 2018 | Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX | 30 / 38 (618.0456) | 29 (157.0972) | 38 (145.6460) | 15 (167.3712) | 32 (147.9312) |
| Oct 13, 2017 | Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival Duncanville, TX | 8 / 18 (662.7544) | 9 (166.2628) | 6 (167.4516) | 5 (173.1200) | 12 (155.9200) |
| Sep 9, 2017 | Italian Barbecue Championship 2017 Perugia | 12 / 15 (639.3716) | 13 (161.1200) | 15 (150.2400) | 4 (170.8800) | 12 (157.1316) |
| Feb 3, 2017 | Humble Rodeo & BBQ ( WFC Qualifier) Humble, TX | 111 / 136 (593.5884) | 101 (149.0968) | 135 (125.0284) | 79 (155.4516) | 43 (164.0116) |