High-water mark
690.1828
career-best overall
95.9% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 690.1828 at Sip & Swine BBQ Festival — 95.9% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Mar 7, 2025
HPO PIT TEAM
HPO PIT TEAM is a competition barbecue team with 16 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 13th of 26 at the Okefenokee Smoke (formerly Swamptown Showdown) (2025). They are ranked #4953 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1464
peak 1464 · rated over 14 contests
Contests
16
in the data
First seen
Aug 5, 2022
latest Oct 3, 2025 · 3.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 16 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
680.11 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 663.31 (+16.80)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±19.80
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.42 · weakest Brisket (162.49)
Road miles
2,020
across 16 mapped stops · furthest 193 mi
Schedule strength
53%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1568)
Purse competed for
$155K
listed at 15 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 14 state-championship entries
Master avg
663.31 / 720
14 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 ↗ | Master | #379 (556 pts) | #335 (686 pts) | #407 (601 pts) | #420 (511 pts) | #392 (556 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #814 (154 pts) | #558 (349 pts) | #858 (179 pts) | #640 (279 pts) | #762 (204 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #663 (237 pts) | #630 (292 pts) | #813 (227 pts) | #589 (312 pts) | #693 (242 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1065 (115 pts) | #1124 (115 pts) | #862 (202 pts) | #1114 (115 pts) | #1103 (115 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to HPO PIT TEAM, each with one reason worth a look.
143 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,936 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1464
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,954 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 21%
- Peak
- 1516
Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 16, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,952 of the rated field
- Contests
- 19
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 5%
- Peak
- 1500
19 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 5% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#4,971 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1463
They were already cooking in 2014, 8 years before HPO PIT TEAM's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,972 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1463
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before HPO PIT TEAM's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,937 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1505
Level with HPO PIT TEAM on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | 13 | 2 | 11 | 15% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKE SHOW MAFIA | 12 | 1 | 11 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 11 | 4 | 7 | 36% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 11 | 2 | 9 | 18% | ⚔ compare |
| Peckerwood Country Club | 10 | 3 | 7 | 30% | ⚔ compare |
| YES, DEAR BBQ | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| OLD HENRY'S BBQ | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| PeachCoast BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| QMEISTERS | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| OFF THE CHAIN | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| COOL HAND QUE | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Kings BBQ Team | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| ZIPS BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke Central BBQ | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 161.6340 | 170.42 | top 53% |
| Pork Ribs | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 146.1372 | 162.73 | top 73% |
| Pork | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 158.2284 | 167.23 | top 62% |
| Brisket | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 148.4800 | 162.49 | top 68% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 0 | top 73% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 64% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2 | 24 | 0 | top 80% | Oct 3, 2025 |
| Smoketember Fest | 2 | 22 | 0 | top 89% | Sep 15, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
4
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
15 of 16 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
12
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
16 entries · 0 wins · 1 call
Opponents faced
240
finished ahead 164 times, behind 380
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Career-best overall score690.1828 Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
- Most recent contest The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
20243 milestones
- First call BBQ, Boogie & Blues
- 10th tracked contest 18th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5600 The Downtown BBQ Showdown
20231 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4004 Swampfest
20222 milestones
- First tracked contest Swine At the Shrine (One Meat Ribs)
- Peak power rating (1489) Swine At the Shrine
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.6 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 7, 2025 |
| +7.3 | 18th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off | May 10, 2024 |
| +6.1 | Okefenokee Smoke (formerly Swamptown Showdown) | Mar 21, 2025 |
| +3.8 | The Downtown BBQ Showdown | Nov 8, 2024 |
| +2.9 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off | May 9, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.2 | Swine At the Shrine | Aug 5, 2022 |
| -10.3 | 17th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off | May 12, 2023 |
| -8.7 | Smoketember Fest | Sep 16, 2022 |
| -8.6 | Smoketember Fest | Sep 15, 2023 |
| -8.1 | Swampfest | Mar 31, 2023 |
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 | 20% | top 53% | 95.9% | 94.5% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 59% | 95.3% | 93.9% |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 91.1% | 89.9% |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 88.7% | 88.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2025 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 25 / 32 (665.5660) | 16 (170.8344) | 29 (162.2516) | 16 (170.8344) | 25 (161.6456) |
| May 9, 2025 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 24 / 42 (673.5884) | 29 (169.6684) | 23 (167.9772) | 16 (169.6800) | 22 (166.2628) |
| Apr 25, 2025 | BBQ & Boogie 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 16 / 32 (682.1600) | 16 (171.9656) | 13 (170.8228) | 22 (167.3944) | 13 (171.9772) |
| Mar 21, 2025 | Okefenokee Smoke (formerly Swamptown Showdown) 🏅 Waycross, GA | 13 / 26 (689.0284) | 8 (174.2628) | 12 (173.1200) | 19 (168.5256) | 9 (173.1200) |
| Mar 7, 2025 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 14 / 45 (690.1828) | 13 (175.4056) | 16 (173.1200) | 26 (169.6800) | 18 (171.9772) |
| Nov 8, 2024 | The Downtown BBQ Showdown 🏅 Lake City, FL | 14 / 26 (674.7316) | 7 (176.5600) | 9 (171.9772) | 17 (165.0856) | 20 (161.1088) |
| May 10, 2024 | 18th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 18 / 42 (686.1828) | 5 (176.5600) | 13 (171.9772) | 12 (173.1084) | 29 (164.5372) |
| Apr 26, 2024 | BBQ, Boogie & Blues 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 27 / 34 (667.8400) | 7 (176.5600) | 34 (146.1372) | 8 (173.1200) | 9 (172.0228) |
| Oct 6, 2023 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 24 / 29 (647.8288) | 17 (167.9772) | 25 (161.6456) | 25 (159.4060) | 24 (158.8000) |
| Sep 15, 2023 | Smoketember Fest 🏅 Baxley, GA | 22 / 25 (655.8056) | 21 (167.9656) | 23 (160.5144) | 15 (169.1084) | 21 (158.2172) |
| May 12, 2023 | 17th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 37 / 40 (636.3424) | 35 (161.6456) | 38 (157.6684) | 30 (164.5256) | 37 (152.5028) |
| Mar 31, 2023 | Swampfest 🏅 Waycross, GA | 25 / 28 (648.4004) | 22 (165.0972) | 27 (155.9316) | 16 (170.2628) | 25 (157.1088) |
| Sep 16, 2022 | Smoketember Fest 🏅 Baxley, GA | 27 / 30 (629.9996) | 27 (161.6340) | 28 (157.6456) | 28 (162.2400) | 28 (148.4800) |
| Sep 16, 2022 | Smoketember Fest (One Meat Ribs) Baxley, GA | — | — | 16 (154.2288) | — | — |
| Aug 5, 2022 | Swine At the Shrine 🏅 Savannah, GA | 47 / 49 (638.6516) | 28 (169.6800) | 49 (153.6344) | 47 (158.2284) | 47 (157.1088) |
| Aug 5, 2022 | Swine At the Shrine (One Meat Ribs) Savannah, GA | — | — | 18 (165.0972) | — | — |