A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
Organizer Portal ahead in 100% of their meetings
Organizer Portal has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Holy Smokes BBQ
Holy Smokes BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 25 at the Honeybee BBQ Competition (2022). They are ranked #5372 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1454
peak 1454 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
Sep 13, 2013
latest Aug 28, 2026 · 13 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
25% of 12 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 78%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
583.52 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 581.66 (+1.86)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±56.29
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 156.03 · weakest Pork Ribs (140.59)
Road miles
14,613
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 5,451 mi
Schedule strength
38%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)
Purse competed for
$36K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
581.66 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
329.07 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
475.94 / 540
2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 Holy Smokes BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
126 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,363 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1454
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,358 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1454
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,357 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1454
They turned up 9 years after Holy Smokes BBQ did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careers#5,364 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1454
Level with Holy Smokes BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,402 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Holy Smokes BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,379 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1454
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 163.4056 | 141.0972 | 153.93 | top 83% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 174.2860 | 20 | 140.59 | top 74% |
| Pork | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 167.9656 | 139.3828 | 156.03 | top 71% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.3944 | 104.4688 | 146.25 | top 82% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 74% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 98% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeybee BBQ Competition | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 28% | Jun 3, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
4 of 12 contests · 7 states in all
Contests visited
8
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
284
finished ahead 86 times, behind 218
Longest layoff
3.3 yrs
Jun 3, 2022 → Sep 12, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Career-best overall score646.0912 Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout
- Most recent contest Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout
20251 milestone
- 10th tracked contest CabotFest Bags n BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS)
20222 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.0744 Smoke on the Falls
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.2860 Honeybee BBQ Competition
20193 milestones
- First call Honeybee BBQ Competition
- First category win (Pork) Honeybee BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 Honeybee BBQ Competition
20132 milestones
- First tracked contest Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1485) Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13 | Honeybee BBQ Competition | Jun 3, 2022 |
| +4.3 | Honeybee BBQ Competition | May 31, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.6 | Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival | Sep 13, 2013 |
| -13.4 | Marietta River City BBQ | Jun 10, 2016 |
| -12.8 | Smokin on the River (GBC & SBBQA Qualifier) | Apr 3, 2014 |
| -10 | Smokin In the Creek BBQ Contest | Oct 15, 2021 |
| -7 | Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout | Aug 28, 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 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 88% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 73% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 54% | 91.4% | 91.3% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 75.4% | 75.4% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 36% | 85.2% | 85.2% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 67.5% | 67.5% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 83.1% | 83.1% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 79.5% | 79.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | Saxonburg BBQ Smokeout 🏅 Saxonburg, PA | 14 / 16 (646.0912) | 16 (158.2284) | 10 (163.3944) | 16 (157.0740) | 11 (167.3944) |
| Oct 10, 2025 | CabotFest Bags n BBQ (ONE MEAT PORK) Cabot, AR | — | — | — | 9 (156.5372) | — |
| Oct 10, 2025 | CabotFest Bags n BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cabot, AR | — | — | 9 (145.6572) | — | — |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Bulgarian Barbecue Championship Sofia | 8 / 11 (643.8852) | 10 (163.4056) | 11 (154.2628) | 6 (167.9656) | 7 (158.2512) |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Honeybee BBQ Competition 🏅 Lafayette, GA | 5 / 25 (491.9320) | 11 (160.5716) | 2 (174.2860) | 10 (157.0744) | — |
| Apr 8, 2022 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 30 / 34 (329.0744) | 38 (161.0972) | 18 (167.9772) | — | — |
| Oct 15, 2021 | Smokin In the Creek BBQ Contest 🏅 Sugar Creek, MO | 27 / 27 (542.6632) | 26 (141.0972) | 26 (145.6800) | 25 (151.4172) | 27 (104.4688) |
| May 31, 2019 | Honeybee BBQ Competition 🏅 LaFayette, GA | 8 / 22 (459.9544) | 8 (141.0972) | 6 (154.8572) | 1 (164) | — |
| Apr 27, 2018 | BBQ Boogie & Blues Calhoun, GA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2016 | Marietta River City BBQ Marietta, OH | 20 / 20 (486.2972) | 20 (152.5372) | 20 (20) | 20 (150.2856) | 15 (163.4744) |
| Apr 3, 2014 | Smokin on the River (GBC & SBBQA Qualifier) Summerville, GA | 29 / 30 (598.6404) | 26 (156.5256) | 30 (136.4804) | 16 (160.5372) | 28 (145.0972) |
| Sep 13, 2013 | Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Mears, MI | 46 / 47 (572.3772) | 39 (150.8456) | 43 (143.3372) | 44 (139.3828) | 42 (138.8116) |