A tough matchup
11–0
behind in the head-to-head
SWAMP BOYS ahead in 100% of their meetings
SWAMP BOYS has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.
Tarheel Cookers
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1398
peak 1398 · rated over 12 contests ⓘ
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
2013-01-25
latest 2025-11-21
Best ToY finish
#878
Master 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 86%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
632.61 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 629.60 (+3.01)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.82
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 163.07 · weakest Brisket (150.47)
Road miles
62
mi across 12 mapped stops
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Purse competed for
$118K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 8 state-championship entries
Master avg
629.60 / 720
12 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.
The weak link
−12.6
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 12.60 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 8%.
- Brisket avg 150.47
- Chicken avg 163.07
- 0 calls in 12 entries
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Pig In or Pig Out in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
The comeback
6.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 6.2 years, then back at Lakeland Pig Festival (2022-01-28).
- last seen 2015-11-20
- back 2022-01-28
The metronome
±2.06%
swing around their own average
Their overall lands within ±2.06% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
- averages 87.4% of a perfect score
- 12 contests
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.
- 6 visits in all
- best finish 20th
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.
#6296 of the rated field
- Contests
- 21
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 5%
- Peak
- 1398
3–5 in 8 shared contests (38% to Tarheel Cookers)
These two have cooked 8 of the same contests — SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL ahead 5–3 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#6293 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1399
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#6297 of the rated field
- Contests
- 28
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1398
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 28 contests to 12.
⚔ Head-to-head#6295 of the rated field
- Contests
- 31
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1398
No shared contest yet.
31 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Head-to-head#6299 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1397
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head#6291 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1399
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Tarheel Cookers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWAMP BOYS | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SWEET SMOKE Q FLORIDA | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HOT WACHULA'S | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Florida Boys | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| SWINOS | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Tillman's BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| KEEPIN IT SMOKIN BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Nuts & Butts | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Belly Bustin Bistro | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQmyway | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| JP BBQ and Catering | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2744 | 147.3944 | 163.07 | top 64% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1656 | 148.5712 | 158.78 | top 76% |
| Pork | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8344 | 148.5372 | 157.29 | top 79% |
| Brisket | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2400 | 138.7884 | 150.47 | top 86% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 88% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 85% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant City Pig Jam | 6 | 20 | 0 | top 87% | 2025-11-21 |
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 3 | 45 | 0 | top 91% | 2024-01-26 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
12.8 yrs
2013-01-25 → 2025-11-21
Busiest season
2024
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 7 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
FL
12 of 12 contests
Contests visited
5
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
12 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 163.07 · weakest Brisket (150.47)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 2 of 12 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 12 contests
Master average
629.60
out of 720 · 12 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
420
95–686 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
62
12 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1536
average field rating faced — tougher than 26% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$117,610
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 8 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
6.2 yrs
2015-11-20 → 2022-01-28
Power rating
1398
peak 1398 · #6294 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- Peak power rating (1495) Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2022
- First call Plant City Pig Jam
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.1488 Plant City Pig Jam
- Career-best overall score658.1488 Plant City Pig Jam
- 2023
- Career-best single call (Chicken)174.2744 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2024
- 10th tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2025
- Most recent contest Plant City Pig Jam
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.4 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2023-11-17 |
| -10.8 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2024-11-22 |
| -10.2 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2025-11-21 |
| -10.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2024-01-26 |
| -9.7 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2022-01-28 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 88% | 86.8% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 90% | 89.3% | 89.1% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 84% | 91.4% | 89.8% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 85.5% | 85.5% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 88.5% | 85.8% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 75% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
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 | 31 / 31 (630.0912) | 25 (165.1200) | 30 (153.0856) | 27 (163.9428) | 31 (147.9428) |
| 2024-11-22 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 26 / 26 (615.7604) | 14 (167.9772) | 26 (154.8116) | 26 (149.0516) | 26 (143.9200) |
| 2024-01-26 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 59 / 61 (633.5428) | 39 (170.2744) | 49 (165.1200) | 60 (150.2400) | 60 (147.9084) |
| 2023-11-17 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 23 / 25 (640.9716) | 20 (160.5256) | 21 (157.6800) | 9 (170.8344) | 25 (151.9316) |
| 2023-01-27 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 45 / 51 (642.6632) | 19 (174.2744) | 35 (164.5372) | 46 (154.8116) | 47 (149.0400) |
| 2022-11-18 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 20 / 25 (658.1488) | 9 (171.9888) | 21 (161.0972) | 22 (162.8228) | 19 (162.2400) |
| 2022-01-28 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 53 / 60 (635.2228) | 51 (161.6800) | 55 (158.7884) | 56 (158.2172) | 53 (156.5372) |
| 2015-11-20 | Plant City Pig Jam - State Championship BBQ Contest 🏅 Plant City, FL | 43 / 49 (615.3140) | 48 (147.9196) | 11 (169.1656) | 46 (148.5372) | 39 (149.6916) |
| 2014-11-21 | Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL | 26 / 39 (636.9832) | 16 (165.1200) | 20 (162.8344) | 23 (159.3944) | 31 (149.6344) |
| 2014-01-23 | The Tiger Town Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | 59 / 69 (598.6512) | 63 (147.3944) | 39 (158.8112) | 50 (153.6572) | 62 (138.7884) |
| 2013-11-22 | Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL | 44 / 53 (624.3996) | 27 (163.9428) | 47 (150.8112) | 31 (160.5256) | 43 (149.1200) |
| 2013-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | 47 / 70 (623.4278) | 38 (160.5714) | 61 (148.5712) | 47 (155.4282) | 31 (158.8570) |
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) | #1223 (56 pts) | #1253 (56 pts) | #1179 (56 pts) | #1175 (56 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #878 (120 pts) | #934 (135 pts) | #979 (130 pts) | #773 (195 pts) | #1011 (110 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #893 (135 pts) | #741 (225 pts) | #1084 (130 pts) | #964 (125 pts) | #937 (140 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2158 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #1737 (130 pts) | #2225 (60 pts) | #2214 (60 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1471 (150 pts) | #1551 (150 pts) | #1571 (150 pts) | #1560 (150 pts) | #1506 (150 pts) |