A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
PARK AVENUE PORK ahead in 100% of their meetings
PARK AVENUE PORK has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Sauce Optional
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1471
peak 1471 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2015-05-01
latest 2017-09-01
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 85%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
600.83
last 3 Master vs avg 600.83 (+0.00)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±21.38
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 153.30 · weakest Brisket (143.39)
Road miles
13
mi across 3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
36%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1547)
Master avg
600.83 / 720
3 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.
The comeback
1.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.9 years, then back at 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) (2017-09-01).
- last seen 2015-10-03
- back 2017-09-01
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.
Sauce Optional has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 129 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4583 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4558 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 10 years after Sauce Optional did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Head-to-head#4566 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1507 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4568 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
Level with Sauce Optional on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4577 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#4579 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2856 | 143.3828 | 152.72 | top 77% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 159.4400 | 142.2628 | 151.41 | top 68% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.2512 | 134.8000 | 153.30 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9884 | 134.8116 | 143.39 | top 79% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 2 | 0 | top 81% |
| KS | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 83% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 87% |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.3 yrs
2015-05-01 → 2017-09-01
Busiest season
2015
2 contests
Contests a season
1.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MO
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 153.30 · weakest Brisket (143.39)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
600.83
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
825
115–919 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
13
3 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1547
average field rating faced — tougher than 36% of rated contests
Longest layoff
1.9 yrs
2015-10-03 → 2017-09-01
Power rating
1471
peak 1471 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series)
- First call UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series)
- Peak power rating (1490) UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series)
- Career-best overall score624.9940 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
- Career-best single call (Pork)170.2512 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open
- 2017
- Most recent contest 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.3 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) | 2017-09-01 |
| -10 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series) | 2015-05-01 |
| -8.6 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open | 2015-10-03 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 84% | 84% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 81% | 86.8% | 83.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-01 | 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS | 385 / 407 (604.4800) | 265 (162.2856) | 356 (152.5256) | 351 (154.8572) | 395 (134.8116) |
| 2015-10-03 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO | 480 / 606 (624.9940) | 530 (152.4916) | 581 (142.2628) | 121 (170.2512) | 342 (159.9884) |
| 2015-05-01 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series) Kansas City, MO | 19 / 23 (573.0056) | 18 (143.3828) | 5 (159.4400) | 22 (134.8000) | 19 (135.3828) |