A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Capt. Blue BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Capt. Blue BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Bush River BBQ
Bush River BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 12th of 29 at the MD State BBQ Bash (2025).
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1486
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Aug 9, 2019
latest Oct 9, 2026 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 85%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.24
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 159.59 · weakest Chicken (156.75)
Road miles
0
across 9 mapped stops
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Purse competed for
$50K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
316.34 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 Bush River BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Bush River BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 140 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#3,822 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1487
Fewer contests behind them than Bush River BBQ has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#3,825 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Level with Bush River BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,827 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Bush River BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,843 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Bush River BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,824 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1506
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before Bush River BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,834 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Bush River BBQ'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 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5828 | 141.1200 | 156.75 | top 88% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2744 | 153.6684 | 159.59 | top 63% |
“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.
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD State BBQ Bash | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 56% | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2 | 31 | 0 | top 114% | Oct 15, 2021 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MD
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
2
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
182
finished ahead 87 times, behind 172
Longest layoff
4 yrs
Oct 15, 2021 → Oct 10, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest MD State BBQ Bash
20254 milestones
- First call MD State BBQ Bash
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score327.4172 MD State BBQ Bash
- Career-best overall score327.4172 MD State BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Chicken)168.5828 MD State BBQ Bash
20191 milestone
- Peak power rating (1489) Maryland State BBQ Bash
20131 milestone
- First tracked contest 12th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +7.6 | MD State BBQ Bash | Oct 10, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Aug 9, 2019 |
| -10.4 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | Oct 15, 2021 |
| -0.2 | MD State BBQ Bash | Oct 9, 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 | 0% | top 71% | 90.8% | 90.8% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 41% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 124% | 81.9% | 81.9% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 103% | 78.7% | 78.7% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 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 9, 2026 | MD State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD | 20 / 28 (326.8116) | 28 (160.5372) | 11 (166.2744) | — | — |
| Oct 10, 2025 | MD State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD | 12 / 29 (327.4172) | 9 (168.5828) | 21 (158.8344) | — | — |
| Oct 15, 2021 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 31 / 25 (294.7884) | 33 (141.1200) | 19 (153.6684) | — | — |
| Aug 9, 2019 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 31 / 30 (283.3828) | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 10, 2018 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 11, 2017 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 12, 2016 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 8, 2014 | MD State BBQ Bash, Presented by Mars Super Markets Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 9, 2013 | 12th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | — | — | — | — | — |