PayHeed BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#3790

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1487

peak 1487 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2022-03-25

latest 2025-11-05

Best ToY finish

#789

Master 2022

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 67%

overall standings

Best overall

672.4340 / 720

Master · East Central State BBQ Cookoff

Perfect 180s

Current form

659.54 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 655.58 (+3.96)

Walk rate

13%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4172

Pork · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

Consistency

±15.82

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 167.34 · weakest Chicken (159.85)

Road miles

162

mi across 8 mapped stops

Schedule strength

63%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1579)

Purse competed for

$229K

listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 7 state-championship entries

Master avg

655.58 / 720

7 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

315.95 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs

Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (6 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.

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
2025-08-22

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

LOVE 2 Q ahead in 100% of their meetings

LOVE 2 Q has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.5 points behind their best meat

Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.49 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 13%.

Chicken avg 159.85
Pork Ribs avg 167.34
0 calls in 8 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Papa Bears KC Barbecue in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

Pork Ribs nemesis

6 of 7 shared pork ribs entries lost

LOVE 2 Q ahead 86% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, LOVE 2 Q has out-cooked them in 6 of 7 shared pork ribs entries.

The metronome

±2.33% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.33% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.6% of a perfect score
8 contests

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.

131 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

BID WIZ PLAYER BBQ TEAM

#3773 of the rated field

1488 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1551

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to PayHeed BBQ)

2 contests 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.

rated over 22 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

RED OAK BBQ

#3792 of the rated field

1487 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1531

3–1 in 4 shared contests (75% to PayHeed BBQ)

They've been 1531 at their best, 44 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2026-08-14

⚔ Head-to-head

Piiripealsed

#3784 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 75%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-08-14
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Risk it for the Brisket

#3801 of the rated field

1487 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2015, 7 years before PayHeed BBQ's first contest.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-07-18

⚔ Head-to-head

5XL BBQ

#3783 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

Level with PayHeed BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-06-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Kiss My Butt BBQ

#3777 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2023-07-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LOVE 2 Q	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' SAUCED	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
Smoke This Drink That BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Notch 9	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
Damn Fine Beef & Swine	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
Papa Bears KC Barbecue	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
Pancho, Cisco, The Kid, and Company	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
The BBQ Mavens	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
Smoked & Furious	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Wabash BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
Go Pig or Go Home	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
MAN MEAT BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
WOOD HOOK BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
913 BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	0	167.9656	144.7084	159.85	top 76%
Pork Ribs	8	1	171.9656	158.8344	167.34	top 51%
Pork	7	1	175.4172	142.1716	161.60	top 64%
Brisket	7	0	173.1200	157.6684	165.19	top 52%

“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
KS	6	0	top 66%
MO	2	0	top 68%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	2	0	top 66%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 67%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2	262	0	top 65%	2025-11-05
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2	292	0	top 75%	2023-09-27

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.6 yrs 2022-03-25 → 2025-11-05

Busiest season 2022 4 contests

Contests a season 2 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 6 of 8 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 6 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork Ribs averages 167.34 · weakest Chicken (159.85)

Walk rate 13% a top-10 call in 1 of 8 contests

Overall top-10 rate 0% 0 of 8 contests

Master average 655.58 out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 315.95 out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 957 595–1,371 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 162 8 mapped stops

Schedule strength 1579 average field rating faced — tougher than 63% of rated contests

Purse competed for $229,376 listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 7 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2023-09-27 → 2024-10-30

Power rating 1487 peak 1487 · #3790 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2022
Mar 25 First tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest
Jun 3 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.7080 Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition
Jun 3 Peak power rating (1493) Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition
2024
Oct 30 Career-best single call (Pork)175.4172 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
2025
Aug 22 First call East Central State BBQ Cookoff
Aug 22 Career-best overall score672.4340 East Central State BBQ Cookoff
Nov 5 Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+4.6	East Central State BBQ Cookoff	2025-08-22
+1.6	Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition	2022-06-03
+1.1	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2023-09-27

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.9	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	2022-09-29
-8.3	American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest	2022-03-25
-1.6	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival	2022-08-26
-1	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2025-11-05
-0.3	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2024-10-30

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2025	2	50%	top 59%	93.4%	93%
2024	1	0%	top 64%	92.4%	92.4%
2023	1	0%	top 60%	92.5%	92.5%
2022	4	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
2025-11-05	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)
2025-08-22	East Central State BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Paola, KS	14 / 27 (672.4340)	17 (167.9656)	9 (171.9656)	8 (168.5600)	16 (163.9428)
2024-10-30	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)
2023-09-27	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)
2022-09-29	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)
2022-08-26	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS	30 / 45 (640.6400)	42 (144.7084)	20 (168.0000)	32 (162.2400)	20 (165.6916)
2022-06-03	Kelley Wilson Memorial BBQ Competition 🏅 Kansas City, MO	23 / 41 (650.7080)	23 (166.8228)	17 (166.2856)	37 (155.3712)	25 (162.2284)
2022-03-25	American Royal World Series of Barbecue Backyard Contest Kansas City, MO	20 / 25 (315.9544)	20 (157.1200)	20 (158.8344)	—	—

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
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)