The heartbreaker
0.5832
points from the title
Came within 0.5832 points of the Grand Championship at Lakeland Pig Festival (2023-01-27).
Denim Dan the BBQ Man
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1527
peak 1527 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2019-01-25
latest 2026-01-22
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 38%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
454.02
last 3 Backyard vs avg 454.02 (+0.00)
Walk rate
38%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±165.40
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.72 · weakest Brisket (161.90)
Road miles
5
mi across 8 mapped stops
Schedule strength
38%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1550)
Purse competed for
$100K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
650.14 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
454.02 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.
Storylines (7 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.
High-water mark
687.8968
career-best overall
191.1% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 687.8968 at Lakeland Pig Festival — 191.1% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2023-01-27
A tough matchup
3–1
behind in the head-to-head
Nuts & Butts ahead in 75% of their meetings
Nuts & Butts has come out ahead in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
The weak link
−8.8
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.82 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 60%.
- Brisket avg 161.90
- Chicken avg 170.72
- 1 calls in 5 entries
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of K & E's Little Smokers in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
The comeback
3 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3 years, then back at Lakeland Pig Festival (2023-01-27).
- last seen 2020-01-24
- back 2023-01-27
Boom or bust
±39.68%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±39.68% 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 111.8% of a perfect score
- best 191.1%
In the record book (1 in the KCBS record book)
Where this team stands in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record they hold outright; the rest are boards they are on. Rebuilt nightly, so beating one shows up here the next morning.
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.
68 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2273 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1541
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to Denim Dan the BBQ Man)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Denim Dan the BBQ Man has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2270 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1528
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than Denim Dan the BBQ Man has cooked, 5 to 8, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#2288 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1533
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 5 contests, alongside a 60% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-head#2280 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1530
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head#2287 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1527
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before Denim Dan the BBQ Man's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2281 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1532
No shared contest yet.
Level with Denim Dan the BBQ Man on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Barrel Smokers | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Porkganic BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Burning Bush BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Team Smoke Showin' | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Sons of Hamarchy | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| 92 BB Crew | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Barely Sober BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| The Rusty Pig | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 165.0972 | 170.72 | top 26% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 151.3828 | 166.49 | top 40% |
| Pork | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2284 | 158.2400 | 163.95 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 152.4916 | 161.90 | top 44% |
“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.
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 5 | 2 | 0 | top 38% | 2026-01-22 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
7 yrs
2019-01-25 → 2026-01-22
Busiest season
2026
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 8 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
FL
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
1
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 170.72 · weakest Brisket (161.90)
Walk rate
38%
a top-10 call in 3 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
13%
1 of 8 contests
Master average
650.14
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
454.02
out of 360 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
323
334–206 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
5
8 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1550
average field rating faced — tougher than 38% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$100,000
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 5 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3 yrs
2020-01-24 → 2023-01-27
Power rating
1527
peak 1527 · #2277 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2016
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2019
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5600 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2020
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.1488 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2023
- First overall top-10 Lakeland Pig Festival
- First overall podium Lakeland Pig Festival
- First Reserve Championship Lakeland Pig Festival
- Career-best overall score687.8968 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2026
- Peak power rating (1527) Lakeland Pig Festival
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.7 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2023-01-27 |
| +12.2 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2024-01-26 |
| +7.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2026-01-22 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.4 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2019-01-25 |
| -4.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2020-01-24 |
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)
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 30% | 92.8% | 92.8% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 18% | 94.4% | 94.4% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 4% | 191.1% | 191.1% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 66% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 71% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-22 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 19 / 63 (334.2056) | 26 (165.0972) | 20 (169.1084) | 23 (165.6684) | 12 (166.8572) |
| 2024-01-26 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 11 / 61 (339.9428) | 5 (171.9656) | 17 (167.9772) | 25 (163.9312) | 28 (156.5256) |
| 2023-01-27 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 2 / 51 (687.8968) | 5 (173.1428) | 10 (174.2628) | 18 (166.2284) | 4 (174.2628) |
| 2020-01-24 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 35 / 53 (654.1488) | 35 (166.8228) | 16 (169.7144) | 44 (158.2400) | 35 (159.3716) |
| 2019-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 41 / 58 (646.1372) | 4 (176.5600) | 52 (151.3828) | 29 (165.7028) | 47 (152.4916) |
| 2018-01-26 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-01-27 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016-01-29 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |