They almost always walk
63%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 5 of 8 contests
A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1490
peak 1511 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2025-03-21
latest 2026-08-28
Best ToY finish
#99
Backyard 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
325.76
last 5 Backyard vs avg 325.98 (-0.22)
Walk rate
63%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±4.94
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 171.42 · weakest Chicken (159.39)
Road miles
1,576
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1230 mi
Schedule strength
54%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1569)
Purse competed for
$54K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 3 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
325.98 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (7 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.
High-water mark
333.6572
career-best overall
92.7% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 333.6572 at Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) — 92.7% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2026-07-18
A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Bramble BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Bramble BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
The weak link
−12.0
points behind their best meat
Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 12.03 points below their pork, and turns into a call 14% of the time against 100%.
- Chicken avg 159.39
- Pork avg 171.42
- 1 calls in 7 entries
A strong matchup
3–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 75% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Ole Mae I BBQ in 3 of their 4 shared contests.
Announced themselves early
5th
at their very first contest
Finished 5 of 26 at their very first tracked contest, Torry Island BBQ Showdown (2025-03-21).
- 2025-03-21
- 26-team field
The metronome
±1.37%
swing around their own average
Their overall lands within ±1.37% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
- averages 90.6% of a perfect score
- 8 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.
159 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3648 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1505
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3646 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3635 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 12 years before Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3624 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1490
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3649 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Level with Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3616 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1491
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Jessi James Smoking Guns BBQ'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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bramble BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Skinny Pig BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2400 | 153.6800 | 159.39 | top 65% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 171.9888 | 158.7884 | 166.56 | top 49% |
| Pork | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4172 | 171.4172 | 171.42 | top 16% |
| Brisket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 163.3828 | 163.3828 | 163.38 | top 29% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2) | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 76% | 2026-08-28 |
| Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 76% | 2026-07-18 |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
1.4 yrs
2025-03-21 → 2026-08-28
Busiest season
2026
6 contests
Contests a season
4
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
3 of 8 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
8 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 171.42 · weakest Chicken (159.39)
Walk rate
63%
a top-10 call in 5 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
13%
1 of 8 contests
Backyard average
325.98
out of 360 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
151
91–133 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,576
8 mapped stops · furthest 1,230 mi
Schedule strength
1569
average field rating faced — tougher than 54% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$54,300
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 3 state-championship entries
Power rating
1490
peak 1511 · #3634 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2025
- First tracked contest Torry Island BBQ Showdown
- First call Torry Island BBQ Showdown
- First overall top-10 Torry Island BBQ Showdown
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score331.3944 Plant City Pig Jam
- Peak power rating (1511) Plant City Pig Jam
- 2026
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)171.9888 Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score333.6572 Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2)
- Most recent contest Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.1 | Torry Island BBQ Showdown | 2025-03-21 |
| +1.5 | Plant City Pig Jam | 2025-11-21 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.3 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) | 2026-07-17 |
| -4.6 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2) | 2026-08-28 |
| -4.3 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 1) | 2026-08-28 |
| -4.3 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) | 2026-07-18 |
| -2 | Cruisin' and BBQin' | 2026-07-31 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 72% | 92.7% | 90.5% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 92.1% | 90.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 2) Cherry Valley, IL | 19 / 25 (324.5144) | 24 (153.6800) | 12 (170.8344) | — | — |
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (BACKYARD ONLY) (Contest 1) Cherry Valley, IL | 18 / 24 (318.1828) | 18 (159.3944) | 17 (158.7884) | — | — |
| 2026-08-28 | Smokin Ribs for the Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cherry Valley, IL | — | — | 10 (166.2856) | — | — |
| 2026-07-31 | Cruisin' and BBQin' 🏅 Hampton, IA | 14 / 26 (325.6456) | 14 (157.6684) | 9 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2026-07-18 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 21 / 28 (333.6572) | 21 (166.2400) | 17 (167.4172) | — | — |
| 2026-07-17 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 21 / 27 (326.8232) | 25 (154.8344) | 9 (171.9888) | — | — |
| 2025-11-21 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 13 / 31 (331.3944) | 14 (163.9544) | 13 (167.4400) | 5 (171.4172) | 9 (163.3828) |
| 2025-03-21 | Torry Island BBQ Showdown 🏅 Belle Glade, FL | 5 / 26 (321.6688) | 5 (159.9544) | 5 (161.7144) | — | — |
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 ↗ | Backyard | #99 (437 pts) | #115 (407 pts) | #84 (594 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | — | — | #932 (112 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #246 (162 pts) | #250 (162 pts) | #266 (162 pts) | — | — |