A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
OTAKU SMOKE N BREW ahead in 100% of their meetings
OTAKU SMOKE N BREW has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Sterling's BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1468
peak 1468 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2016-09-03
latest 2018-08-31
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 81%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
625.68
last 4 Master vs avg 625.68 (+0.00)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.45
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 161.28 · weakest Brisket (152.27)
Road miles
37
mi across 4 mapped stops
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Master avg
625.68 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (2 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.
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of CapCity Smoke in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
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.
Sterling's BBQ has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 164 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4724 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4706 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1504 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4708 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after Sterling's BBQ did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Head-to-head#4713 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Level with Sterling's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4694 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1469
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4712 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1468
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2972 | 155.4632 | 159.29 | top 70% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 162.8228 | 143.3716 | 152.84 | top 74% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5828 | 158.3084 | 161.28 | top 65% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9656 | 141.6684 | 152.27 | top 74% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 72% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 84% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival | 2 | 37 | 0 | top 84% | 2018-08-31 |
The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2 yrs
2016-09-03 → 2018-08-31
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
TX
4 of 4 contests
Contests visited
3
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 161.28 · weakest Brisket (152.27)
Walk rate
25%
a top-10 call in 1 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
625.68
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
134
32–160 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
37
4 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1531
average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests
Power rating
1468
peak 1468 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2016
- First tracked contest City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork)168.5828 City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1491) City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
- 2017
- First call *Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score639.9884 *Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival
- 2018
- Most recent contest *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.5 | City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival | 2016-09-03 |
| -9 | *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) | 2017-09-02 |
| -8.8 | *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival | 2018-08-31 |
| -4.6 | *Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival | 2017-10-13 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 85.8% | 85.8% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 76% | 88.9% | 86.8% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 88.3% | 88.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-08-31 | *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX | 65 / 74 (617.7032) | 64 (155.4632) | 43 (161.1544) | 58 (159.4172) | 73 (141.6684) |
| 2017-10-13 | *Smokin' Blues & BBQ Festival Duncanville, TX | 13 / 18 (639.9884) | 14 (160.5372) | 8 (162.8228) | 13 (158.3084) | 11 (158.3200) |
| 2017-09-02 | *Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Bedford, TX | 37 / 46 (609.6344) | 19 (162.2972) | 43 (143.3716) | 32 (158.8228) | 43 (145.1428) |
| 2016-09-03 | City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX | 49 / 58 (635.4056) | 43 (158.8572) | 57 (144.0000) | 23 (168.5828) | 24 (163.9656) |