Speaks For Itself

Speaks For Itself is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 4th of 41 at the Battle of the Blue Ridge (2026). They are ranked #2705 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,705

of 6,485 rated · rankings

Rating

1513

peak 1513 · rated over 8 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 23, 2022

latest Aug 7, 2026 · 3.9 years on the trail

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

13% of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 58%

overall standings

Best overall

697.0744 / 720

Master · Battle of the Blue Ridge

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

679.76 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 677.58 (+2.18)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork · Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)

Consistency

±8.54

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 172.83 · weakest Pork Ribs (166.11)

Road miles

340

across 8 mapped stops · furthest 99 mi

Schedule strength

85%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1614)

Purse competed for

$73K

listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 8 state-championship entries

Master avg

677.58 / 720

8 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.

Pork ×1

They almost always walk

63% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 5 of 8 contests

A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

697.0744 career-best overall

96.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 697.0744 at Battle of the Blue Ridge — 96.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
Aug 7, 2026

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN SKULLIES ahead in 100% of their meetings

SMOKIN SKULLIES has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.7 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.72 points below their pork, and turns into a call 13% of the time against 50%.

Pork Ribs avg 166.11
Pork avg 172.83
1 call in 8 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at South Carolina Festival of Discovery (Jul 11, 2024).

last seen Oct 29, 2022
back Jul 11, 2024

Show 3 more storylines

Pork nemesis

4 of 6 shared pork entries lost

MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ has out-cooked them in 4 of 6 shared pork entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1614 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 85% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1614 power rating — a tougher draw than 85% of every rated contest in the data.

8 rated contests

The metronome

±1.19% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.19% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.1% of a perfect score
8 contests

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Speaks For Itself, each with one reason worth a look.

124 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

KenzielouQ

#2,686 of the rated field

1514 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 42%
Peak: 1579

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Speaks For Itself)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Speaks For Itself has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Oct 11, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

HOLY SMOKE BBQ-NC

#2,719 of the rated field

1513 power rating

Contests: 70
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1565

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Speaks For Itself)

They've been 1565 at their best, 52 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 70 contests
last seen May 19, 2023

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin B's

#2,685 of the rated field

1514 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1514

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

BROTHER-UNCLE BARBEQUE

#2,688 of the rated field

1513 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1513

Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 6 years before Speaks For Itself's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 8 contests

⚔ Compare careers

NELSON FAMILY BARBEQUE

#2,683 of the rated field

1514 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1519

They were already cooking in 2017, 5 years before Speaks For Itself's first contest.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Jun 7, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

QUETPIES

#2,689 of the rated field

1513 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1522

Level with Speaks For Itself on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Oct 19, 2013

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
JL Smokers	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN SKULLIES	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
BROTHER IN LAW BBQ TEAM - NC	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
SWIG-N-PIG	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
Optimus Swine	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKING STUDS BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
HOLT BROTHERS BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
PIG ON FIRE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
SMOKE SHOW MAFIA	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
Casual Smokers SC	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
ELITE BBQ SMOKERS	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	1	0	175.4056	162.7884	169.25	top 62%
Pork Ribs	8	1	0	176.5716	159.3944	166.11	top 68%
Pork	8	4	1	180 🔥	168.5256	172.83	top 35%
Brisket	8	1	0	175.4056	160.5028	169.39	top 51%

“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)	6	0	top 67%
Large (40+)	2	0	top 33%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
NC	7	0	top 59%
SC	1	0	top 55%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge	2	19	0	top 60%	Sep 19, 2025
Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)	2	23	0	top 67%	Oct 29, 2022

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 3 contests

Contests a season 2 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NC 7 of 8 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 6 2 of them more than once

Opponents faced 155 finished ahead 137 times, behind 186

Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Oct 29, 2022 → Jul 11, 2024

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20264 milestones

Aug 7 First overall top-10 Battle of the Blue Ridge
Aug 7 Career-best overall score697.0744 Battle of the Blue Ridge
Aug 7 Peak power rating (1513) Battle of the Blue Ridge
Aug 7 Most recent contest Battle of the Blue Ridge

20224 milestones

Sep 23 First tracked contest Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge
Sep 23 First overall past 90% of a perfect score676.9940 Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge
Oct 28 First call Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1)
Oct 29 First perfect 180 (Pork) Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.8	Battle of the Blue Ridge	Aug 7, 2026
+2.4	South Carolina Festival of Discovery	Jul 11, 2024
+1.8	Pigmaster BBQ Challenge	Sep 20, 2024
+1.3	Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge	Sep 23, 2022
+1.3	Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge	Sep 19, 2025

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.8	Mission Farms - King of the Farm	Feb 28, 2025
-1.4	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1)	Oct 28, 2022
-1.4	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2)	Oct 29, 2022

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	1	100%	top 10%	96.8%	96.8%
2025	2	0	100%	top 75%	93.5%	93.1%
2024	2	0	0%	top 58%	94.7%	94.5%
2022	3	0	67%	top 64%	94%	93.6%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 7, 2026	Battle of the Blue Ridge 🏅 Swannanoa, NC	4 / 41 (697.0744)	9 (175.4056)	6 (176.5716)	16 (171.9772)	11 (173.1200)
Sep 19, 2025	Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge 🏅 Rutherford College, NC	22 / 36 (672.9940)	34 (162.7884)	33 (161.0856)	9 (173.7144)	7 (175.4056)
Feb 28, 2025	Mission Farms - King of the Farm 🏅 Iron Station, NC	23 / 26 (667.2456)	19 (168.5256)	23 (163.9544)	7 (174.2628)	25 (160.5028)
Sep 20, 2024	Pigmaster BBQ Challenge 🏅 Rutherford College, NC	20 / 33 (679.8972)	22 (168.5256)	13 (169.1316)	19 (169.1200)	16 (173.1200)
Jul 11, 2024	South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC	42 / 76 (681.5884)	48 (169.6800)	52 (167.9656)	28 (171.9656)	31 (171.9772)
Oct 29, 2022	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2) 🏅 Shelby, NC	23 / 34 (671.8628)	25 (167.3828)	34 (159.3944)	2 (180)	25 (165.0856)
Oct 28, 2022	Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1) 🏅 Shelby, NC	23 / 35 (672.9940)	18 (170.8228)	31 (162.8228)	10 (173.1084)	21 (166.2400)
Sep 23, 2022	Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge 🏅 Connelly Springs, NC	19 / 32 (676.9940)	17 (170.8344)	18 (167.9656)	19 (168.5256)	14 (169.6684)

Speaks For Itself

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

They almost always walk

High-water mark

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork nemesis

They cook the hard rooms

The metronome

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)