Backwoods BBQ GA
Rating
1522
peak 1544 · rated over 18 contests
Contests
18
in the data
First seen
2019-10-11
latest 2026-07-09
Best ToY finish
#213
Master 2015
Grand champs
1
2 reserve
Category wins
2
10 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
of 18 contests
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
649.44 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 656.64 (-7.19)
Walk rate
61%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±34.25
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.53 · weakest Chicken (158.65)
Road miles
4170
mi across 18 mapped stops · furthest 793 mi
Schedule strength
60%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1555)
Purse competed for
$238K
listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
GCs in 18 state-championship entries
Master avg
656.64 / 720
12 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
312.93 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
Storylines
⚔️ A tough matchup
Smoke Central BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 13 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Wiggle Butts BBQ in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 6 visits.
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 37-team field at The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival.
😤 Pork Ribs nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, Smoke Central BBQ has out-cooked them in 8 of 13 shared pork ribs entries.
📅 A October team
Something about October: average finish in the top 21% across 7 contests, versus top 49% the rest of the year.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 4 of 27 at their very first tracked contest, The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (2019-10-11).
Teams like this (closest power rating, GA first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | 16 | 6 | 9 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke Central BBQ | 13 | 3 | 10 | 23% | ⚔ compare |
| COOL HAND QUE | 12 | 7 | 5 | 58% | ⚔ compare |
| QMEISTERS | 12 | 7 | 5 | 58% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 12 | 5 | 7 | 42% | ⚔ compare |
| ELITE BBQ SMOKERS | 12 | 4 | 8 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKE SHOW MAFIA | 11 | 4 | 7 | 36% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Bald Hawg BBQ | 10 | 2 | 8 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| ULTIMATE TAILGATERS BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Going Yard BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 19 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 177.7144 | 121.0744 | 158.65 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 18 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 180.0000 🔥 | 141.6684 | 166.53 | top 38% |
| Pork | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 148.5144 | 163.77 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1428 | 133.6572 | 162.53 | top 66% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 10 | 1 | top 34% |
| SC | 6 | 0 | top 58% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| IA | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 1 | top 35% |
| Large (40+) | 9 | 0 | top 63% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 6 | 1 | 1 | top 9% | 2025-10-03 |
| South Carolina Festival of Discovery | 5 | 41 | 0 | top 64% | 2026-07-09 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2021 (4 contests)
- Cooks mostly in GA (10 of 18 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (19 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival (2020-10-09)
- Wins it all in 6% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 656.64 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 312.93 / 360
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Milestones
- 🚩 2019-10-11 — First tracked contest · The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
- 📣 2019-10-11 — First call · The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
- 🏆 2020-10-09 — First Grand Championship · The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
- ⭐ 2021-07-09 — Career-best overall score (682.1944) · SC Festival of Discovery
- 📈 2023-10-06 — Peak power rating (1544) · The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
- 🔥 2026-07-09 — First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) · South Carolina Festival of Discovery
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.3 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2020-10-09 |
| +14.3 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2021-10-08 |
| +14.1 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2022-10-07 |
| +12.8 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2025-10-03 |
| +11 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | 2023-10-06 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -15.4 | Torry Island BBQ Showdown | 2024-03-01 |
| -12.4 | Ottumwa Smoketoberfest | 2020-10-02 |
| -8.8 | GA - BBQ Shoot Out Day 2 | 2021-05-22 |
| -7.6 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | 2023-11-17 |
| -6.4 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery | 2025-07-10 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
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 | 1 | 100% | top 76% | 93.3% | 93.3% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 47% | 93.6% | 90.5% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 75% | 94.7% | 86.6% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 48% | 93.6% | 91.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 26% | 94% | 91.6% |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 52% | 94.7% | 90.8% |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 50% | top 49% | 93.6% | 88.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 15% | 80.6% | 80.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-09 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 57 / 75 (671.8284) | 61 (166.2516) | 1 (180.0000) | 46 (168.5256) | 68 (157.0512) |
| 2025-10-03 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 3 / 32 (313.0400) | 4 (150.2172) | 3 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2025-07-10 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 51 / 66 (654.7196) | 48 (163.4172) | 57 (158.2284) | 55 (159.9312) | 18 (173.1428) |
| 2025-05-09 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 23 / 42 (674.1604) | 8 (170.2972) | 28 (166.2516) | 4 (176.5600) | 32 (159.3600) |
| 2024-07-11 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 41 / 76 (681.6000) | 50 (169.6800) | 24 (173.1200) | 46 (169.1200) | 44 (169.6800) |
| 2024-03-01 | Torry Island BBQ Showdown 🏅 Belle Glade, FL | 20 / 21 (564.9140) | 21 (135.9200) | 21 (141.6684) | 18 (153.6684) | 20 (133.6572) |
| 2023-11-17 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 40 / 60 (673.6120) | 38 (169.1316) | 44 (167.3944) | 7 (175.4288) | 53 (161.6572) |
| 2023-10-06 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 3 / 29 (315.9768) | 3 (153.6912) | 3 (162.2856) | — | — |
| 2023-07-06 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 50 / 76 (663.9200) | 5 (177.7144) | 48 (165.1200) | 64 (158.2628) | 54 (162.8228) |
| 2022-10-07 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 2 / 30 (321.1428) | 3 (155.4172) | 4 (165.7256) | — | — |
| 2022-07-07 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 42 / 92 (676.5028) | 21 (172.5600) | 17 (175.4172) | 72 (161.6456) | 45 (166.8800) |
| 2021-10-08 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 2 / 26 (300.0116) | 3 (138.8344) | 2 (161.1772) | — | — |
| 2021-07-09 | SC Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 24 / 81 (682.1944) | 16 (173.1316) | 13 (174.2628) | 42 (166.2744) | 33 (168.5256) |
| 2021-05-22 | GA - BBQ Shoot Out Day 2 🏅 Evans, GA | 19 / 21 (664.9712) | 21 (160.5028) | 16 (169.1200) | 20 (165.0856) | 11 (170.2628) |
| 2021-05-21 | GA - BBQ Shoot Out Day 1 🏅 Evans, GA | 17 / 21 (668.4228) | 19 (163.3944) | 3 (173.1084) | 19 (162.2400) | 13 (169.6800) |
| 2020-10-09 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 1 / 37 (337.1200) | 6 (158.8000) | 1 (178.3200) | — | — |
| 2020-10-02 | Ottumwa Smoketoberfest 🏅 Ottumwa, IA | 63 / 66 (602.7772) | 66 (142.2744) | 59 (154.3200) | 64 (148.5144) | 56 (157.6684) |
| 2019-10-11 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 4 / 27 (290.2744) | 9 (121.0744) | 2 (169.2000) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #835 (130 pts) | #837 (170 pts) | #1020 (120 pts) | #619 (270 pts) | #830 (155 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #878 (120 pts) | #977 (120 pts) | #997 (125 pts) | #717 (225 pts) | #922 (120 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1309 (60 pts) | #1260 (80 pts) | #1240 (100 pts) | #1348 (60 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #664 (227 pts) | #666 (247 pts) | #474 (432 pts) | #728 (207 pts) | #617 (282 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #213 (1447 pts) | #95 (1782 pts) | #258 (1257 pts) | #294 (1132 pts) | #178 (1607 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #506 (754 pts) | #670 (564 pts) | #401 (959 pts) | #285 (1189 pts) | #612 (599 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1564 (145 pts) | #1885 (105 pts) | #2017 (80 pts) | #2080 (75 pts) | #1625 (140 pts) |