CAJUN BLAZE LA
Rating
1573
peak 1573 · rated over 12 contests
Best runs
4
straight top-10s
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
2019-02-08
latest 2025-10-24
Best ToY finish
#67
Master 2014
Grand champs
1
2 reserve
Category wins
2
7 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 35%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
683.23 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 679.17 (+4.05)
Walk rate
83%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
4
best run (overall)
Best single call
180.0000 🔥
Consistency
±13.21
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 171.07 · weakest Chicken (169.73)
Road miles
2962
mi across 12 mapped stops · furthest 392 mi
Schedule strength
46%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1541)
Purse competed for
$216K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
GCs in 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
679.17 / 720
11 Master contests · 1 GC
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
THE GRILL DOCTORS has finished one call ahead of CAJUN BLAZE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A tough matchup
RAZORRACKS has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Vallee AC Cold Smoke in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.5596 points of the Grand Championship at Hammond BBQ (2019-03-22).
🔁 The comeback
Off the trail for 4.1 years, then back at VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition (2024-10-25).
Teams like this (closest power rating, LA first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIGLITICALLY INCORRECT BBQ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Vallee AC Cold Smoke | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE DANCER BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| RAZORRACKS | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin N The Bandits | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 177.7028 | 158.2400 | 169.73 | top 43% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 176.0000 | 163.9428 | 170.41 | top 37% |
| Pork | 12 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 180.0000 🔥 | 154.7656 | 171.07 | top 34% |
| Brisket | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 179.4400 | 155.9428 | 169.83 | top 39% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA | 3 | 0 | top 30% |
| MS | 3 | 1 | top 22% |
| TN | 2 | 0 | top 41% |
| TX | 1 | 0 | top 16% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 61% |
| AL | 1 | 0 | top 8% |
| AR | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 1 | top 34% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 30% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 39% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 42% | 2025-10-24 |
| Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 2) | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 30% | 2019-08-24 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2019 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in LA (3 of 12 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (12 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival (2019-02-22)
- Wins it all in 8% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 679.17 / 720
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Milestones
- 🚩 2019-02-08 — First tracked contest · KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship
- 📣 2019-02-22 — First call · D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival
- 🏆 2019-02-22 — First Grand Championship · D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival
- ⭐ 2019-02-22 — Career-best overall score (704.0344) · D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival
- 🔥 2025-10-10 — First perfect 180 (Pork) · Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY)
- 📈 2025-10-24 — Peak power rating (1573) · VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +19 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) | 2025-10-10 |
| +16.5 | D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival | 2019-02-22 |
| +15.4 | COTR BBQ | 2019-12-06 |
| +15.3 | Hammond BBQ | 2019-03-22 |
| +10.4 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | 2025-09-12 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13 | KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship | 2019-02-08 |
| -7.6 | 31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) | 2019-10-25 |
| -3 | Bonifay All American Smoker Competition | 2020-10-02 |
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 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 19% | 95.5% | 95.1% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 48% | 94.6% | 94.6% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 61% | 94.4% | 94.4% |
| 2019 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 71% | top 35% | 97.8% | 94% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-24 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA | 12 / 33 (687.3140) | 16 (169.6684) | 20 (167.9656) | 4 (175.4172) | 6 (174.2628) |
| 2025-10-10 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 4 / 90 (701.6684) | 10 (177.7028) | 18 (176.0000) | 3 (180.0000) | 56 (167.9656) |
| 2025-09-12 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 15 / 92 (682.8344) | 24 (170.2628) | 23 (172.5944) | 43 (168.0000) | 9 (171.9772) |
| 2024-10-25 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA | 15 / 31 (681.0056) | 18 (167.3828) | 17 (170.8344) | 20 (168.5256) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2020-10-02 | Bonifay All American Smoker Competition 🏅 Bonifay, FL | 11 / 18 (679.8972) | 12 (170.2744) | 7 (171.9772) | 7 (172.5600) | 14 (165.0856) |
| 2019-12-06 | COTR BBQ 🏅 Demopolis, AL | 2 / 25 (685.0744) | 6 (169.6684) | 8 (169.1200) | 3 (173.7144) | 5 (172.5716) |
| 2019-10-25 | 31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) Lynchburg, TN | 76 / 97 (659.8628) | 90 (158.2400) | 46 (171.4056) | 16 (174.2744) | 90 (155.9428) |
| 2019-08-24 | Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 2) 🏅 Brandon, MS | 7 / 28 (674.1372) | 8 (169.6800) | 17 (163.9428) | 5 (170.8228) | 10 (169.6916) |
| 2019-08-23 | Smokin on the Rez BBQ and Music Festival (DAY 1) 🏅 Brandon, MS | 10 / 29 (665.5312) | 16 (168.5372) | 5 (171.4056) | 27 (154.7656) | 6 (170.8228) |
| 2019-03-22 | Hammond BBQ 🏅 Hammond, LA | 2 / 48 (692.5032) | 3 (176.5716) | 18 (168.5372) | 4 (173.1316) | 9 (174.2628) |
| 2019-02-22 | D'Iberville BBQ Throw Down Festival 🏅 Diberville, MS | 1 / 16 (704.0344) | 3 (172.5828) | 2 (172.5716) | 1 (179.4400) | 1 (179.4400) |
| 2019-02-08 | KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship 🏅 Little Rock, AR | 84 / 92 (658.6856) | 75 (166.2400) | 39 (168.5256) | 81 (162.2400) | 83 (161.6800) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #314 (363 pts) | #428 (273 pts) | #413 (293 pts) | #330 (373 pts) | #432 (273 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #287 (1063 pts) | #373 (863 pts) | #458 (753 pts) | #352 (933 pts) | #371 (883 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #398 (870 pts) | #527 (700 pts) | #437 (835 pts) | #779 (450 pts) | #577 (630 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #228 (1400 pts) | #252 (1245 pts) | #404 (950 pts) | #374 (1010 pts) | #219 (1395 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #68 (2181 pts) | #69 (1981 pts) | #206 (1417 pts) | #103 (1771 pts) | #132 (1726 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #124 (1913 pts) | #181 (1493 pts) | #155 (1608 pts) | #214 (1348 pts) | #160 (1668 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #67 (2242 pts) | #166 (1552 pts) | #133 (1707 pts) | #78 (1932 pts) | #114 (1852 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #675 (458 pts) | #763 (428 pts) | #711 (468 pts) | #891 (363 pts) | #1123 (258 pts) |