High-water mark
669.0396
career-best overall
92.9% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 669.0396 at CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ — 92.9% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Oct 13, 2017
Twisted Smoke
Twisted Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 8th of 41 at the CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ (2017). They are ranked #2975 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1506
peak 1507 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jun 30, 2017
latest Oct 25, 2025 · 8.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
11% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 53%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.81
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 167.40 · weakest Brisket (158.63)
Road miles
1,433
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 776 mi
Schedule strength
61%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1577)
Purse competed for
$8,000
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
655.28 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
324.53 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Twisted Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
108 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,960 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1508
Fewer contests behind them than Twisted Smoke has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,986 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1506
Level with Twisted Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,966 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1511
Fewer contests behind them than Twisted Smoke has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,968 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before Twisted Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,978 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Twisted Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,964 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1517
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before Twisted Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 156.5144 | 165.57 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4400 | 155.3600 | 161.79 | top 57% |
| Pork | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 171.4400 | 161.6456 | 167.40 | top 38% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5944 | 138.7772 | 158.63 | top 56% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 94% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 51% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 20% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
3 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
5 of 9 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
137
finished ahead 89 times, behind 92
Longest layoff
6.2 yrs
Jul 27, 2018 → Oct 18, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)
20181 milestone
- Peak power rating (1507) EffingHam-Jam
20175 milestones
- First call Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual
- Career-best single call (Pork)171.4400 Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual
- First overall top-10 CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.0396 CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ
- Career-best overall score669.0396 CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ
20131 milestone
- First tracked contest The National BBQ Cup (GBC Qualifier)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.4 | CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ | Oct 13, 2017 |
| +5.7 | EffingHam-Jam | Jul 27, 2018 |
| +5.5 | Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) | Oct 25, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.2 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual | Jun 30, 2017 |
| -6.1 | Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) | Oct 18, 2024 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 38% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 88.1% | 88.1% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 47% | 92.6% | 92.6% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 57% | 92.9% | 90.2% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2025 | Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Jackson, NJ | 12 / 32 (332.0116) | 13 (164.5716) | 12 (167.4400) | — | — |
| Oct 18, 2024 | Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Columbia, NJ | 19 / 28 (317.0516) | 21 (156.5144) | 14 (160.5372) | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2018 | EffingHam-Jam Effingham, IL | 14 / 30 (666.6740) | 10 (170.8228) | 12 (165.6800) | 22 (161.6456) | 11 (168.5256) |
| Oct 13, 2017 | CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ Arthur, IL | 8 / 41 (669.0396) | 7 (171.4056) | 27 (159.9312) | 9 (169.1084) | 13 (168.5944) |
| Jun 30, 2017 | Assumption Fest Smokin Hot BBQ 2nd Annual Assumption, IL | 15 / 16 (630.1372) | 10 (164.5600) | 15 (155.3600) | 3 (171.4400) | 16 (138.7772) |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 3, 2014 | Smokin on the River (GBC & SBBQA Qualifier) Summerville, GA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 15, 2013 | The National BBQ Cup (GBC Qualifier) Cumming, GA | — | — | — | — | — |