A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
G'RILLA Q
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1475
peak 1475 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2022-03-18
latest 2025-11-05
Best ToY finish
#1148
Master 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 82%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
642.28
last 4 Master vs avg 642.28 (+0.00)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±3.79
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 161.67 · weakest Chicken (159.53)
Road miles
28
mi across 4 mapped stops
Schedule strength
71%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1589)
Purse competed for
$215K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
642.28 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (3 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.
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of HI-TECH SMOKERS in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
1.5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.5 years, then back at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest (2023-09-27).
- last seen 2022-03-18
- back 2023-09-27
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.
G'RILLA Q has 4 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 148 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.
#4388 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to G'RILLA Q)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team G'RILLA Q has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4383 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1515
3–0 in 3 shared contests (100% to G'RILLA Q)
They've been 1515 at their best, 40 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4356 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to G'RILLA Q)
23 contests to 4: their number has had years to settle where G'RILLA Q's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#4402 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
No shared contest yet.
Level with G'RILLA Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4386 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2017, 5 years before G'RILLA Q's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4379 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1475
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6916 | 155.9200 | 159.53 | top 84% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 152.0228 | 159.54 | top 78% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5372 | 158.8344 | 161.67 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 172.0344 | 153.0972 | 161.53 | top 61% |
“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-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 | 352 | 0 | top 86% | 2025-11-05 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
3.6 yrs
2022-03-18 → 2025-11-05
Busiest season
2025
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
4 of 4 contests
Contests visited
3
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 161.67 · weakest Chicken (159.53)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 4 contests
Master average
642.28
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
757
245–1,153 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
28
4 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1589
average field rating faced — tougher than 71% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$215,275
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
2022-03-18 → 2023-09-27
Power rating
1475
peak 1475 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2022
- First tracked contest Qlathe BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1495) Qlathe BBQ Championship
- 2023
- Career-best overall score647.9888 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
- Career-best single call (Brisket)172.0344 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
- 2025
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2025-11-05 |
| -7.3 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2024-10-30 |
| -5.2 | Qlathe BBQ Championship | 2022-03-18 |
| -4.7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2023-09-27 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 88.5% | 88.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 90% | 90% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 89% | 89% |
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 | 352 / 401 (642.7200) | 354 (158.8572) | 361 (157.6456) | 358 (158.8344) | 213 (167.3828) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 378 / 444 (637.4856) | 402 (155.9200) | 278 (166.8572) | 355 (161.0856) | 386 (153.6228) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 372 / 487 (647.9888) | 379 (161.6916) | 454 (152.0228) | 354 (162.2400) | 94 (172.0344) |
| 2022-03-18 | Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS | 55 / 71 (640.9372) | 56 (161.6572) | 48 (161.6456) | 51 (164.5372) | 61 (153.0972) |
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 | #1148 (60 pts) | #1221 (60 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 pts) | #1190 (60 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 | #1309 (60 pts) | #1341 (60 pts) | #1404 (60 pts) | #1348 (60 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |