Troublemakers BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#3475

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1494

peak 1523 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2022-05-28

latest 2025-11-21

Best ToY finish

#927

Master 2026

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 9 contests

Avg finish

top 50%

overall standings

Best overall

644.3652 / 720

Master · Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

327.73 ▲

last 5 Backyard vs avg 324.99 (+2.73)

Walk rate

78%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.2744

Chicken · Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

Consistency

±12.38

std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 167.48 · weakest Pork (154.22)

Road miles

2,334

mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1764 mi

Schedule strength

22%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1530)

Purse competed for

$33K

listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

637.22 / 720

2 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

324.99 / 360

6 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.

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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.

The heartbreaker

4.6740 points from the title

Came within 4.6740 points of the Grand Championship at Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) ().

They almost always walk

78% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 7 of 9 contests

A top-10 category call in 78% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

A tough matchup

4–0 behind in the head-to-head

WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of T.J.D. Smokehouse in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

3 of 4 shared chicken entries lost

WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ ahead 75% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ has out-cooked them in 3 of 4 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

2nd at their very first contest

Finished 2 of 38 at their very first tracked contest, Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) ().

38-team field

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.

129 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

RBQ

#3456 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 67
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1593

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Troublemakers BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Troublemakers BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 66 contests
last seen 2026-08-07

⚔ Head-to-head

Swine-O's

#3468 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1521

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before Troublemakers BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 7 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

White Pants BBQ

#3463 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1503

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2019-08-16

⚔ Head-to-head

HOME TOWNS SMOKIN BUTTS

#3453 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1507

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2015, 7 years before Troublemakers BBQ's first contest.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2018-05-25

⚔ Head-to-head

PISTOLS FIRING

#3470 of the rated field

1494 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1515

No shared contest yet.

Level with Troublemakers BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2018-03-23

⚔ Head-to-head

Red & Black BBQ Shack

#3477 of the rated field

1494 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1494

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-08-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Stone Cold Grillers	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	6	1	174.2744	158.7884	167.48	top 34%
Pork Ribs	9	3	0	172.0116	133.6344	157.74	top 56%
Pork	2	0	0	155.3600	153.0856	154.22	top 95%
Brisket	2	0	0	168.5372	156.4912	162.51	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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
IL	6	top 36%
NV	1	top 97%
CA	1	top 90%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 55%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 43%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	3	2	0	top 32%	2024-08-24
Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	2	5	0	top 29%	2024-06-14

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.5 yrs 2022-05-28 → 2025-11-21

Busiest season 2025 3 contests

Contests a season 1.8 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in IL 6 of 9 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 5 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 9 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 167.48 · weakest Pork (154.22)

Walk rate 78% a top-10 call in 7 of 9 contests

Overall top-10 rate 33% 3 of 9 contests

Master average 637.22 out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 324.99 out of 360 · 6 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 242 149–180 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,334 8 mapped stops · furthest 1,764 mi

Schedule strength 1530 average field rating faced — tougher than 22% of rated contests

Purse competed for $33,025 listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Power rating 1494 peak 1523 · #3475 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

First tracked contest Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First call Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall top-10 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall podium Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First Reserve Championship Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall past 90% of a perfect score336.5260 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
2024
Jun 14 Peak power rating (1523) Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
Aug 24 Career-best single call (Chicken)174.2744 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
2025
Apr 25 Career-best overall score644.3652 Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship
Nov 21 Most recent contest BBQ Jackpot

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.4	Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	2024-06-14
+10.3	Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-08-20
+2.5	Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	2023-06-17

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.5	BBQ Jackpot	2025-11-21
-11	Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship	2025-04-25
-7.3	Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	2024-08-24
-2.9	Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-05-28

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
—	1	1	100%	top 5%	93.5%	93.5%
2025	3	0	33%	top 93%	89.5%	88.5%
2024	2	1	100%	top 42%	95.1%	90.3%
2023	1	0	100%	top 45%	91.1%	91.1%
2022	2	1	100%	top 40%	90%	88.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2025-11-21	BBQ Jackpot 🏅 Las Vegas, NV	87 / 90 (630.0684)	88 (158.7884)	90 (149.6572)	87 (153.0856)	58 (168.5372)
2025-09-20	12 Bridge Rib Cook-Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lincoln, CA	—	—	6 (168.5256)	—	—
2025-04-25	Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship 🏅 Lodi, CA	28 / 31 (644.3652)	25 (166.2628)	19 (166.2512)	29 (155.3600)	26 (156.4912)
2024-08-24	Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL	26 / 36 (307.9088)	4 (174.2744)	33 (133.6344)	—	—
2024-06-14	Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL	5 / 40 (342.2744)	8 (170.2628)	4 (172.0116)	—	—
2023-06-17	Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL	15 / 33 (327.9772)	7 (169.1428)	20 (158.8344)	—	—
2022-08-20	Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL	8 / 41 (323.9428)	4 (166.8456)	22 (157.0972)	—	—
2022-05-28	Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) Westmont, IL	17 / 28 (311.3372)	7 (166.2856)	23 (145.0516)	—	—
	Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL	2 / 38 (336.5260)	3 (167.9656)	4 (168.5604)	—	—

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

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
2026 ↗	Master	#927 (60 pts)	#1010 (60 pts)	#1051 (60 pts)	#970 (60 pts)	#950 (60 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#1423 (56 pts)	#1457 (56 pts)	#733 (245 pts)	#1440 (56 pts)	#1437 (56 pts)
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#120 (368 pts)	#240 (138 pts)	—	—