Bocephus BBQ KS
Rating
1747
peak 1747
Contests
54
in the data
First seen
2019-05-31
latest 2026-06-05
Best ToY finish
#38
Master 2026
Grand champs
5
1 reserve
Category wins
14
34 podiums
Overall top-10s
27
of 54 contests
Avg finish
top 30%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
8 🔥
Current form
695.13 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 687.52 (+7.61)
Walk rate
85%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
5
best run (overall)
Consistency
±15.71
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 172.57 · weakest Brisket (170.38)
Road miles
3252
mi across 54 mapped stops · furthest 222 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
PARTS 'R' SMOKIN has finished one call ahead of Bocephus BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
WOOD HOOK BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
JANKY LEG BBQ has come out ahead in 16 of their 19 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Who's Cookin' in 23 of their 26 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 3 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.0460 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke on the Water (2024-10-11).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 38-team field at SJV Winter Rub.
📅 A April team
Something about April: average finish in the top 18% across 7 contests, versus top 30% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Meat Inferno (JUDGING FULL) (2023-10-06) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 23-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Fergolicious BBQ.
📈 Riding a hot streak
Currently on a 4-contest overall top-10 run.
Teams like this (closest power rating, KS first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 51 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 180.0000 🔥 | 154.7772 | 172.22 | top 40% |
| Pork Ribs | 54 | 26 | 9 | 13 | 180.0000 🔥 | 147.3828 | 172.49 | top 33% |
| Pork | 51 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 180.0000 🔥 | 160.5028 | 172.57 | top 36% |
| Brisket | 51 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 180.0000 🔥 | 145.6000 | 170.38 | top 37% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KS | 43 | 4 | top 30% |
| MO | 5 | 0 | top 38% |
| IA | 2 | 0 | top 19% |
| NE | 1 | 1 | top 3% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 1 | top 5% |
| Medium (20–39) | 32 | 4 | top 27% |
| Large (40+) | 18 | 0 | top 35% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (14 contests)
- Cooks mostly in KS (45 of 54 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (54 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Meat Inferno (JUDGING FULL) (2023-10-06)
- Wins it all in 9% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 687.52
- 8 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
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 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 705.7028 | 697.17 |
| 2025 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 707.3712 | 694.74 |
| 2024 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 702.3084 | 689.95 |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 706.2400 | 689.65 |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 691.3372 | 682.01 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 691.9316 | 654.46 |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 645.6572 | 645.66 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-05 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 35th Annual McLouth, KS | 4 / 30 (693.0972) | 5 (174.8456) | 14 (170.8344) | 3 (178.8800) | 13 (168.5372) |
| 2026-04-17 | Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ Iola, KS | 4 / 27 (698.2168) | 7 (176.5600) | 3 (177.1428) | 14 (171.4056) | 4 (173.1084) |
| 2026-04-10 | Smoke in the Spring (OPEN FORMAT) Osage City, KS | 5 / 101 (701.0972) | 28 (175.4056) | 12 (175.4288) | 9 (176.5600) | 26 (173.7028) |
| 2026-04-03 | Smokin in the Valley Linn Valley, KS | 8 / 31 (691.9200) | 12 (174.2628) | 4 (175.4172) | 5 (176.5600) | 19 (165.6800) |
| 2026-03-27 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge St. Robert, MO | 17 / 26 (691.3140) | 16 (171.9656) | 4 (176.5600) | 19 (170.8228) | 15 (171.9656) |
| 2026-03-20 | 8th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship Olathe, KS | 4 / 68 (698.8344) | 31 (169.6800) | 2 (177.1544) | 13 (175.4400) | 7 (176.5600) |
| 2026-01-30 | SJV Winter Rub Omaha, NE | 1 / 38 (705.7028) | 11 (171.9884) | 1 (178.8572) | 8 (176.5600) | 3 (178.2972) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 63 / 158 (689.0628) | 32 (176.5600) | 97 (170.8228) | 129 (166.2744) | 30 (175.4056) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 126 / 401 (686.2056) | 241 (168.5256) | 79 (174.2744) | 225 (168.5256) | 57 (174.8800) |
| 2025-10-17 | Happy Basset 5th Annual BBQ Competition Topeka, KS | 13 / 23 (686.7776) | 7 (174.2860) | 10 (170.8344) | 4 (176.5716) | 18 (165.0856) |
| 2025-10-10 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 3 / 30 (693.6228) | 26 (166.2284) | 2 (176.5716) | 2 (177.7028) | 3 (173.1200) |
| 2025-10-03 | Meat Inferno Edgerton, KS | 5 / 21 (693.6344) | 5 (174.2744) | 1 (175.4172) | 9 (171.9656) | 9 (171.9772) |
| 2025-10-03 | Meat Inferno (One Meat Ribs) Edgerton, KS | — | — | 1 (180.0000) | — | — |
| 2025-09-19 | 37th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out Kearney, MO | 14 / 30 (679.8512) | 9 (173.1084) | 7 (173.1200) | 14 (170.8228) | 25 (162.8000) |
| 2025-08-30 | Smoke on the River (Day 2) Burlington, KS | 1 / 24 (707.3712) | 9 (177.7028) | 1 (180.0000) | 3 (178.8572) | 20 (170.8112) |
| 2025-08-29 | Smoke on the River (Day 1) Burlington, KS | 5 / 25 (700.5144) | 11 (173.1200) | 15 (174.2628) | 5 (176.5716) | 4 (176.5600) |
| 2025-08-08 | Smoke on the Bricks Baldwin City, KS | 17 / 53 (695.9200) | 3 (177.7144) | 6 (176.5600) | 34 (168.5256) | 15 (173.1200) |
| 2025-07-18 | Shenandoah ShenDig Shenandoah, IA | 3 / 30 (698.7884) | 4 (176.5600) | 2 (178.8572) | 5 (176.5600) | 15 (166.8112) |
| 2025-06-06 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 34th Annual McLouth, KS | 5 / 28 (697.6568) | 3 (177.1428) | 16 (171.9656) | 12 (170.8456) | 1 (177.7028) |
| 2025-05-16 | Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ Iola, KS | 1 / 27 (703.9772) | 9 (173.1316) | 7 (174.2628) | 1 (180.0000) | 6 (176.5828) |
| 2025-04-11 | Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS | 10 / 92 (698.2172) | 20 (175.4172) | 47 (170.8228) | 8 (177.7144) | 17 (174.2628) |
| 2024-10-11 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 2 / 31 (700.4912) | 2 (180.0000) | 11 (173.1084) | 14 (171.9772) | 3 (175.4056) |
| 2024-10-04 | Meat Inferno Edgerton, KS | 20 / 38 (681.0400) | 22 (172.5600) | 20 (171.9772) | 24 (169.1200) | 22 (167.3828) |
| 2024-09-20 | 36th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out Kearney, MO | 6 / 32 (694.7768) | 16 (170.8112) | 1 (180.0000) | 5 (176.5600) | 16 (167.4056) |
| 2024-09-13 | Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES) Weston, MO | 19 / 38 (675.2796) | 32 (167.3712) | 1 (177.7144) | 17 (170.8112) | 32 (159.3828) |
| 2024-08-31 | Smoke on the River Burlington, KS | 16 / 28 (686.1828) | 14 (174.2628) | 22 (165.6916) | 2 (178.8572) | 20 (167.3712) |
| 2024-08-31 | Smoke on the River (ONE MEAT RIBS) Burlington, KS | — | — | 9 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2024-08-09 | Smoke on the Bricks Baldwin City, KS | 9 / 46 (691.3368) | 19 (171.4056) | 10 (174.2628) | 15 (174.2628) | 14 (171.4056) |
| 2024-07-12 | 2024 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Cameron, MO | 3 / 28 (693.0856) | 13 (170.8228) | 6 (175.4400) | 1 (180.0000) | 10 (166.8228) |
| 2024-07-12 | 2024 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cameron, MO | — | — | 4 (173.7260) | — | — |
| 2024-06-21 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship Lenexa, KS | 13 / 172 (683.9884) | 8 (177.7028) | 46 (168.5484) | 75 (165.1772) | 11 (172.5600) |
| 2024-05-31 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 33rd Annual McLouth, KS | 1 / 35 (702.3084) | 7 (173.1428) | 1 (180.0000) | 1 (178.8800) | 11 (170.2856) |
| 2024-05-17 | Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ Iola, KS | 12 / 31 (689.0168) | 17 (173.1084) | 17 (170.8228) | 14 (171.9772) | 8 (173.1084) |
| 2024-04-05 | Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS | 22 / 97 (691.9316) | 59 (168.5256) | 31 (173.1316) | 33 (172.5600) | 5 (177.7144) |
| 2023-10-13 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 11 / 39 (685.6228) | 28 (167.3828) | 8 (175.4400) | 24 (163.9428) | 3 (178.8572) |
| 2023-10-06 | Meat Inferno (JUDGING FULL) Edgerton, KS | 1 / 19 (706.2400) | 4 (177.7028) | 1 (177.7144) | 3 (174.2628) | 1 (176.5600) |
| 2023-09-01 | Smoke on the River Burlington, KS | 8 / 20 (689.6344) | 11 (171.9772) | 11 (171.4172) | 12 (168.5372) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2023-08-11 | 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN Mayetta, KS | 62 / 90 (679.8628) | 64 (169.6800) | 54 (170.8344) | 45 (171.9772) | 65 (167.3712) |
| 2023-06-30 | Happy Basset 3rd Annual BBQ Competition Topeka, KS | 9 / 33 (697.0972) | 12 (175.4056) | 19 (170.2744) | 17 (171.4172) | 2 (180.0000) |
| 2023-06-02 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 32nd Annual McLouth, KS | 4 / 36 (684.0460) | 14 (166.3316) | 5 (173.7144) | 5 (174.8572) | 7 (169.1428) |
| 2023-05-19 | King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA | 13 / 45 (686.1828) | 21 (170.8228) | 23 (168.5372) | 26 (169.1200) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2023-04-07 | Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS | 12 / 103 (696.5488) | 58 (169.1200) | 12 (176.0116) | 15 (174.8572) | 14 (176.5600) |
| 2023-03-17 | 5th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship Olathe, KS | 28 / 68 (681.6348) | 9 (176.5716) | 38 (168.5488) | 48 (166.2400) | 27 (170.2744) |
| 2022-10-14 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 6 / 28 (691.3372) | 4 (175.4172) | 11 (171.9656) | 5 (175.4172) | 12 (168.5372) |
| 2022-10-07 | Meat Inferno (JUDGING FULL) Edgerton, KS | 10 / 29 (687.3372) | 9 (175.4172) | 11 (170.8344) | 8 (176.0000) | 22 (165.0856) |
| 2022-08-26 | Smoke on the Bricks Baldwin City, KS | 17 / 48 (685.0284) | 10 (174.2628) | 15 (169.6684) | 9 (175.4288) | 30 (165.6684) |
| 2022-07-01 | Happy Basset 2nd Annual BBQ Competition Topeka, KS | 11 / 24 (665.0172) | 21 (154.7772) | 18 (161.6800) | 4 (175.4172) | 5 (173.1428) |
| 2022-06-03 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 31st Annual McLouth, KS | 3 / 30 (682.2284) | 3 (176.0000) | 11 (168.5600) | 14 (166.8456) | 4 (170.8228) |
| 2022-04-08 | Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS | 35 / 94 (681.1204) | 27 (173.1200) | 10 (175.4172) | 30 (172.0116) | 72 (160.5716) |
| 2021-10-15 | Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS | 5 / 25 (691.9316) | 5 (174.8456) | 1 (177.7144) | 10 (171.9772) | 10 (167.3944) |
| 2021-08-20 | Smoke on the Bricks Baldwin City, KS | 28 / 46 (654.7428) | 29 (164.5372) | 21 (165.7144) | 28 (166.2628) | 30 (158.2284) |
| 2021-07-09 | Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS | 40 / 43 (626.0684) | 32 (165.7028) | 41 (154.2628) | 37 (160.5028) | 42 (145.6000) |
| 2021-06-04 | Mclouth BBQ Blowout 29th Annual Mclouth, KS | 34 / 42 (645.0972) | 33 (163.4172) | 42 (147.3828) | 33 (162.2856) | 5 (172.0116) |
| 2019-05-31 | McLouth BBQ Blowout 28th Annual McLouth, KS | 20 / 25 (645.6572) | 17 (162.2856) | 12 (164.5716) | 15 (166.2628) | 25 (152.5372) |
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 | #38 (1329 pts) | #129 (804 pts) | #37 (1414 pts) | #68 (1019 pts) | #81 (964 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #61 (1888 pts) | #94 (1608 pts) | #39 (2032 pts) | #50 (1823 pts) | #113 (1478 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #87 (1585 pts) | #152 (1220 pts) | #86 (1563 pts) | #84 (1515 pts) | #121 (1325 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #141 (1257 pts) | #225 (952 pts) | #193 (1127 pts) | #214 (967 pts) | #70 (1667 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #284 (806 pts) | #283 (836 pts) | #364 (701 pts) | #288 (841 pts) | #351 (686 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #502 (355 pts) | #520 (355 pts) | #442 (475 pts) | #578 (305 pts) | #457 (430 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1851 (75 pts) | #1858 (90 pts) | #1701 (115 pts) | #1791 (100 pts) | #2587 (50 pts) |