A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
BLUE CHIP BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Shade Tree Smokers
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1450
peak 1450 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2013-06-07
latest 2025-09-26
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 84%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
601.70
last 5 Master vs avg 601.70 (+0.00)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±29.32
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 152.65 · weakest Pork (148.44)
Road miles
1,023
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 343 mi
Schedule strength
40%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)
Purse competed for
$7K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
601.70 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
310.13 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
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.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (3 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.
The weak link
−4.2
points behind their best meat
Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.20 points below their brisket, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 0%.
- Pork avg 148.44
- Brisket avg 152.65
- 1 calls in 6 entries
The comeback
4.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4.9 years, then back at Fire in the Foothills (2025-09-26).
- last seen 2020-10-23
- back 2025-09-26
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.
115 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5509 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5529 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 5 years after Shade Tree Smokers did, first appearing in 2018.
⚔ Head-to-head#5514 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Shade Tree Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5513 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Level with Shade Tree Smokers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5505 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Shade Tree Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5527 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1450
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 9 years before Shade Tree Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1544 | 147.8856 | 152.63 | top 80% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 162.2400 | 132.4800 | 151.01 | top 81% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 157.1200 | 132.4916 | 148.44 | top 84% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.7142 | 135.9088 | 152.65 | top 75% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS | 2 | 0 | top 87% |
| KY | 2 | 0 | top 96% |
| NC | 1 | 0 | top 40% |
| IN | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 73% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 96% |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
12.3 yrs
2013-06-07 → 2025-09-26
Busiest season
2013
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MS
2 of 6 contests · 4 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
6
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Brisket
averages 152.65 · weakest Pork (148.44)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
17%
1 of 6 contests
Master average
601.70
out of 720 · 5 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
310.13
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
233
29–226 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,023
6 mapped stops · furthest 343 mi
Schedule strength
1553
average field rating faced — tougher than 40% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$7,280
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
4.9 yrs
2020-10-23 → 2025-09-26
Power rating
1450
peak 1450 · #5518 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
- Career-best single call (Brisket)165.7142 Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
- Peak power rating (1486) Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
- 2015
- Career-best overall score633.6344 Desoto Shrine Club 7th Annual 2015 BBQ Cook Off
- 2025
- First call Fire in the Foothills
- First overall top-10 Fire in the Foothills
- Most recent contest Fire in the Foothills
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.4 | Fire in the Foothills | 2025-09-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.4 | Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff | 2013-06-07 |
| -13 | Grillin and Chillin BBQ | 2013-09-27 |
| -11.3 | Smokin For Garrett | 2020-10-23 |
| -10 | Desoto Shrine Club BBQ Cook off | 2018-06-15 |
| -6.9 | Desoto Shrine Club 7th Annual 2015 BBQ Cook Off | 2015-06-19 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 86.1% | 86.1% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 76.2% | 76.2% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 86.6% | 86.6% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 88% | 88% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 84% | 83.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-26 | Fire in the Foothills 🏅 King, NC | 10 / 25 (310.1256) | 11 (147.8856) | 8 (162.2400) | 9 (157.1200) | — |
| 2020-10-23 | Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN | 41 / 41 (548.8804) | 40 (148.0000) | 41 (132.4800) | 41 (132.4916) | 39 (135.9088) |
| 2018-06-15 | Desoto Shrine Club BBQ Cook off Hernado, MS | 42 / 45 (623.3032) | 42 (154.8344) | 41 (154.7772) | 43 (155.4172) | 34 (158.2744) |
| 2015-06-19 | Desoto Shrine Club 7th Annual 2015 BBQ Cook Off Hernando, MS | 30 / 37 (633.6344) | 22 (165.1544) | 24 (161.6800) | 37 (145.0972) | 25 (161.7028) |
| 2013-09-27 | Grillin and Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY | 43 / 45 (598.1144) | 43 (151.3600) | 44 (150.2972) | 39 (154.8228) | 43 (141.6344) |
| 2013-06-07 | Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff Bardstown, KY | 29 / 30 (604.5710) | 27 (148.5714) | 30 (144.5714) | 26 (145.7140) | 13 (165.7142) |