Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
2013 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 62%.
SMOKIN SKULLIES ahead in 100% of their meetings
SMOKIN SKULLIES has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.37 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 17%.
Their overall lands within ±1.23% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
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.
121 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team MEATHEADS' BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 6 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 8 years after MEATHEADS' BBQ did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with MEATHEADS' BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1505 at their best, 45 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1504 at their best, 43 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SAUCED! BBQ TEAM | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.3828 | 138.2056 | 153.65 | top 85% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 150.2288 | 161.02 | top 62% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 162.8112 | 142.7656 | 155.21 | top 82% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 178.8572 | 151.3600 | 159.77 | top 67% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 3 | 0 | top 91% |
| NC | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| VA | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 86% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) | 2 | 58 | 0 | top 89% | 2017-05-26 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +0.3 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival | 2013-09-13 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.4 | Bib's Camel City Cookoff (formerly Jammin' Pig) | 2015-04-10 |
| -10.7 | Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier) | 2015-05-22 |
| -7.9 | Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) | 2016-05-27 |
| -5.3 | *Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) | 2017-05-26 |
| -4.5 | Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down | 2013-10-11 |
| 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 87% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 86.6% | 86.6% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 86.2% | 86.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33% | top 62% | 89% | 88.4% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-05-26 | *Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA | 58 / 67 (640.3308) | 64 (151.3368) | 22 (171.4056) | 58 (162.8112) | 58 (154.7772) |
| 2016-05-27 | Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA | 60 / 66 (623.7940) | 59 (155.3828) | 44 (161.6800) | 64 (152.5256) | 58 (154.2056) |
| 2015-05-22 | Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que (GBC Qualifier) Evans, GA | 62 / 65 (620.9596) | 61 (156.5256) | 53 (159.3828) | 64 (142.7656) | 46 (162.2856) |
| 2015-04-10 | Bib's Camel City Cookoff (formerly Jammin' Pig) Winston-Salem, NC | 47 / 51 (619.2228) | 44 (157.0856) | 47 (150.2288) | 36 (160.5484) | 45 (151.3600) |
| 2014-11-21 | The National BBQ Cup (SBBQA) Cumming, GA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013-11-15 | The National BBQ Cup (GBC Qualifier) Cumming, GA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013-10-11 | Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down Rocky Mount, NC | 37 / 55 (632.5832) | 27 (163.3828) | 30 (158.3088) | 46 (153.7372) | 33 (157.1544) |
| 2013-09-13 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival Floyd, VA | 9 / 16 (641.0628) | 15 (138.2056) | 7 (165.1428) | 9 (158.8572) | 1 (178.8572) |