Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in brisket.
- Brisket ×1
The Chopping Block
The Chopping Block is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 7th of 48 at the Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff (2025). They are ranked #2269 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1529
peak 1542 · rated over 6 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Apr 5, 2024
latest Sep 30, 2026 · 2.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
20% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
654.68 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 664.72 (-10.04)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±53.89
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 172.42 · weakest Chicken (170.75)
Road miles
991
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 631 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)
Purse competed for
$350K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
664.72 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to The Chopping Block, each with one reason worth a look.
72 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,270 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1529
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before The Chopping Block's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,267 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1538
Fewer contests behind them than The Chopping Block has cooked, 6 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,273 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1528
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before The Chopping Block's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,268 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1529
Level with The Chopping Block on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,262 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1529
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 13 years before The Chopping Block's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,266 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1539
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 13 years before The Chopping Block's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA PASADITA | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Crossed Rifles BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| BULLHORN BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| CHICKEN FRIED BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke Show BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| JCs GOOD OL BOYS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| The Pitfather BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| TINY E BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Lonestar Smokestacks | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Sure Shot BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Loud and Heavy BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| LC BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Totally Bodacious BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 166.2400 | 170.75 | top 37% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 177.7144 | 157.0972 | 170.99 | top 36% |
| Pork | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 166.2628 | 171.91 | top 37% |
| Brisket | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 180 🔥 | 163.3828 | 172.42 | top 22% |
“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 field size and state
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 12% | Sep 12, 2025 |
| Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 30% | Mar 28, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
3.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
6 of 10 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
661
finished ahead 597 times, behind 719
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
- Career-best overall score698.2172 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
20252 milestones
- Peak power rating (1542) Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
20244 milestones
- First tracked contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
- First call Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score668.4800 Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
- First overall top-10 Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.1 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | Sep 13, 2024 |
| +12.8 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff | Mar 28, 2025 |
| +12.2 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | Sep 12, 2025 |
| +3.2 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff | Apr 5, 2024 |
| +0.2 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Sep 30, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.9 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Nov 5, 2025 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 36% | 97% | 95.5% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40% | top 41% | 95.9% | 89.7% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 28% | 95.9% | 94.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS | 22 / 158 (698.2172) | 61 (173.1200) | 17 (177.7144) | 114 (168.5256) | 7 (178.8572) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 208 / 360 (676.4572) | 177 (170.2744) | 119 (173.1200) | 189 (169.6800) | 276 (163.3828) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 395 / 401 (523.9428) | — | 139 (171.9772) | 161 (171.9656) | 2 (180) |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS | 58 / 158 (690.2172) | 88 (171.9656) | 115 (169.1200) | 56 (172.5600) | 18 (176.5716) |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 12 / 92 (684.5488) | 25 (170.2628) | 16 (173.1544) | 11 (176.0116) | 37 (165.1200) |
| Mar 28, 2025 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 7 / 48 (685.0744) | 23 (166.2400) | 9 (172.5600) | 11 (173.7144) | 3 (172.5600) |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 7 / 67 (690.8228) | 16 (171.9656) | 14 (173.1544) | 4 (176.5600) | 16 (169.1428) |
| Apr 5, 2024 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 18 / 40 (668.4800) | 7 (171.4172) | 32 (157.0972) | 21 (166.2628) | 5 (173.7028) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.