The heartbreaker
1.6912
points from the title
Came within 1.6912 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke on the Mountain (Jul 25, 2025).
Char-Cole Grillers
Char-Cole Grillers is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. They have won 2 Grand Championships, most recently at the Fire in the Foothills (2025), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1111 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1594
peak 1597 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Jul 21, 2023
latest Jul 17, 2026 · 3 years on the trail
Grand champs
2
1 reserve · wins it all 20% of the time
Category wins
3
9 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
60% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
6
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 25%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
344.99 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 340.02 (+4.98)
Walk rate
90%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.51
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 172 · weakest Pork Ribs (167.86)
Road miles
1,365
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 300 mi
Schedule strength
82%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1608)
Purse competed for
$76K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
2 🏅
won from 9 state-championship entries
Master avg
673.03 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
340.02 / 360
9 Backyard contests · 2 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #283 (100 pts) | #290 (95 pts) | #313 (80 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #975 (75 pts) | #1093 (60 pts) | #1161 (60 pts) | #822 (125 pts) | #800 (135 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #37 (1,053 pts) | #42 (1,023 pts) | #38 (1,038 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #180 (288 pts) | #161 (373 pts) | #204 (248 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #249 (134 pts) | #312 (94 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Char-Cole Grillers, each with one reason worth a look.
27 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,109 of the rated field
- Contests
- 32
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1594
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Char-Cole Grillers)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Char-Cole Grillers has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,116 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 36%
- Peak
- 1593
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,112 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 44%
- Peak
- 1601
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 16 contests to 10.
⚔ Compare careers#1,115 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1593
Their rating is built on 3 Grand Championships in 20 contests, alongside a 60% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#1,108 of the rated field
- Contests
- 24
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1594
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Char-Cole Grillers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,117 of the rated field
- Contests
- 25
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1621
They were already cooking in 2014, 9 years before Char-Cole Grillers's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogpatch Q | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| POOR BOYS BBQ | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Que N Cue | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 6 | 4 | 1 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Bowmans Butt & BBQ | 6 | 2 | 3 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| HalaQyah BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| ELITE BBQ SMOKERS | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Drewbie-Que | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| LEE LA Q | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Meadow Creek BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 10 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 178.8572 | 162.8000 | 171.06 | top 27% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 179.4400 | 151.3372 | 167.86 | top 29% |
| Pork | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 172.5600 | 161.6688 | 168.75 | top 23% |
| Brisket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 172 | 172 | top 29% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 45% |
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 2 | top 24% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 14% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Mountain | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 18% | Jul 25, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests · 2 GCs
Contests a season
2.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
VA
4 of 10 contests · 6 states in all
Contests visited
8
1 of them more than once
First title
Apr 25, 2025
BBQ & Boogie
Opponents faced
335
finished ahead 401 times, behind 121
Longest layoff
1 yrs
Jul 21, 2023 → Jul 26, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- Peak power rating (1597) Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- 10th tracked contest Chillin & Grillin in the Glades
- Career-best overall score673.0288 Chillin & Grillin in the Glades
- Most recent contest Chillin & Grillin in the Glades
20258 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) BBQ & Boogie
- First overall podium BBQ & Boogie
- First Grand Championship BBQ & Boogie
- First state championship BBQ & Boogie
- First multi-meat day BBQ & Boogie
- Biggest field won (32 teams) BBQ & Boogie
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)179.4400 BBQ & Boogie
- First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Mountain
20242 milestones
- First overall top-10 Smoke on the Mountain
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score336.5144 Smoke on the Mountain
20232 milestones
- First tracked contest Smoke on the Mountain
- First call Smoke on the Mountain
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +18.1 | BBQ & Boogie | Apr 25, 2025 |
| +17.3 | Smoke on the Mountain | Jul 25, 2025 |
| +17 | Fire in the Foothills | Sep 26, 2025 |
| +13.3 | Smoke on the Mountain | Jul 26, 2024 |
| +11.2 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 20, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -3.1 | Chillin & Grillin in the Glades | Jul 17, 2026 |
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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 38% | 95.4% | 94.4% |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 100% | top 19% | 99.5% | 96.7% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 24% | 93.5% | 91.4% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 88.5% | 88.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 2026 | Chillin & Grillin in the Glades 🏅 Wise, VA | 22 / 35 (673.0288) | 33 (162.8000) | 30 (166.2516) | 12 (171.9772) | 10 (172) |
| Mar 20, 2026 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 17 / 125 (343.3828) | 18 (173.1200) | 21 (170.2628) | 14 (172.5600) | — |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 11 / 30 (341.6572) | 12 (169.6800) | 6 (171.9772) | — | — |
| Sep 26, 2025 | Fire in the Foothills 🏅 King, NC | 1 / 25 (349.7032) | 1 (174.2744) | 3 (175.4288) | 4 (166.8688) | — |
| Jul 25, 2025 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 2 / 37 (352.5716) | 3 (174.2744) | 2 (178.2972) | — | — |
| Jun 6, 2025 | WV Coalfields Cookoff WV KCBS State Championship 🏅 Welch, WV | 5 / 11 (337.6572) | 5 (173.1200) | 6 (164.5372) | 3 (169.6800) | — |
| Apr 25, 2025 | BBQ & Boogie 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 1 / 32 (358.2972) | 1 (178.8572) | 1 (179.4400) | 13 (161.6688) | — |
| Aug 30, 2024 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC | 9 / 28 (321.6232) | 8 (162.8000) | 8 (158.8232) | 3 (169.7256) | — |
| Jul 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 5 / 32 (336.5144) | 2 (174.2628) | 10 (162.2516) | — | — |
| Jul 21, 2023 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 13 / 38 (318.7316) | 8 (167.3944) | 14 (151.3372) | — | — |