High-water mark
498.2860
career-best overall
138.4% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 498.2860 at WV Coalfields Cookoff — 138.4% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2023-06-09
Que N Cue
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1557
peak 1557 · rated over 30 contests ⓘ
Best runs
3
straight top-10s
Contests
32
in the data
First seen
2020-10-29
latest 2026-03-20
Best ToY finish
#93
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
10
of 32 contests
Avg finish
top 51%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
328.05 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 354.91 (-26.86)
Walk rate
47%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±59.60
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 166.11 · weakest Pork (156.21)
Road miles
5,357
mi across 32 mapped stops · furthest 465 mi
Schedule strength
84%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1612)
Purse competed for
$225K
listed at 29 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 30 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
354.91 / 360
30 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (14 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The one to beat
3×
one call ahead of them
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ has finished one call ahead of Que N Cue 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
Their season
2022
their best year
2022 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 38%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 38%
A tough matchup
19–5
behind in the head-to-head
POOR BOYS BBQ ahead in 79% of their meetings
POOR BOYS BBQ has come out ahead in 19 of their 24 shared contests.
The weak link
−9.9
points behind their best meat
Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 9.89 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 31% of the time against 50%.
- Pork avg 156.21
- Chicken avg 166.11
- 5 calls in 16 entries
A strong matchup
9–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of BIG DOG BBQ VA in 9 of their 9 shared contests.
Chicken nemesis
16 of 24
shared chicken entries lost
POOR BOYS BBQ ahead 67% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, POOR BOYS BBQ has out-cooked them in 16 of 24 shared chicken entries.
They cook the hard rooms
1612
average field rating faced
A tougher draw than 84% of rated fields
The fields they enter average a 1612 power rating — a tougher draw than 84% of every rated contest in the data.
- 30 rated contests
Built for the big stage
Top 39%
average finish in large fields
Field size changes the story: they average a top 39% finish in large fields against top 72% in small ones.
- Large (40+): top 39% (11)
- Small (<20 teams): top 72% (8)
Looking over their shoulder
4×
one call behind them
Dogpatch Q has landed one call behind them 4 times.
Boom or bust
±16.56%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±16.56% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
- averages 98.6% of a perfect score
- best 138.4%
A July team
Top 31%
average finish in July
Something about July: average finish in the top 31% across 5 contests, versus top 51% the rest of the year.
- 5 July contests
- top 51% the rest of the year
The long haul
5,357
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,357 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 465 miles to Smoke on the Falls BBQ Competition.
- 32 mapped stops
- furthest 465 mi
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship every year from 2023 to 2026 — the contest they never miss.
- 4 visits in all
- best finish 19th
Teams like this (closest power rating)
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.
47 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1605 of the rated field
- Contests
- 44
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 32%
- Peak
- 1558
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to Que N Cue)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Que N Cue has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1606 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 47%
- Peak
- 1563
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Que N Cue)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Que N Cue's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#1615 of the rated field
- Contests
- 33
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 48%
- Peak
- 1576
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 33 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#1617 of the rated field
- Contests
- 37
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 24%
- Peak
- 1607
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1607 at their best, 51 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#1601 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 21%
- Peak
- 1565
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 19 contests, alongside a 21% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-head#1610 of the rated field
- Contests
- 49
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 16%
- Peak
- 1602
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2015, 5 years before Que N Cue's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POOR BOYS BBQ | 24 | 4 | 19 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 22 | 8 | 14 | 36% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 21 | 6 | 14 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ | 21 | 2 | 19 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 20 | 8 | 12 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 18 | 3 | 15 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Off The Rack BBQ | 17 | 5 | 12 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 17 | 3 | 11 | 18% | ⚔ compare |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | 17 | 2 | 14 | 12% | ⚔ compare |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 16 | 4 | 12 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 15 | 3 | 12 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 15 | 1 | 14 | 7% | ⚔ compare |
| The Swine Doctor's BBQ | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 14 | 6 | 6 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Bowmans Butt & BBQ | 14 | 4 | 9 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 30 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 174.8456 | 155.3484 | 166.11 | top 41% |
| Pork Ribs | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 170.8344 | 135.4060 | 158.53 | top 52% |
| Pork | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 169.1200 | 143.3716 | 156.21 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA | 18 | 0 | top 56% |
| TN | 4 | 0 | top 33% |
| WV | 4 | 0 | top 47% |
| NC | 3 | 0 | top 33% |
| AL | 1 | 0 | top 90% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 8 | 0 | top 72% |
| Medium (20–39) | 11 | 0 | top 47% |
| Large (40+) | 11 | 0 | top 39% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | 5 | 17 | 0 | top 44% | 2025-03-22 |
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 4 | 19 | 0 | top 33% | 2026-03-20 |
| Smoke on the Mountain | 3 | 5 | 0 | top 24% | 2025-07-25 |
| Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 44% | 2024-08-30 |
| WV Coalfields Cookoff | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 49% | 2024-06-07 |
| Revolutionary BBQ Brawl - Battle on the James (Day 2) | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 108% | 2023-04-29 |
| Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 2022 | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 42% | 2022-07-21 |
| BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | 2 | 19 | 0 | top 39% | 2022-03-26 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5.4 yrs
2020-10-29 → 2026-03-20
Busiest season
2023
9 contests
Contests a season
4.6
across 7 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
VA
19 of 32 contests · 5 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
16
8 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
30 entries · 0 wins · 15 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 166.11 · weakest Pork (156.21)
Walk rate
47%
a top-10 call in 15 of 32 contests
Overall top-10 rate
31%
10 of 32 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight contests
Backyard average
354.91
out of 360 · 30 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
617
863–945 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
5,357
32 mapped stops · furthest 465 mi
Schedule strength
1612
average field rating faced — tougher than 84% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$225,440
listed at 29 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 30 state-championship entries
Power rating
1557
peak 1557 · #1611 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2020
- First tracked contest The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score467.8856 Zom-B-Q
- 2021
- First call City of Welch Coalfields Cook-off
- First overall top-10 City of Welch Coalfields Cook-off
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.8456 City of Welch Coalfields Cook-off
- 2023
- 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- Career-best overall score498.2860 WV Coalfields Cookoff
- 2024
- 25th tracked contest Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival
- 2025
- First overall podium Fire in the Foothills
- 2026
- Peak power rating (1557) Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.8 | Smoke on the Mountain | 2023-07-21 |
| +14.4 | Fire in the Foothills | 2025-09-26 |
| +10.9 | City of Welch Coalfields Cook-off | 2021-06-11 |
| +10.2 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2023-03-17 |
| +9.2 | Smoke on the Mountain | 2025-07-25 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague | 2021-10-15 |
| -10.8 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl - Battle on the James (Day 2) | 2023-04-29 |
| -10 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl - Battle on the James (Day 1) | 2023-04-28 |
| -9.3 | Smoke on the Falls BBQ Competition | 2025-04-11 |
| -6.4 | Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague | 2021-10-16 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
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 32% | 91.7% | 91.7% |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50% | top 44% | 94.6% | 91.8% |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43% | top 43% | 91.7% | 89.6% |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56% | top 55% | 138.4% | 105.9% |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 38% | 128.5% | 116.1% |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 75% | top 75% | 95.1% | 92.2% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 56% | 130% | 106.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 40 / 125 (330.2056) | 39 (166.2628) | 38 (163.9428) | 43 (161.1088) | — |
| 2025-09-26 | Fire in the Foothills 🏅 King, NC | 3 / 25 (337.1200) | 4 (169.1428) | 5 (167.9772) | 7 (158.2516) | — |
| 2025-07-25 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 9 / 37 (327.9656) | 8 (170.8572) | 13 (157.1084) | — | — |
| 2025-06-06 | WV Coalfields Cookoff WV KCBS State Championship 🏅 Welch, WV | 7 / 11 (322.8004) | 6 (165.6916) | 7 (157.1088) | 8 (159.3828) | — |
| 2025-04-11 | Smoke on the Falls BBQ Competition 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 28 / 31 (322.1716) | 27 (162.8000) | 27 (159.3716) | — | — |
| 2025-03-22 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 17 / 43 (340.5256) | 14 (170.2744) | 14 (170.2512) | — | — |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 37 / 100 (332.5828) | 17 (173.7028) | 43 (158.8800) | — | — |
| 2024-08-30 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC | 10 / 28 (320.4916) | 9 (162.2284) | 10 (158.2632) | 4 (169.1200) | — |
| 2024-07-26 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 11 / 32 (318.8344) | 5 (172.5484) | 13 (146.2860) | — | — |
| 2024-06-07 | WV Coalfields Cookoff 🏅 Welch, WV | 7 / 13 (324.4912) | 7 (159.3484) | 4 (165.1428) | 8 (159.4172) | — |
| 2024-03-23 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 22 / 42 (319.3600) | 11 (168.0000) | 27 (151.3600) | 23 (159.3600) | — |
| 2024-03-22 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 18 / 45 (330.2744) | 17 (166.2856) | 16 (163.9888) | 21 (160.5488) | — |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 36 / 93 (321.0284) | 44 (155.3484) | 23 (165.6800) | 43 (153.6800) | — |
| 2024-03-15 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-01 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC | 11 / 21 (306.7884) | 5 (165.7028) | 11 (141.0856) | — | — |
| 2023-07-21 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 5 / 38 (334.2172) | 10 (166.2400) | 6 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-06-09 | WV Coalfields Cookoff 🏅 Welch, WV | 7 / 16 (498.2860) | 8 (165.1428) | 5 (170.8344) | 8 (162.3088) | — |
| 2023-04-29 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl - Battle on the James (Day 2) 🏅 Williamsburg, VA | 21 / 19 (305.0284) | 19 (158.8228) | 21 (146.2056) | — | — |
| 2023-04-28 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl - Battle on the James (Day 1) 🏅 Williamsburg, VA | 21 / 20 (322.7884) | 15 (165.0856) | 21 (157.7028) | — | — |
| 2023-03-25 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 22 / 46 (468.9716) | 15 (164.5372) | 23 (145.0628) | 19 (159.3716) | — |
| 2023-03-24 | BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Chicken) Urbanna, VA | — | 30 (159.4056) | — | — | — |
| 2023-03-24 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 21 / 53 (478.1944) | 9 (170.8228) | 14 (164.0000) | 24 (143.3716) | — |
| 2023-03-17 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 19 / 80 (336.0228) | 10 (172.5944) | 28 (163.4284) | — | — |
| 2022-07-21 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 2022 🏅 Galax, VA | 9 / 25 (334.8344) | 9 (166.8228) | 11 (168.0116) | — | — |
| 2022-03-26 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 19 / 50 (462.7548) | 20 (155.9888) | 16 (163.3944) | 22 (143.3716) | — |
| 2022-03-25 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 21 / 53 (455.9432) | 11 (168.5600) | 23 (135.4060) | 20 (151.9772) | — |
| 2021-10-16 | Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague 🏅 Galax, VA | 16 / 15 (330.8344) | 4 (174.2628) | 20 (156.5716) | — | — |
| 2021-10-15 | Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q-Rufus Teague 🏅 Galax, VA | 18 / 15 (322.8116) | 14 (165.6800) | 17 (157.1316) | — | — |
| 2021-07-23 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 🏅 Galax, VA | 8 / 17 (331.3600) | 6 (168.5372) | 12 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2021-06-11 | City of Welch Coalfields Cook-off 🏅 Welch, WV | 4 / 15 (342.2628) | 2 (174.8456) | 8 (167.4172) | 15 (150.8116) | — |
| 2020-10-30 | Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 17 / 33 (467.8856) | 18 (157.7028) | 16 (157.0856) | 16 (153.0972) | — |
| 2020-10-29 | The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 20 / 33 (300.5260) | — | 19 (146.2744) | 16 (154.2516) | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
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 ↗ | Backyard | #247 (112 pts) | #204 (167 pts) | #262 (112 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #93 (624 pts) | #90 (634 pts) | #115 (564 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #115 (518 pts) | #96 (643 pts) | #107 (565 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #91 (676 pts) | #112 (595 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | — | #1584 (58 pts) | — | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #131 (322 pts) | #144 (267 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #51 (691 pts) | #86 (396 pts) | — | — |