On the rise
+28
rating points in a year
Their power rating has climbed 28 points across 5 contests since Jan 24, 2025 — from 1516 up to 1544.
- 5 contests since Jan 24, 2025
- now 1544
Powered by Smoke
Powered by Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 25 at the Grills Gone Wild (2025), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1882 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1544
peak 1549 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Jan 4, 2024
latest Jan 22, 2026 · 2.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
2
9 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
50% of 8 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 35%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
332.51
last 5 Backyard vs avg 332.15 (+0.36)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.41
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.47 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.68)
Road miles
248
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 107 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$124K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 8 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
332.15 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 Powered by Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
67 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,875 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1544
2–1 in 3 shared contests (67% to Powered by Smoke)
These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — Powered by Smoke ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,894 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1547
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,870 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 15%
- Peak
- 1544
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 13 contests to 8.
⚔ Compare careers#1,891 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1545
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 13 years before Powered by Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,877 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 55%
- Peak
- 1553
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 11 contests, alongside a 55% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#1,880 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1545
Level with Powered by Smoke 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K & E's Little Smokers | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| Cool Guys BBQ | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| FRED VEGAS SMOKERS | 7 | 1 | 5 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Poppa Pig | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Bourbon & Blues BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Going Yard BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Kings BBQ Team | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Dog BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Belly Bustin Bistro | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ | 5 | 3 | 1 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| PIPKIN CREEK BBQ CO. | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 173.7028 | 157.1084 | 167.47 | top 35% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 175.4172 | 152.5372 | 164.68 | top 34% |
| Pork | 8 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 177.7028 | 158.2400 | 165.82 | top 27% |
| Brisket | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 173.1428 | 148.5372 | 165.40 | top 18% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 31% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 9% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 56% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 3 | 26 | 0 | top 65% | Jan 22, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
4 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
276
finished ahead 272 times, behind 246
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
20255 milestones
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Grills Gone Wild
- First Reserve Championship Grills Gone Wild
- First multi-meat day Grills Gone Wild
- Career-best overall score348.5372 Plant City Pig Jam
- Peak power rating (1549) Plant City Pig Jam
20246 milestones
- First tracked contest 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show
- First call 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score331.3484 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show
- Career-best single call (Pork)177.7028 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show
- First overall top-10 Ribs on the Ridge Brews & BBQ
- First overall podium Ribs on the Ridge Brews & BBQ
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Grills Gone Wild | Feb 7, 2025 |
| +15.3 | Ribs on the Ridge Brews & BBQ | Feb 16, 2024 |
| +13.1 | Plant City Pig Jam | Nov 21, 2025 |
| +6.5 | 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show | Jan 4, 2024 |
| +3.9 | Ribs on the Ridge | Feb 14, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 22, 2026 |
| -4.4 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 26, 2024 |
| -1.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 24, 2025 |
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 60% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 75% | top 28% | 96.8% | 93% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 36% | 94.4% | 92.1% |
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 | 38 / 63 (322.7428) | 32 (162.8000) | 36 (159.9428) | 33 (162.2400) | 17 (165.1200) |
| Nov 21, 2025 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 3 / 31 (348.5372) | 5 (173.1200) | 3 (175.4172) | 3 (172.5600) | 4 (169.6684) |
| Feb 14, 2025 | Ribs on the Ridge 🏅 Haines City, FL | 5 / 16 (324.5028) | 3 (171.9656) | 7 (152.5372) | 4 (158.2400) | 4 (148.5372) |
| Feb 7, 2025 | Grills Gone Wild 🏅 Davenport, FL | 2 / 25 (335.3600) | 4 (166.2400) | 1 (169.1200) | 3 (162.2628) | 1 (173.1428) |
| Jan 24, 2025 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 26 / 40 (331.3944) | 28 (163.9772) | 22 (167.4172) | 30 (162.7884) | 11 (170.8456) |
| Feb 16, 2024 | Ribs on the Ridge Brews & BBQ 🏅 Haines City, FL | 3 / 29 (339.9772) | 3 (170.8456) | 2 (169.1316) | 7 (158.8000) | 5 (161.0972) |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 42 / 61 (323.3368) | 52 (157.1084) | 28 (166.2284) | 9 (171.9656) | 8 (168.5600) |
| Jan 4, 2024 | 8th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam & Car Show 🏅 Elkton, FL | 12 / 43 (331.3484) | 5 (173.7028) | 20 (157.6456) | 3 (177.7028) | 8 (166.2400) |