The comeback
1.6 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 1.6 years, then back at Smokin' on the Water (2015-05-02).
- last seen 2013-09-13
- back 2015-05-02
Maize-N-Que
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1504 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2013-09-13
latest 2016-04-30
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 71%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
644.68
last 3 Master vs avg 644.68 (+0.00)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.40
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 164.57 · weakest Brisket (159.21)
Road miles
290
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 290 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)
Master avg
644.68 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 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.
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.
Maize-N-Que has 3 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 137 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.
#3758 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3748 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 80%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 12 years after Maize-N-Que did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Head-to-head#3789 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Level with Maize-N-Que on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3776 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
No shared contest yet.
9 contests to 3: their number has had years to settle where Maize-N-Que's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#3764 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3772 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2744 | 155.4056 | 160.74 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8000 | 156.5372 | 160.16 | top 69% |
| Pork | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.0228 | 158.8344 | 164.57 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1544 | 149.6572 | 159.21 | 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
| MI | 1 | 0 | top 40% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 40% |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.6 yrs
2013-09-13 → 2016-04-30
Busiest season
2016
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IN
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 164.57 · weakest Brisket (159.21)
Walk rate
67%
a top-10 call in 2 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
644.68
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
98
38–77 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
290
3 mapped stops · furthest 290 mi
Schedule strength
1551
average field rating faced — tougher than 39% of rated contests
Longest layoff
1.6 yrs
2013-09-13 → 2015-05-02
Power rating
1488
peak 1504 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
- First call Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1504) Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
- 2016
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.3260 Smokin on the Water 2
- Career-best overall score655.3260 Smokin on the Water 2
- Career-best single call (Brisket)173.1544 Smokin on the Water 2
- Most recent contest Smokin on the Water 2
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.2 | Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival | 2013-09-13 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.9 | Smokin' on the Water | 2015-05-02 |
| -7.8 | Smokin on the Water 2 | 2016-04-30 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 86% | 91% | 91% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-04-30 | Smokin on the Water 2 Liberty, IN | 30 / 35 (655.3260) | 32 (160.5372) | 29 (162.8000) | 31 (158.8344) | 7 (173.1544) |
| 2015-05-02 | Smokin' on the Water Liberty, IN | 31 / 36 (643.9200) | 24 (166.2744) | 26 (161.1428) | 21 (166.8456) | 33 (149.6572) |
| 2013-09-13 | Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Mears, MI | 19 / 47 (634.7884) | 32 (155.4056) | 24 (156.5372) | 5 (168.0228) | 26 (154.8228) |