HELPING U BBQ NE
Rating
1464
peak 1511
Contests
26
in the data
First seen
2019-04-26
latest 2026-01-30
Best ToY finish
#229
Master 2017
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
5 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
of 26 contests
Avg finish
top 62%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
668.38 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 634.97 (+33.41)
Walk rate
38%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±107.14
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 168.23 · weakest Brisket (161.57)
Road miles
2574
mi across 26 mapped stops · furthest 179 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ has finished one call ahead of HELPING U BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
TEAM BREW & QUE has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Broken BBQ in 7 of their 8 shared contests.
📅 A June team
Something about June: average finish in the top 53% across 3 contests, versus top 62% the rest of the year.
Teams like this (closest power rating, NE first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4400 | 153.6228 | 165.49 | top 61% |
| Pork Ribs | 22 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 177.7372 | 154.2744 | 167.83 | top 49% |
| Pork | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 177.7144 | 158.8228 | 168.23 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 23 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 175.4400 | 145.6916 | 161.57 | top 66% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NE | 16 | 0 | top 65% |
| KS | 5 | 0 | top 55% |
| IA | 2 | 0 | top 70% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 15 | 0 | top 65% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 0 | top 60% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2021 (6 contests)
- Cooks mostly in NE (16 of 26 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (23 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 634.97
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 662.8000 | 662.80 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 684.5028 | 670.76 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 678.2172 | 667.05 |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 674.8572 | 665.84 |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 650.6512 | 643.82 |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 688.5716 | 555.10 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 687.9540 | 653.92 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-30 | SJV Winter Rub Omaha, NE | 32 / 38 (662.8000) | 25 (166.8344) | 29 (165.6800) | 21 (168.5484) | 32 (161.7372) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 237 / 401 (673.0744) | 373 (156.5256) | 112 (172.5716) | 106 (174.2628) | 150 (169.7144) |
| 2025-07-11 | Goose's 1st Annual Pitmaster Showdown Papillion, NE | 20 / 24 (654.6972) | 24 (154.2172) | 13 (167.4172) | 12 (170.8228) | 20 (162.2400) |
| 2025-01-24 | SJV Winter Rub Omaha, NE | 6 / 32 (684.5028) | 9 (173.1428) | 25 (164.5372) | 5 (174.2628) | 3 (172.5600) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 278 / 444 (666.8116) | 365 (161.1200) | 113 (173.1428) | 123 (172.0000) | 340 (160.5488) |
| 2024-09-20 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 17 / 30 (669.6112) | 9 (172.5484) | 16 (166.8344) | 24 (164.5600) | 21 (165.6684) |
| 2024-07-19 | Shenandoah ShenDig BBQ Shenandoah, IA | 30 / 36 (653.5660) | 32 (158.2172) | 9 (174.2628) | 30 (161.1088) | 30 (159.9772) |
| 2024-01-26 | SJV Winter Rub Omaha, NE | 17 / 26 (678.2172) | 23 (163.9772) | 16 (169.6800) | 13 (169.1200) | 2 (175.4400) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 223 / 487 (674.8572) | 61 (175.4400) | 97 (173.7028) | 266 (166.8572) | 376 (158.8572) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-02 | Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cook-off Challenge Omaha, NE | 26 / 34 (665.5884) | 25 (167.9656) | 6 (172.5600) | 24 (165.1200) | 30 (159.9428) |
| 2023-01-27 | SJV Winter Rub Omaha, NE | 19 / 31 (657.0856) | 25 (159.3828) | 13 (169.7144) | 11 (169.1428) | 22 (158.8456) |
| 2022-10-01 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 358 / 505 (650.6512) | 85 (174.2628) | 379 (162.2516) | 285 (166.2284) | 464 (147.9084) |
| 2022-09-03 | Septemberfest BBQ & RibEye Steak Cookoff Challenge Omaha, NE | 43 / 45 (636.9832) | 41 (161.0972) | 43 (158.2516) | 15 (171.4172) | 44 (146.2172) |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 181 / 467 (155.4400) | 379 (157.0628) | 10 (177.7372) | 123 (169.1428) | 295 (160.5372) |
| 2021-09-04 | Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge Omaha, NE | 13 / 25 (678.7772) | 11 (171.9772) | 11 (169.7256) | 14 (171.9656) | 17 (165.1088) |
| 2021-08-13 | GOBS Que (DAY 1) Arlington, NE | 26 / 26 (485.0512) | 21 (163.9428) | — | 22 (158.8228) | 19 (162.2856) |
| 2021-06-19 | Central Plains Ribfest Day 2 Holdrege, NE | 24 / 36 (669.7376) | 20 (167.4288) | 17 (171.9772) | 31 (160.0344) | 11 (170.2972) |
| 2021-06-18 | Central Plains Ribfest Day 1 Holdrege, NE | 10 / 40 (688.5716) | 18 (172.0116) | 11 (172.5600) | 4 (177.7144) | 19 (166.2856) |
| 2021-05-28 | 9th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition Valley, NE | 37 / 46 (653.0284) | 3 (175.4400) | 41 (157.0972) | 37 (159.9656) | 37 (160.5256) |
| 2019-08-31 | Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-eye Steak cook-off challenge Omaha, NE | 23 / 28 (634.1828) | 26 (153.6228) | 26 (154.2744) | 20 (162.2628) | 14 (164.0228) |
| 2019-08-09 | GOBS Que Arlington, NE | 17 / 29 (642.2404) | 12 (166.8456) | 19 (159.4288) | 7 (170.2744) | 26 (145.6916) |
| 2019-06-14 | Central Plains Ribfest Holdrege, NE | 20 / 30 (651.3032) | 15 (164.5600) | 16 (163.3944) | 12 (170.2744) | 27 (153.0744) |
| 2019-04-26 | Q for a Cause Papillion, NE | 6 / 32 (687.9540) | 16 (168.5600) | 1 (175.4172) | 3 (175.4056) | 18 (168.5712) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #396 (481 pts) | #305 (666 pts) | #380 (545 pts) | #360 (561 pts) | #394 (511 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #496 (725 pts) | #739 (475 pts) | #616 (595 pts) | #403 (885 pts) | #612 (600 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #229 (1395 pts) | #375 (1001 pts) | #296 (1161 pts) | #165 (1525 pts) | #222 (1381 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #777 (482 pts) | #809 (477 pts) | #845 (462 pts) | #670 (602 pts) | #700 (572 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #682 (531 pts) | #605 (646 pts) | #692 (551 pts) | #727 (516 pts) | #709 (521 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #353 (1041 pts) | #172 (1523 pts) | #251 (1292 pts) | #351 (1046 pts) | #375 (999 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1076 (263 pts) | #1214 (233 pts) | #1018 (303 pts) | #1499 (163 pts) | #1216 (228 pts) |