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.
Bearded Dudes Smokin' Meats has 2 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 138 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.
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Bearded Dudes Smokin' Meats has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headThis is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head28 contests to 3: their number has had years to settle where Bearded Dudes Smokin' Meats's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with Bearded Dudes Smokin' Meats on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headA longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headA longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 176.0344 | 157.6916 | 166.86 | top 50% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5488 | 154.8460 | 157.70 | top 88% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 172.0000 | 163.9884 | 167.99 | top 52% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146.2172 | 146.2172 | 146.22 | top 93% |
“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 | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2 | 381 | 0 | top 92% | 2025-11-05 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 99% | 68.7% | 68.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 88.4% | 88.4% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 396 / 401 (494.8688) | 48 (176.0344) | 374 (154.8460) | 306 (163.9884) | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 381 / 444 (636.4576) | 393 (157.6916) | 369 (160.5488) | 124 (172.0000) | 412 (146.2172) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | — |