The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
K & E's Little Smokers has finished one call ahead of Poppell Insurance BBQ Team 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Poppell Insurance BBQ Team
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1439
peak 1439 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2019-11-22
latest 2025-11-21
Best ToY finish
#856
Master 2020
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 83%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
647.74 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 647.08 (+0.65)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±6.79
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 166.92 · weakest Brisket (158.53)
Road miles
15
mi across 6 mapped stops
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Purse competed for
$101K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
647.08 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
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.
A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Smokin' Ain't EZ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Smokin' Ain't EZ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
The weak link
−8.4
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.39 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 17%.
- Brisket avg 158.53
- Chicken avg 166.92
- 0 calls in 6 entries
A strong matchup
3–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 75% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Tarheel Cookers in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
The comeback
2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Plant City Pig Jam (2021-11-19).
- last seen 2019-11-22
- back 2021-11-19
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked Plant City Pig Jam every year from 2022 to 2025 — the contest they never miss.
- 5 visits in all
- best finish 17th
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.
74 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5856 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 9 years before Poppell Insurance BBQ Team's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5853 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5852 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before Poppell Insurance BBQ Team's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#5855 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
No shared contest yet.
Level with Poppell Insurance BBQ Team on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5851 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 11 years before Poppell Insurance BBQ Team's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5848 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
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.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Florida Boys | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Cold Beer BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SWAMP BOYS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQmyway | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 159.3712 | 166.92 | top 55% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 154.7884 | 163.10 | top 65% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4284 | 151.4056 | 158.54 | top 90% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.9656 | 148.4800 | 158.53 | top 70% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant City Pig Jam | 5 | 17 | 0 | top 83% | 2025-11-21 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
6 yrs
2019-11-22 → 2025-11-21
Busiest season
2025
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
FL
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 166.92 · weakest Brisket (158.53)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Master average
647.08
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
166
29–276 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
15
6 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1531
average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$100,650
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 6 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2 yrs
2019-11-22 → 2021-11-19
Power rating
1439
peak 1439 · #5857 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest Plant City Pig Jam
- Peak power rating (1489) Plant City Pig Jam
- 2024
- First call Plant City Pig Jam
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.5084 Plant City Pig Jam
- Career-best overall score661.5084 Plant City Pig Jam
- Career-best single call (Chicken)173.1200 Plant City Pig Jam
- 2025
- Most recent contest Plant City Pig Jam
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.3 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2022-11-18 |
| -11.4 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2019-11-22 |
| -11.1 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2023-11-17 |
| -10.9 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2021-11-19 |
| -10 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2025-11-21 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 90% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 65% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-21 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 28 / 31 (639.8624) | 13 (170.8456) | 18 (169.1312) | 30 (151.4056) | 30 (148.4800) |
| 2024-11-22 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 17 / 26 (661.5084) | 5 (173.1200) | 9 (170.8228) | 23 (159.3484) | 17 (158.2172) |
| 2023-11-17 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 22 / 25 (645.5772) | 14 (165.0856) | 18 (161.6800) | 25 (154.8456) | 13 (163.9660) |
| 2022-11-18 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 24 / 25 (646.1372) | 13 (170.2744) | 24 (154.7884) | 25 (161.0856) | 22 (159.9888) |
| 2021-11-19 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 31 / 37 (645.6000) | 32 (162.8000) | 16 (166.8344) | 29 (163.4284) | 33 (152.5372) |
| 2019-11-22 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 30 / 39 (643.8164) | 29 (159.3712) | 34 (155.3712) | 29 (161.1084) | 12 (167.9656) |
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 | #1173 (56 pts) | #869 (116 pts) | #981 (91 pts) | #1179 (56 pts) | #1175 (56 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #856 (60 pts) | #896 (60 pts) | #913 (60 pts) | #899 (60 pts) | #670 (125 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1955 (60 pts) | #2049 (60 pts) | #2026 (60 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #1516 (125 pts) |