Cherry Anchor BBQ CA
Rating
1683
peak 1706
Contests
31
in the data
First seen
2022-07-08
latest 2026-05-23
Best ToY finish
#114
Master 2025
Grand champs
4
4 reserve
Category wins
16
26 podiums
Overall top-10s
18
of 31 contests
Avg finish
top 26%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
11 🔥
Current form
663.49 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 683.30 (-19.81)
Walk rate
87%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
7
best run (overall)
Consistency
±33.50
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 173.24 · weakest Brisket (171.08)
Road miles
10160
mi across 31 mapped stops · furthest 1424 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Smokin' Bliss BBQ has finished one call ahead of Cherry Anchor BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
RBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
GETTIN' BASTED has come out ahead in 7 of their 9 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Big Cat BBQ in 16 of their 20 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 3 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.6060 points of the Grand Championship at 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) (2025-08-08).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 58-team field at 9th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge.
📅 A April team
Something about April: average finish in the top 10% across 4 contests, versus top 26% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at The Golden State Battle VII (Day 1) (2025-01-24) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 15-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, GETTIN' BASTED.
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 29 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 180.0000 🔥 | 161.0972 | 173.24 | top 33% |
| Pork Ribs | 29 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 178.8572 | 157.6456 | 171.85 | top 34% |
| Pork | 29 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 180.0000 🔥 | 148.4684 | 173.03 | top 32% |
| Brisket | 28 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 180.0000 🔥 | 156.4912 | 171.08 | top 33% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 20 | 3 | top 26% |
| KS | 4 | 0 | top 29% |
| NV | 2 | 0 | top 14% |
| AZ | 2 | 1 | top 5% |
| OR | 1 | 0 | top 97% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 26% |
| Medium (20–39) | 16 | 3 | top 31% |
| Large (40+) | 11 | 1 | top 20% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (9 contests)
- Cooks mostly in CA (20 of 31 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (29 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: 9th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge (2024-01-12)
- Wins it all in 13% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 683.30
- 11 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 706.2400 | 643.95 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 705.1428 | 695.16 |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 713.7028 | 693.43 |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 695.9316 | 683.21 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 674.7424 | 654.69 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-23 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 32 / 33 (525.6912) | 1 (179.4400) | 2 (177.7372) | 20 (168.5140) | — |
| 2026-04-24 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 2 / 29 (699.9312) | 7 (176.0000) | 4 (174.2628) | 5 (175.4056) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2026-01-30 | The Golden State Battle VIII Riverside, CA | 2 / 41 (706.2400) | 17 (174.2628) | 5 (176.5716) | 1 (180.0000) | 7 (175.4056) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 61 / 158 (689.6228) | 101 (170.8228) | 128 (167.3944) | 24 (176.0000) | 27 (175.4056) |
| 2025-11-05 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 41 / 401 (695.9428) | 126 (173.1200) | 309 (163.9656) | 15 (178.8572) | 7 (180.0000) |
| 2025-08-09 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 2) Felton, CA | 7 / 21 (683.4060) | 8 (171.4172) | 2 (175.4172) | 1 (180.0000) | 17 (156.5716) |
| 2025-08-08 | 3rd Annual Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off (Day 1) Felton, CA | 2 / 25 (697.6456) | 13 (170.2628) | 7 (173.1200) | 1 (180.0000) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2025-05-23 | Best Dam BBQ Boulder City, NV | 4 / 29 (698.8000) | 2 (176.5600) | 20 (166.8228) | 8 (175.4172) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2025-04-25 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 1 / 31 (699.4056) | 12 (174.2628) | 1 (178.2972) | 1 (178.8800) | 13 (167.9656) |
| 2025-01-25 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 2) Hollister, CA | 14 / 27 (691.3372) | 6 (176.5600) | 24 (168.5372) | 8 (175.4056) | 14 (170.8344) |
| 2025-01-24 | The Golden State Battle VII (Day 1) Hollister, CA | 1 / 31 (705.1428) | 8 (173.1428) | 6 (175.4400) | 1 (180.0000) | 1 (176.5600) |
| 2024-12-06 | BBQ Jackpot Las Vegas, NV | 11 / 74 (690.7772) | 11 (176.5600) | 8 (174.2628) | 16 (174.8572) | 58 (165.0972) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 26 / 169 (694.7772) | 147 (166.2400) | 32 (175.4172) | 46 (174.2628) | 9 (178.8572) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 237 / 444 (674.1716) | 204 (170.2628) | 8 (178.8572) | 336 (162.8000) | 322 (162.2516) |
| 2024-06-14 | CBCA Clayton BBQ and Brews Festival (MASTERS) Clayton, CA | 4 / 25 (690.2172) | 3 (176.5716) | 14 (166.8344) | 5 (175.4056) | 7 (171.4056) |
| 2024-05-24 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook Off Felton, CA | 1 / 21 (713.7028) | 2 (177.1428) | 1 (178.8572) | 1 (180.0000) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2024-04-26 | Lodi BeerFest & State BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 4 / 34 (697.6800) | 1 (180.0000) | 21 (168.0116) | 21 (169.6684) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2024-03-01 | The Golden State Battle VI Hollister, CA | 10 / 33 (686.1712) | 17 (171.9656) | 4 (176.5600) | 13 (170.2744) | 22 (167.3712) |
| 2024-01-12 | 9th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 1 / 58 (699.9428) | 32 (170.8228) | 6 (176.5600) | 1 (180.0000) | 12 (172.5600) |
| 2023-11-17 | Golden State Battle of Indio Indio, CA | 9 / 40 (695.9316) | 2 (180.0000) | 20 (171.9888) | 23 (171.9656) | 16 (171.9772) |
| 2023-09-29 | Field, Fire Fork! Los Banos, CA | 2 / 19 (694.8116) | 10 (167.9772) | 5 (171.9772) | 2 (178.8572) | 1 (176.0000) |
| 2023-08-04 | Dinuba's Annual BBQ & Brew Fest Dinuba, CA | 25 / 29 (654.6852) | 15 (170.8112) | 28 (157.6456) | 26 (161.1428) | 17 (165.0856) |
| 2023-06-02 | Horse Town Brew n Que Festival Norco, CA | 11 / 43 (689.7144) | 17 (172.0000) | 27 (166.8572) | 3 (179.4400) | 13 (171.4172) |
| 2023-05-26 | Roaring Camp BBQ Cook-Off Felton, CA | 8 / 19 (674.2056) | 4 (173.7028) | 2 (174.8572) | 9 (169.1544) | 17 (156.4912) |
| 2023-04-28 | Lodi BeerFest & BBQ Championship Lodi, CA | 5 / 27 (686.7996) | 5 (174.8456) | 5 (173.1428) | 13 (168.5600) | 7 (170.2512) |
| 2023-03-03 | The Golden State Battle V Hollister, CA | 9 / 28 (681.6344) | 7 (174.2744) | 13 (167.4056) | 16 (167.3944) | 5 (172.5600) |
| 2023-01-13 | Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge Bullhead City, AZ | 4 / 45 (687.9084) | 1 (177.7028) | 20 (166.2744) | 16 (170.8228) | 6 (173.1084) |
| 2022-09-23 | The Great Kearney BBQ Smoke-Out Fresno, CA | 12 / 43 (674.7424) | 17 (166.2512) | 6 (173.1200) | 19 (166.2628) | 15 (169.1084) |
| 2022-07-08 | Clayton BBQ Cook-off Clayton, CA | 20 / 27 (634.6284) | 18 (161.0972) | 8 (167.4172) | 26 (148.4684) | 17 (157.6456) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #190 (572 pts) | #228 (542 pts) | #202 (647 pts) | #200 (547 pts) | #340 (344 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #114 (1524 pts) | #188 (1194 pts) | #171 (1264 pts) | #77 (1684 pts) | #136 (1329 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #120 (1363 pts) | #135 (1293 pts) | #188 (1138 pts) | #176 (1118 pts) | #156 (1193 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #182 (1092 pts) | #164 (1137 pts) | #265 (902 pts) | #210 (977 pts) | #179 (1077 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #772 (202 pts) | #856 (187 pts) | #668 (322 pts) | #983 (142 pts) | #800 (202 pts) |