The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Smokey J's BBQ has finished one call ahead of Silver Bullet Smokers 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Silver Bullet Smokers
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1486
peak 1486 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2013-07-26
latest 2015-07-24
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 62%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
635.42 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 637.39 (-1.96)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.33
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 164.70 · weakest Pork (154.59)
Road miles
427
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 70 mi
Schedule strength
25%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1534)
Master avg
637.39 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (7 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
A tough matchup
8–0
behind in the head-to-head
QUAU ahead in 100% of their meetings
QUAU has come out ahead in 8 of their 8 shared contests.
The weak link
−10.1
points behind their best meat
Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 10.10 points below their brisket, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 38%.
- Pork avg 154.59
- Brisket avg 164.70
- 0 calls in 8 entries
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Shantastic BBQ and the Smoked Bird in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Brisket nemesis
7 of 8
shared brisket entries lost
QUAU ahead 88% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, QUAU has out-cooked them in 7 of 8 shared brisket entries.
Looking over their shoulder
3×
one call behind them
MEATSMACK has landed one call behind them 3 times.
The metronome
±1.43%
swing around their own average
Their overall lands within ±1.43% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
- averages 88.5% of a perfect score
- 8 contests
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
145 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3815 of the rated field
- Contests
- 56
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1507
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Silver Bullet Smokers)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Silver Bullet Smokers has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3843 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1528
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1528 at their best, 42 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#3823 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3849 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1502
No shared contest yet.
Level with Silver Bullet Smokers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3830 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1486
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#3848 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIDDLIN' FATBACK | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| QUAU | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Its 5 Oclock Somewhere | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| THE CHILLY WATER SMOKERS | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| One2BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| All Pork'd Up | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| MEATSMACK | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| NUTHATCH HILL BBQ CO. | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| GILLY'S BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| ALL IN QUE | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| CLUCK , OINK & MOO BARBECUE | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MONSTER-QUE | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| RIB TIP TUESDAY | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| KCBEER'S SMOKE SHACK | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Lucky 13 BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 146.8228 | 158.84 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1660 | 148.5028 | 159.26 | top 60% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5256 | 141.1200 | 154.59 | top 73% |
| Brisket | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 174.8800 | 155.3940 | 164.70 | top 35% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 63% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Illinois Bragging Rights | 2 | 24 | 0 | top 66% | 2014-10-10 |
| Up In Smoke On The Square | 2 | 25 | 0 | top 54% | 2014-08-22 |
| Morton BBQ Throwdown | 2 | 30 | 0 | top 69% | 2014-07-25 |
The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2 yrs
2013-07-26 → 2015-07-24
Busiest season
2013
4 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
5
3 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
8 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Strongest meat
Brisket
averages 164.70 · weakest Pork (154.59)
Walk rate
50%
a top-10 call in 4 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 8 contests
Master average
637.39
out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
180
131–211 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
427
8 mapped stops · furthest 70 mi
Schedule strength
1534
average field rating faced — tougher than 25% of rated contests
Power rating
1486
peak 1486 · #3833 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Morton BBQ Throwdown (TEAMS & JUDGES FULL - May email to be put on waitlist)
- First call Morton BBQ Throwdown (TEAMS & JUDGES FULL - May email to be put on waitlist)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.7888 Up In Smoke on the Square
- Peak power rating (1499) Taste of Downtown Danville BBQ Competition
- 2014
- Career-best overall score650.7888 Up In Smoke On The Square
- Career-best single call (Brisket)174.8800 Up In Smoke On The Square
- 2015
- Most recent contest 5th Annual Morton BBQ Throwdown
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3 | Taste of Downtown Danville BBQ Competition | 2013-09-27 |
| +1.7 | Up In Smoke On The Square | 2014-08-22 |
| +0.5 | Up In Smoke on the Square | 2013-08-23 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -4.8 | Morton BBQ Throwdown | 2014-07-25 |
| -4.7 | Morton BBQ Throwdown (TEAMS & JUDGES FULL - May email to be put on waitlist) | 2013-07-26 |
| -4.3 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights | 2013-10-11 |
| -2.7 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights | 2014-10-10 |
| -2.4 | 5th Annual Morton BBQ Throwdown | 2015-07-24 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 66% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 63% | 90.4% | 88.9% |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 59% | 90.4% | 88.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-07-24 | 5th Annual Morton BBQ Throwdown Morton, IL | 31 / 47 (628.9940) | 46 (146.8572) | 30 (157.7028) | 14 (168.5256) | 32 (155.9084) |
| 2014-10-10 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights Arthur, IL | 24 / 37 (637.0056) | 10 (168.5600) | 29 (154.7884) | 34 (151.9428) | 17 (161.7144) |
| 2014-08-22 | Up In Smoke On The Square Lincoln, IL | 27 / 50 (650.7888) | 48 (146.8228) | 19 (166.8460) | 26 (162.2400) | 3 (174.8800) |
| 2014-07-25 | Morton BBQ Throwdown Morton, IL | 34 / 48 (632.4684) | 42 (151.9656) | 25 (161.7144) | 21 (163.3944) | 31 (155.3940) |
| 2013-10-11 | Central Illinois Bragging Rights Arthur, IL | 36 / 53 (627.8628) | 28 (164.0000) | 47 (148.5028) | 45 (151.9200) | 17 (163.4400) |
| 2013-09-27 | Taste of Downtown Danville BBQ Competition Danville, IL | 12 / 25 (647.8856) | 4 (170.2628) | 20 (156.5372) | 22 (150.2284) | 3 (170.8572) |
| 2013-08-23 | Up In Smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | 25 / 46 (650.7888) | 16 (168.5600) | 14 (169.1660) | 44 (147.3828) | 18 (165.6800) |
| 2013-07-26 | Morton BBQ Throwdown (TEAMS & JUDGES FULL - May email to be put on waitlist) Morton, IL | 30 / 45 (623.3144) | 32 (153.6572) | 23 (158.8228) | 44 (141.1200) | 7 (169.7144) |