High-water mark
688.9936
career-best overall
95.7% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 688.9936 at I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition — 95.7% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Sep 26, 2026
Bandits BBQ
Bandits BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 14 at the I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition (2026). They are ranked #4658 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1470
peak 1470 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
May 8, 2015
latest Sep 26, 2026 · 11.4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
25% of 8 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 78%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
660.45 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 645.26 (+15.19)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±31.29
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.38 · weakest Brisket (155.62)
Road miles
5,262
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 4,869 mi
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1580)
Master avg
645.26 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Bandits BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
140 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,663 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1470
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Bandits BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,667 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1470
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,664 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
They've been 1505 at their best, 35 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,676 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1500
They turned up 8 years after Bandits BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#4,661 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1506
Level with Bandits BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,660 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1470
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BONEHEAD BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| THUNDER HOG BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOOSIERS | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| GREY STREET BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 150.2744 | 161.77 | top 81% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 153.0744 | 164.38 | top 64% |
| Pork | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 145.0856 | 163.50 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 168.5256 | 142.7772 | 155.62 | top 76% |
“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 64% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 77% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 98% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2016
3 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IN
6 of 8 contests
Contests visited
7
a different one every time
Opponents faced
125
finished ahead 38 times, behind 160
Longest layoff
8.4 yrs
May 12, 2017 → Oct 11, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- Career-best overall score688.9936 I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)175.4056 I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
- Most recent contest I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
20252 milestones
- First call V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition
20161 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.9316 Wine,Brew & Bar-B-Que Too!
20152 milestones
- First tracked contest Rockin' BBQ for Riley
- Peak power rating (1489) Rockin' BBQ for Riley
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +6.4 | V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition | Oct 11, 2025 |
| +1.2 | Wine,Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! | Jul 15, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.9 | CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition | Apr 22, 2016 |
| -11.1 | Rockin' BBQ for Riley | May 8, 2015 |
| -8.1 | Rockin BBQ | May 13, 2016 |
| -5.7 | Rockin BBQ | May 12, 2017 |
| -1 | I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition | Sep 26, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 64% | 95.7% | 95.7% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 95.1% | 95.1% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 88% | 88% |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 91.7% | 87.8% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 85.1% | 85.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition Szerencs | 9 / 14 (688.9936) | 9 (174.2628) | 8 (175.4056) | 10 (170.8112) | 6 (168.5140) |
| Oct 11, 2025 | V. I Love Smoky Exhibition and BBQ Competition Szerencs | 9 / 21 (684.4796) | 19 (166.8456) | 6 (174.8456) | 6 (174.2628) | 7 (168.5256) |
| May 12, 2017 | Rockin BBQ Warsaw, IN | 23 / 27 (633.5088) | 20 (163.9428) | 23 (153.0744) | 23 (158.8228) | 21 (157.6688) |
| Jul 15, 2016 | Wine,Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN | 26 / 39 (659.9316) | 28 (162.8344) | 18 (169.1316) | 18 (169.1428) | 33 (158.8228) |
| May 13, 2016 | Rockin BBQ Warsaw, IN | 26 / 28 (635.3488) | 21 (161.0972) | 18 (165.1544) | 14 (166.3200) | 28 (142.7772) |
| Apr 22, 2016 | CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN | 48 / 49 (601.5200) | 49 (150.2744) | 37 (155.9544) | 48 (145.0856) | 46 (150.2056) |
| Jul 17, 2015 | Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 8, 2015 | Rockin' BBQ for Riley Warsaw, IN | 26 / 27 (613.0628) | 25 (153.1084) | 24 (157.0972) | 19 (160.0456) | 27 (142.8116) |