Perfect scores on the board
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.
- Pork Ribs ×1
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.
A call in 33 of 51 contests
A top-10 category call in 65% of their 51 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
96.7% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 695.9544 at Smokin' At The Market — 96.7% of a perfect 720.
Big B BBQ Company has finished one call ahead of Q SMOKE 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
2014 was the year it came together: 9 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 31%.
HIGH ON THE HAWG ahead in 88% of their meetings
HIGH ON THE HAWG has come out ahead in 23 of their 26 shared contests.
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.89 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 8% of the time against 28%.
Ahead in 79% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of PARADISE QUE in 15 of their 19 shared contests.
Off the trail for 1.8 years, then back at Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (2024-03-15).
Under the Radar ahead 74% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, Under the Radar has out-cooked them in 17 of 23 shared chicken entries.
HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Something about April: average finish in the top 40% across 9 contests, versus top 55% the rest of the year.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 7,620 miles across 51 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 323 miles to BBQ Capital Cook-Off.
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
116 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Q SMOKE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Q SMOKE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1560 at their best, 64 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 40 contests to 51, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head64 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 19% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-headBoth teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKE ON THIS | 27 | 4 | 23 | 15% | ⚔ compare |
| HIGH ON THE HAWG | 26 | 3 | 23 | 12% | ⚔ compare |
| Under the Radar | 23 | 2 | 21 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG G BBQ | 22 | 9 | 13 | 41% | ⚔ compare |
| CONTAGIOUS Q | 22 | 5 | 17 | 23% | ⚔ compare |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 22 | 2 | 20 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| DIRTY OL' BUTT SLAPPERS | 21 | 11 | 10 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| THE ALGOOD BAR-B-Q PIT CREW | 21 | 8 | 13 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS | 20 | 14 | 6 | 70% | ⚔ compare |
| Organizer Portal | 20 | 1 | 19 | 5% | ⚔ compare |
| PARADISE QUE | 19 | 15 | 4 | 79% | ⚔ compare |
| Big B BBQ Company | 18 | 9 | 9 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| RIVER ROAD GRILLBILLIES | 18 | 4 | 14 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG ORANGE SMOKERS | 17 | 10 | 7 | 59% | ⚔ compare |
| SOGGY BOTTOM SMOKERS | 17 | 8 | 9 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 50 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 178.2972 | 159.4282 | 169.30 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 50 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 180.0000 🔥 | 20.0000 | 165.34 | top 46% |
| Pork | 50 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 178.8572 | 148.5372 | 167.06 | top 52% |
| Brisket | 50 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 178.8572 | 145.1428 | 162.41 | top 65% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN | 41 | 0 | top 55% |
| NC | 8 | 0 | top 56% |
| KY | 1 | 0 | top 40% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 27 | 0 | top 55% |
| Large (40+) | 23 | 0 | top 56% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 4 | 50 | 0 | top 78% | 2026-03-20 |
| Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In | 3 | 17 | 0 | top 76% | 2019-07-12 |
| Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass | 3 | 11 | 0 | top 52% | 2018-05-18 |
| Smoke on the Shores | 2 | 47 | 0 | top 92% | 2018-03-09 |
| Mid-South BBQ Festival | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 72% | 2017-10-20 |
| Uptown Lexington BBQ Capital Cook Off | 2 | 24 | 0 | top 56% | 2017-04-28 |
| Mid-South Barbecue Festival | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 48% | 2015-10-16 |
| Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff | 2 | 28 | 0 | top 79% | 2015-09-11 |
| BBQ Capital Cook-Off | 2 | 13 | 0 | top 32% | 2015-04-24 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.8 | The Rotary Club of West Knoxville - Rocky Top Hummin' & Strummin' BBQ Cook-Off | 2014-05-30 |
| +13.4 | Blount County BBQ Bash | 2019-06-21 |
| +13.3 | Blount County BBQ Bash | 2014-06-27 |
| +11.4 | Cookeville Cookoff | 2013-09-06 |
| +11.3 | Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass | 2014-05-16 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -16.4 | Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge | 2013-05-10 |
| -13.5 | Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff | 2015-09-11 |
| -12.9 | Mid-South BBQ Festival | 2017-10-20 |
| -12.7 | Smoke on the Shores | 2016-03-11 |
| -9.8 | Smoke on the Shores | 2018-03-09 |
| 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 68% | 93.8% | 93.8% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 69% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 91% | 91% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 63% | 93.2% | 93.2% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 89.1% | 89.1% |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 40% | top 65% | 95.2% | 91.5% |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 70% | 94.1% | 90.5% |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 63% | top 60% | 94.7% | 92.5% |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 70% | top 52% | 95.1% | 93.5% |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80% | top 61% | 93.6% | 92.4% |
| 2014 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 89% | top 31% | 96.7% | 94.2% |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 83% | top 51% | 95.5% | 88.5% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 85 / 125 (675.3600) | 91 (167.4056) | 80 (167.4172) | 107 (164.5372) | 21 (176.0000) |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 69 / 100 (674.1828) | 78 (167.3828) | 48 (169.7144) | 79 (165.6800) | 42 (171.4056) |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 81 / 93 (655.2916) | 84 (163.9656) | 74 (164.5488) | 85 (159.3600) | 57 (167.4172) |
| 2022-05-20 | Sevierville's Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Sevierville, TN | 19 / 30 (670.7316) | 5 (174.2628) | 11 (171.9772) | 21 (165.6916) | 23 (158.8000) |
| 2021-03-19 | Smoke on The Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 50 / 57 (641.6112) | 34 (166.2628) | 26 (168.5600) | 55 (151.9656) | 52 (154.8228) |
| 2019-08-30 | Blue Ridge BBQ & Brew Festival 🏅 West Jefferson, NC | 22 / 24 (636.3312) | 18 (161.6572) | 21 (154.2056) | 18 (161.0856) | 16 (159.3828) |
| 2019-07-12 | Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In 🏅 Jamestown, TN | 24 / 29 (659.2572) | 24 (165.0972) | 23 (159.9428) | 23 (165.0972) | 14 (169.1200) |
| 2019-06-21 | Blount County BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 5 / 27 (685.6344) | 13 (168.5256) | 1 (175.4172) | 10 (169.6800) | 7 (172.0116) |
| 2019-05-17 | Stills and Grills Fest North Wilkesboro, NC | 10 / 21 (666.1828) | 13 (161.6456) | 12 (163.3828) | 3 (168.5600) | 4 (172.5944) |
| 2019-03-08 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Nashville, TN | 57 / 67 (646.1024) | 41 (167.9772) | 62 (154.2056) | 43 (165.1312) | 60 (158.7884) |
| 2018-05-18 | Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN | 34 / 43 (642.0572) | 19 (167.3828) | 23 (165.0972) | 41 (152.5144) | 34 (157.0628) |
| 2018-03-23 | Dickson County Smokefest Dickson, TN | 13 / 29 (677.6112) | 14 (166.8228) | 16 (168.5372) | 2 (176.5828) | 17 (165.6684) |
| 2018-03-09 | Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN | 76 / 87 (634.7316) | 36 (169.6916) | 47 (165.0856) | 86 (148.5372) | 82 (151.4172) |
| 2017-10-20 | Mid-South BBQ Festival Mount Pleasant, TN | 28 / 28 (638.6516) | 23 (168.5488) | 27 (156.5256) | 24 (158.8000) | 26 (154.7772) |
| 2017-09-08 | Tony Stone-Cookeville Cook-off Cookeville, TN | 14 / 34 (673.0516) | 13 (171.9888) | 7 (171.4172) | 10 (171.4172) | 30 (158.2284) |
| 2017-07-09 | Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-off & Cruise In (Day 2) Jamestown, TN | 17 / 30 (682.1944) | 4 (176.5600) | 22 (167.4172) | 24 (167.3828) | 14 (170.8344) |
| 2017-07-08 | Cumberland Plateau BBQ Cook-Off & Cruise In (DAY 1) Jamestown, TN | 32 / 36 (657.5892) | 2 (177.7144) | 32 (163.9660) | 36 (158.2400) | 33 (157.6688) |
| 2017-05-19 | Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN | 28 / 49 (663.3600) | 18 (169.1200) | 36 (162.2400) | 24 (167.4400) | 32 (164.5600) |
| 2017-04-28 | Uptown Lexington BBQ Capital Cook Off Lexington, NC | 24 / 38 (656.4916) | 17 (169.1200) | 15 (167.4172) | 26 (159.9544) | 27 (160.0000) |
| 2017-04-07 | Seventh Annual Bull Moose Somerville, TN | 9 / 27 (681.6460) | 18 (169.6800) | 9 (170.8344) | 1 (177.1544) | 19 (163.9772) |
| 2017-03-10 | Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN | 26 / 62 (672.4344) | 53 (161.6572) | 5 (175.4172) | 41 (164.5372) | 17 (170.8228) |
| 2016-10-28 | Dickson County Smoke Fest Dickson, TN | 20 / 40 (671.8512) | 29 (165.6800) | 8 (174.8572) | 20 (169.6684) | 31 (161.6456) |
| 2016-10-14 | Mid-South BBQ Festival Mount Pleasant, TN | 12 / 27 (679.3716) | 17 (170.2744) | 5 (175.4172) | 21 (165.6800) | 15 (168.0000) |
| 2016-09-16 | Nebo Fall Festival and BBQ Competition Nebo, KY | 8 / 20 (675.9200) | 2 (175.4056) | 18 (159.4060) | 1 (176.5828) | 16 (164.5256) |
| 2016-09-09 | The Tony Stone Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN | 13 / 30 (680.4800) | 6 (174.8456) | 29 (155.9544) | 14 (170.8228) | 3 (178.8572) |
| 2016-06-17 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Hendersonville, TN | 19 / 29 (675.2912) | 3 (177.1428) | 15 (171.9772) | 13 (170.8228) | 27 (155.3484) |
| 2016-05-27 | Lewisburg Rotary Club BBQ Cookoff Lewisburg, TN | 15 / 31 (675.3600) | 26 (165.1200) | 6 (174.2856) | 15 (167.9772) | 15 (167.9772) |
| 2016-05-20 | Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN | 16 / 46 (684.4688) | 7 (174.2744) | 17 (170.8228) | 36 (163.9544) | 11 (175.4172) |
| 2016-04-22 | Uptown Lexington BBQ Capital Cook Off Lexington, NC | 26 / 54 (671.3372) | 17 (171.9772) | 32 (166.8456) | 25 (168.5600) | 31 (163.9544) |
| 2016-04-15 | High on the Hog Festival Winchester, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016-03-11 | Smoke on the Shores Nashville, TN | 47 / 49 (647.8628) | 18 (170.2744) | 48 (160.5256) | 44 (159.9656) | 43 (157.0972) |
| 2015-10-16 | Mid-South Barbecue Festival Mount Pleasant, TN | 20 / 31 (667.3028) | 14 (169.6684) | 14 (171.9888) | 23 (167.3944) | 27 (158.2512) |
| 2015-09-11 | Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN | 28 / 31 (656.4000) | 9 (174.2628) | 15 (169.7144) | 26 (162.8000) | 30 (149.6228) |
| 2015-05-29 | The Rotary Club of Bearden - Que Fest Knoxville, TN | 28 / 39 (667.8168) | 17 (173.1084) | 2 (176.5600) | 35 (162.8000) | 36 (155.3484) |
| 2015-04-24 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off Lexington, NC | 28 / 60 (659.8628) | 46 (161.0972) | 3 (176.0000) | 9 (171.9772) | 54 (150.7884) |
| 2015-04-03 | Fifth Annual Bull Moose Somerville, TN | 13 / 41 (674.1944) | 4 (174.8572) | 26 (165.6800) | 11 (170.8228) | 27 (162.8344) |
| 2014-10-17 | Mid-South Barbecue Festival Mount Pleasant, TN | 11 / 35 (684.4912) | 4 (178.2972) | 17 (168.5256) | 12 (171.4056) | 18 (166.2628) |
| 2014-10-03 | Smokin' At The Market Gallatin, TN | 9 / 29 (695.9544) | 15 (171.9772) | 1 (180.0000) | 4 (177.7144) | 26 (166.2628) |
| 2014-09-05 | Tony Stone-Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN | 28 / 41 (663.8288) | 15 (170.8344) | 24 (165.0972) | 13 (171.9772) | 36 (155.9200) |
| 2014-07-25 | BBQ Fest Cooking Contest Dyersburg, TN | 20 / 44 (668.4340) | 9 (173.1084) | 10 (172.5600) | 19 (166.2628) | 39 (156.5028) |
| 2014-06-27 | Blount County BBQ Bash Maryville, TN | 4 / 39 (689.6688) | 5 (174.2744) | 12 (170.2744) | 4 (174.2972) | 11 (170.8228) |
| 2014-05-30 | The Rotary Club of West Knoxville - Rocky Top Hummin' & Strummin' BBQ Cook-Off Knoxville, TN | 3 / 48 (688.5372) | 12 (171.9656) | 3 (175.4516) | 5 (172.5944) | 14 (168.5256) |
| 2014-05-16 | Bloomin' BBQ & Bluegrass Sevierville, TN | 11 / 56 (683.3600) | 24 (167.9656) | 5 (173.7028) | 8 (173.7144) | 17 (167.9772) |
| 2014-04-25 | BBQ Capital Cookoff Lexington, NC | 22 / 62 (653.1088) | 29 (163.3828) | 1 (174.3088) | 43 (158.2628) | 35 (157.1544) |
| 2014-04-04 | Fourth Annual Bull Moose Somerville, TN | 11 / 31 (675.3600) | 20 (162.8000) | 8 (172.0344) | 10 (169.6800) | 9 (170.8456) |
| 2013-09-27 | Piggin' Around Woodbury, TN | 12 / 24 (669.0400) | 10 (165.7028) | 7 (170.2744) | 5 (176.5600) | 20 (156.5028) |
| 2013-09-06 | Cookeville Cookoff Cookeville, TN | 9 / 42 (687.9084) | 7 (174.2628) | 13 (169.6800) | 5 (176.5600) | 22 (167.4056) |
| 2013-06-21 | Queen City Cook-Off Clarksville, TN | 27 / 39 (657.7136) | 25 (165.1428) | 7 (170.2856) | 34 (161.7140) | 33 (160.5712) |
| 2013-05-10 | Jiggy with the Piggy BBQ Challenge Kannapolis, NC | 58 / 58 (493.1424) | 37 (159.4282) | 58 (20.0000) | 30 (161.7144) | 43 (151.9998) |
| 2013-04-26 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off Lexington, NC | 13 / 71 (657.7144) | 12 (168.5716) | 7 (171.4286) | 7 (172.5714) | 60 (145.1428) |
| 2013-04-05 | Third Annual Bull Moose BBQ Contest Somerville, TN | 14 / 29 (659.4286) | 12 (166.8570) | 22 (160.0002) | 2 (178.8572) | 25 (153.7142) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #927 (60 pts) | #1010 (60 pts) | #1051 (60 pts) | #970 (60 pts) | #904 (80 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #1242 (60 pts) | #1317 (60 pts) | #1231 (60 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1207 (85 pts) | #868 (180 pts) | #1090 (125 pts) | #1288 (75 pts) | #1311 (65 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1236 (60 pts) | #1286 (60 pts) | #1309 (60 pts) | #1262 (60 pts) | #1245 (60 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #667 (481 pts) | #780 (421 pts) | #602 (581 pts) | #611 (556 pts) | #544 (616 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1132 (234 pts) | #1110 (259 pts) | #1222 (229 pts) | #877 (374 pts) | #1246 (214 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #603 (644 pts) | #378 (989 pts) | #466 (839 pts) | #509 (774 pts) | #684 (584 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #516 (766 pts) | #303 (1156 pts) | #530 (791 pts) | #488 (831 pts) | #518 (786 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #876 (377 pts) | #619 (622 pts) | #507 (772 pts) | #807 (457 pts) | #1071 (292 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #275 (1252 pts) | #297 (1147 pts) | #150 (1622 pts) | #218 (1342 pts) | #435 (877 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #479 (649 pts) | #460 (694 pts) | #408 (774 pts) | #316 (939 pts) | #764 (424 pts) |