High-water mark
678.7884
career-best overall
94.3% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 678.7884 at Smoke on the Mountain — 94.3% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2025-07-25
Hillbilly Hot Butts
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1504 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2023-10-27
latest 2025-11-14
Best ToY finish
#782
Master 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 76%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
667.19
last 5 Master vs avg 667.19 (+0.00)
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.38
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 168.08 · weakest Pork Ribs (165.33)
Road miles
605
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 180 mi
Schedule strength
73%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1592)
Purse competed for
$47K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
667.19 / 720
5 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 tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
CHOOCHOO BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
CHOOCHOO BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 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.
147 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3890 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3879 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2016, 7 years before Hillbilly Hot Butts's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3869 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
No shared contest yet.
Level with Hillbilly Hot Butts on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3888 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1485
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3887 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 5 years before Hillbilly Hot Butts's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3864 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1486
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Hillbilly Hot Butts's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.9888 | 160.4912 | 166.37 | top 71% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 155.3716 | 165.33 | top 68% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 163.9428 | 168.08 | top 68% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9884 | 161.6800 | 167.41 | top 66% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| TN | 2 | 0 | top 77% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 88% |
| VA | 1 | 0 | top 54% |
| AL | 1 | 0 | top 86% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 86% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 69% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 88% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big BBQ Bash | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 77% | 2025-06-20 |
The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.1 yrs
2023-10-27 → 2025-11-14
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
TN
2 of 5 contests · 4 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 168.08 · weakest Pork Ribs (165.33)
Walk rate
20%
a top-10 call in 1 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 5 contests
Master average
667.19
out of 720 · 5 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
191
63–175 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
605
5 mapped stops · furthest 180 mi
Schedule strength
1592
average field rating faced — tougher than 73% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$47,400
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 5 state-championship entries
Power rating
1485
peak 1504 · #3881 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2023
- First tracked contest Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
- First call Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.7772 Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
- Career-best single call (Pork)174.2628 Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
- Peak power rating (1504) Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023
- 2025
- Career-best overall score678.7884 Smoke on the Mountain
- Most recent contest Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.8 | Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 | 2023-10-27 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | 2025-11-14 |
| -6.1 | Big BBQ Bash | 2025-06-20 |
| -3.4 | Big BBQ Bash | 2024-06-21 |
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 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 94.3% | 92.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 73% | 92.6% | 92.6% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 86% | 92.6% | 92.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-14 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 49 / 56 (670.7316) | 24 (171.9888) | 29 (173.1200) | 51 (163.9428) | 51 (161.6800) |
| 2025-07-25 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 20 / 37 (678.7884) | 27 (167.3944) | 16 (170.2628) | 17 (169.1428) | 16 (171.9884) |
| 2025-06-20 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 21 / 26 (652.9256) | 23 (160.4912) | 20 (161.6572) | 19 (166.2400) | 19 (164.5372) |
| 2024-06-21 | Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN | 24 / 33 (666.7428) | 22 (165.7028) | 23 (166.2400) | 24 (166.8344) | 22 (167.9656) |
| 2023-10-27 | Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 🏅 Madison, AL | 12 / 14 (666.7772) | 12 (166.2856) | 14 (155.3716) | 8 (174.2628) | 8 (170.8572) |
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) | #998 (65 pts) | #1051 (60 pts) | #970 (60 pts) | #950 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #782 (156 pts) | #954 (121 pts) | #846 (181 pts) | #772 (181 pts) | #761 (186 pts) |