The heartbreaker
0.5832
points from the title
Came within 0.5832 points of the Grand Championship at Lakeland Pig Festival (Jan 27, 2023).
Denim Dan the BBQ Man
Denim Dan the BBQ Man is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 51 at the Lakeland Pig Festival (2023), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #2296 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1527
peak 1527 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Jan 25, 2019
latest Jan 22, 2026 · 7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 38%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
38%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.72 · weakest Brisket (161.90)
Road miles
5
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 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
650.14 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
337.07 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (4-meat) avg
687.90 / 720
1 Backyard (4-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Denim Dan the BBQ Man, each with one reason worth a look.
61 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,293 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#2,286 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1528
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.
⚔ Compare careers#2,308 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1533
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 5 contests, alongside a 60% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#2,305 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1527
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.
⚔ Compare careers#2,294 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1532
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before Denim Dan the BBQ Man's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,301 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1527
Level with Denim Dan the BBQ Man on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar 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.
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 5 | 2 | 0 | top 38% | Jan 22, 2026 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
1
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
323
finished ahead 334 times, behind 206
Longest layoff
3 yrs
Jan 24, 2020 → Jan 27, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Peak power rating (1527) Lakeland Pig Festival
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
20234 milestones
- 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
20201 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.1488 Lakeland Pig Festival
20192 milestones
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5600 Lakeland Pig Festival
20161 milestone
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.7 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 27, 2023 |
| +12.2 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 26, 2024 |
| +7.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 22, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.4 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 25, 2019 |
| -4.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 24, 2020 |
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 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% | 95.5% | 95.5% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 22, 2026 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 19 / 63 (334.2056) | 26 (165.0972) | 20 (169.1084) | 23 (165.6684) | 12 (166.8572) |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 11 / 61 (339.9428) | 5 (171.9656) | 17 (167.9772) | 25 (163.9312) | 28 (156.5256) |
| Jan 27, 2023 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 2 / 51 (687.8968) | 5 (173.1428) | 10 (174.2628) | 18 (166.2284) | 4 (174.2628) |
| Jan 24, 2020 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 35 / 53 (654.1488) | 35 (166.8228) | 16 (169.7144) | 44 (158.2400) | 35 (159.3716) |
| Jan 25, 2019 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 41 / 58 (646.1372) | 4 (176.5600) | 52 (151.3828) | 29 (165.7028) | 47 (152.4916) |
| Jan 26, 2018 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan 27, 2017 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan 29, 2016 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |