Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.
- Chicken ×1
Free Smokes BBQ
Free Smokes BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 59 at the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (2024). They are ranked #3162 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1501
peak 1522 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Mar 4, 2022
latest Mar 6, 2026 · 4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.85
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 168.32 · weakest Brisket (161.68)
Road miles
120
across 8 mapped stops
Schedule strength
66%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1583)
Purse competed for
$88K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 8 state-championship entries
Master avg
676.26 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
327.71 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
475.31 / 540
2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 Free Smokes BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
113 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,159 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
2–2 in 4 shared contests (50% to Free Smokes BBQ)
These two have cooked 4 of the same contests — honours even — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,154 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1508
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,168 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1517
They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Free Smokes BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,160 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1509
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Free Smokes BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,172 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1501
Level with Free Smokes BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,153 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Free Smokes BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COOL HAND QUE | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| ZIPS BBQ | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Peckerwood Country Club | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| Wiggle Butts BBQ | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| Wine Me, Dine Me and Swine Me | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| CHOOCHOO BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Stewbabys BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| YES, DEAR BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| SOUTHERN COMFORT BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Willingham's | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 180 🔥 | 153.0628 | 168.32 | top 31% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.7028 | 144.4916 | 164.96 | top 42% |
| Pork | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 142.8344 | 165.61 | top 39% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2628 | 159.3828 | 161.68 | top 84% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 48% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | 4 | 9 | 0 | top 43% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | 3 | 23 | 0 | top 56% | Nov 14, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
3
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
299
finished ahead 301 times, behind 389
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
20252 milestones
- Career-best overall score683.3256 Pigs & Peaches
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
20242 milestones
- First overall top-10 Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1522) Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
20231 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score492.4688 Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
20222 milestones
- First tracked contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
- First call Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.6 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 1, 2024 |
| +6.7 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 3, 2023 |
| +3.8 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 17, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.8 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 6, 2026 |
| -7.2 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 14, 2025 |
| -3.6 | Pigs & Peaches | Aug 15, 2025 |
| -1.9 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 15, 2024 |
| -1.2 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 4, 2022 |
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 75% | 92.9% | 92.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 65% | 94.9% | 94.4% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 93.9% | 91.9% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 35% | 91.2% | 90.3% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 49% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 33 / 44 (669.0056) | 26 (170.8228) | 11 (173.7028) | 41 (158.2172) | 34 (166.2628) |
| Nov 14, 2025 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 42 / 56 (676.4572) | 2 (180) | 46 (166.2400) | 35 (170.8228) | 53 (159.3944) |
| Aug 15, 2025 | Pigs & Peaches 🏅 Kennesaw, GA | 15 / 27 (683.3256) | 4 (177.7144) | 15 (170.8228) | 7 (175.4056) | 22 (159.3828) |
| Nov 15, 2024 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cuming, GA | 31 / 58 (323.3028) | 28 (163.9428) | 33 (159.3600) | 6 (174.8572) | — |
| Mar 1, 2024 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 9 / 59 (338.2172) | 18 (165.0972) | 7 (173.1200) | 10 (170.2628) | — |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 23 / 60 (321.6000) | 28 (153.0628) | 12 (168.5372) | 10 (168.5256) | — |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 20 / 65 (492.4688) | 24 (165.0856) | 20 (163.4172) | 19 (163.9660) | — |
| Mar 4, 2022 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 36 / 73 (458.1604) | 7 (170.8344) | 38 (144.4916) | 39 (142.8344) | — |