High-water mark
672.4340
career-best overall
93.4% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 672.4340 at East Central State BBQ Cookoff — 93.4% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Aug 22, 2025
PayHeed BBQ
PayHeed BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 14th of 27 at the East Central State BBQ Cookoff (2025). They are ranked #3905 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Pay Heed BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1485 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Mar 25, 2022
latest Sep 30, 2026 · 4.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 67%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
668.13 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 657.26 (+10.87)
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.46
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.84 · weakest Chicken (160.69)
Road miles
174
across 9 mapped stops
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1580)
Purse competed for
$298K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
657.26 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
315.95 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1065 (60 pts) | #1141 (60 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #1111 (60 pts) | #1102 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #980 (107 pts) | #1097 (92 pts) | #961 (137 pts) | #860 (147 pts) | #1052 (97 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #1242 (60 pts) | #1317 (60 pts) | #1231 (60 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #789 (190 pts) | #849 (190 pts) | #773 (245 pts) | #854 (180 pts) | #792 (205 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to PayHeed BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
163 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,920 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to PayHeed BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team PayHeed BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,921 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to PayHeed BBQ)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before PayHeed BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,901 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1525
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to PayHeed BBQ)
They've been 1525 at their best, 40 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,903 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 4%
- Peak
- 1485
2–2 in 4 shared contests (50% to PayHeed BBQ)
26 contests to 9: their number has had years to settle where PayHeed BBQ's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,898 of the rated field
- Contests
- 28
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 4%
- Peak
- 1546
4–1 in 5 shared contests (80% to PayHeed BBQ)
28 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 4% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,902 of the rated field
- Contests
- 34
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 3%
- Peak
- 1516
2–3 in 5 shared contests (40% to PayHeed BBQ)
They were already cooking in 2014, 8 years before PayHeed BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOVE 2 Q | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' SAUCED | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Notch 9 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Damn Fine Beef & Swine | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Papa Bears KC Barbecue | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Pancho, Cisco, The Kid, and Company | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| The BBQ Mavens | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoked & Furious | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke This Drink That BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Wabash BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Go Pig or Go Home | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WOOD HOOK BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| 913 BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.9656 | 144.7084 | 160.69 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 158.8344 | 166.84 | top 55% |
| Pork | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 142.1716 | 163.11 | top 60% |
| Brisket | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 157.6684 | 165.18 | top 54% |
“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
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 66% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 67% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 3 | 251 | 0 | top 73% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2 | 262 | 0 | top 65% | Nov 5, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2022
4 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
7 of 9 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
1,054
finished ahead 704 times, behind 1,621
Longest layoff
1.1 yrs
Sep 27, 2023 → Oct 30, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
20252 milestones
- First call East Central State BBQ Cookoff
- Career-best overall score672.4340 East Central State BBQ Cookoff
20241 milestone
- Career-best single call (Pork)175.4172 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
20223 milestones
- First tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.7080 Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1493) Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.6 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff | Aug 22, 2025 |
| +1.5 | Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition | Jun 3, 2022 |
| +1.1 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Sep 27, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.9 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | Sep 29, 2022 |
| -8.3 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest | Mar 25, 2022 |
| -2 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Sep 30, 2026 |
| -1.6 | East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival | Aug 26, 2022 |
| -1.1 | 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 70% | 92.9% | 92.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 59% | 93.4% | 93% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 64% | 92.4% | 92.4% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 60% | 92.5% | 92.5% |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 73% | 90.4% | 88.5% |
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 - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 251 / 360 (669.0288) | 253 (167.3828) | 306 (162.8460) | 107 (173.7028) | 243 (165.0972) |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 262 / 401 (667.3376) | 316 (163.4172) | 229 (167.9888) | 323 (162.8116) | 93 (173.1200) |
| Aug 22, 2025 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Paola, KS | 14 / 27 (672.4340) | 17 (167.9656) | 9 (171.9656) | 8 (168.5600) | 16 (163.9428) |
| Oct 30, 2024 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 284 / 444 (665.6344) | 416 (151.9772) | 198 (170.2628) | 59 (175.4172) | 197 (167.9772) |
| Sep 27, 2023 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 292 / 487 (666.2056) | 313 (165.6684) | 211 (170.2628) | 310 (164.5944) | 270 (165.6800) |
| Sep 29, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 454 / 505 (626.0916) | 392 (161.1200) | 310 (165.1316) | 494 (142.1716) | 400 (157.6684) |
| Aug 26, 2022 | East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS | 30 / 45 (640.6400) | 42 (144.7084) | 20 (168) | 32 (162.2400) | 20 (165.6916) |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition 🏅 Kansas City, MO | 23 / 41 (650.7080) | 23 (166.8228) | 17 (166.2856) | 37 (155.3712) | 25 (162.2284) |
| Mar 25, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO | 20 / 25 (315.9544) | 20 (157.1200) | 20 (158.8344) | — | — |