A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
Bushwood BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Bushwood BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
J & M BBQ
J & M BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 9th of 9 at the East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival (2023). They are ranked #6095 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “JM BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1429
peak 1429 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
Apr 5, 2019
latest Oct 3, 2025 · 6.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
8% of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 84%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
307.91 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 305.52 (+2.39)
Walk rate
8%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.54
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 154.40 · weakest Brisket (139.07)
Road miles
3,112
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 742 mi
Schedule strength
50%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1565)
Purse competed for
$41K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
562.97 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
305.52 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #249 (160 pts) | #245 (165 pts) | #218 (217 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #963 (112 pts) | #1504 (52 pts) | #879 (169 pts) | #1009 (112 pts) | #1000 (112 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #360 (79 pts) | #353 (84 pts) | #360 (79 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1499 (56 pts) | #1539 (56 pts) | #1588 (56 pts) | #1510 (56 pts) | #1504 (56 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #290 (106 pts) | #296 (106 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to J & M BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
42 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6,089 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1429
0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to J & M BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team J & M BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,106 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1428
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#6,104 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 12, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#6,090 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1508
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before J & M BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#6,092 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
Level with J & M BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#6,097 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bushwood BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Aww Shucks BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 162.2628 | 143.9656 | 153.67 | top 84% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4056 | 134.7432 | 153.36 | top 78% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2972 | 149.0744 | 154.40 | top 91% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 144.5488 | 126.6972 | 139.07 | top 96% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 98% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 82% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 73% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 97% | Oct 3, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
2.4
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MO
5 of 12 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
9
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
11 entries · 0 wins · 1 call
Opponents faced
269
finished ahead 71 times, behind 267
Longest layoff
4.4 yrs
Apr 5, 2019 → Aug 25, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off
- Most recent contest Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY)
20234 milestones
- First call East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival
- First overall top-10 East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score328.4568 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)171.4056 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
20192 milestones
- Career-best overall score623.9208 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off
- Peak power rating (1494) Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off
20181 milestone
- First tracked contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +6.6 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off | Jul 11, 2025 |
| +4.6 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 20, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.1 | East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival | Aug 25, 2023 |
| -12.8 | Car-B-Que (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 8, 2023 |
| -10.8 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 4, 2024 |
| -10.5 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 3, 2025 |
| -10 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff | Aug 22, 2025 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 83% | 83.6% | 76.4% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 87.8% | 87.1% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 81% | 91.2% | 85.2% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2018 | 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 3, 2025 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) Pleasant Hill, MO | 23 / 23 (301.0060) | 22 (157.6572) | 23 (143.3488) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Paola, KS | 27 / 27 (576.7888) | 27 (147.9200) | 24 (153.0972) | 27 (149.0744) | 27 (126.6972) |
| Jul 11, 2025 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Cameron, MO | 12 / 36 (295.9544) | 12 (143.9656) | 11 (151.9888) | — | — |
| Jul 11, 2025 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cameron, MO | — | — | 25 (158.8232) | — | — |
| Mar 21, 2025 | 7th Annual Qlathe BBQ Championship 🏅 Olathe, KS | 70 / 70 (428.9376) | — | 70 (134.7432) | 68 (151.9772) | 69 (142.2172) |
| Oct 4, 2024 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) Pleasant Hill, MO | 18 / 19 (315.9316) | 17 (162.2628) | 18 (153.6688) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | Tom Brigham Memorial BBQ 🏅 Iola, KS | 29 / 31 (622.2176) | 29 (160.5600) | 29 (156.5488) | 27 (162.2972) | 30 (142.8116) |
| Oct 20, 2023 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 22 / 50 (328.4568) | 41 (157.0512) | 11 (171.4056) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2023 | Car-B-Que (BACKYARD ONLY) Belton, MO | 11 / 11 (298.1828) | 11 (145.6456) | 11 (152.5372) | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS | 9 / 9 (293.5660) | 9 (148.5144) | 9 (145.0516) | — | — |
| Apr 5, 2019 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 45 / 61 (623.9208) | 36 (159.4172) | 24 (165.7032) | 48 (154.2516) | 55 (144.5488) |
| Jun 15, 2018 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Weston, WV | — | — | — | — | — |