A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
FIRE DOWN BELOW ahead in 100% of their meetings
FIRE DOWN BELOW has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
Livin' the Q' Life
Livin' the Q' Life is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2017. Their best overall finish is 9th of 15 at The Best BBQ Chef Competition (2014). They are ranked #4424 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “LIVIN THE Q LIFE”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1475
peak 1475 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Sep 14, 2013
latest Jun 3, 2017 · 3.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
14% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 69%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
625.67 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 619.88 (+5.79)
Walk rate
57%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.81
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 163.02 · weakest Brisket (147.66)
Road miles
988
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 363 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)
Master avg
619.88 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Livin' the Q' Life, each with one reason worth a look.
159 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,437 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Livin' the Q' Life)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Livin' the Q' Life has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,415 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1475
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,430 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Compare careers#4,434 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1474
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 3 years before Livin' the Q' Life's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,416 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,421 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1514
Level with Livin' the Q' Life 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue Hog BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE DOWN BELOW | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1660 | 142.8572 | 154.77 | top 66% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1316 | 147.3600 | 154.43 | top 72% |
| Pork | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 170.3084 | 151.9544 | 163.02 | top 40% |
| Brisket | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 157.7372 | 135.4056 | 147.66 | top 73% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 74% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 89% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 61% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest | 3 | 23 | 0 | top 71% | Sep 12, 2015 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2014
4 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MA
4 of 7 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
178
finished ahead 91 times, behind 170
Longest layoff
1.7 yrs
Sep 12, 2015 → Jun 3, 2017
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20171 milestone
- Most recent contest Sun BBQ Fest
20151 milestone
- Career-best single call (Pork)170.3084 Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
20143 milestones
- First call The Polish Hungry for Que BBQ Bash
- First overall top-10 The Best BBQ Chef Competition
- Career-best overall score637.7032 The Best BBQ Chef Competition
20132 milestones
- First tracked contest Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
- Peak power rating (1494) Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1.3 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest | Sep 13, 2014 |
| +1 | Sun BBQ Fest | Jun 3, 2017 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest | Sep 12, 2015 |
| -9.8 | The Polish Hungry for Que BBQ Bash | May 10, 2014 |
| -6.1 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest | Sep 14, 2013 |
| -1.4 | The Best BBQ Chef Competition | Sep 27, 2014 |
| -0.5 | Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle | Jun 21, 2014 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 58% | 88% | 88% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 89% | 83.5% | 83.5% |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 66% | 88.6% | 86.5% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 71% | 85.1% | 85.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 2017 | Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT | 42 / 73 (633.7144) | 30 (164.5600) | 52 (154.3088) | 40 (162.2628) | 53 (152.5828) |
| Sep 12, 2015 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA | 33 / 37 (600.9600) | 35 (145.6572) | 33 (147.3600) | 10 (170.3084) | 36 (137.6344) |
| Sep 27, 2014 | The Best BBQ Chef Competition New London, CT | 9 / 15 (637.7032) | 12 (150.8456) | 11 (161.1316) | 2 (169.1544) | 6 (156.5716) |
| Sep 13, 2014 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA | 23 / 43 (628.4804) | 13 (165.1660) | 17 (158.8228) | 9 (165.1200) | 42 (139.3716) |
| Jun 21, 2014 | Safeway National Capital Barbecue Battle Washington, DC | 25 / 41 (627.4744) | 28 (155.4400) | 32 (152.5372) | 16 (161.7600) | 22 (157.7372) |
| May 10, 2014 | The Polish Hungry for Que BBQ Bash Gardner, MA | 15 / 17 (597.7376) | 16 (142.8572) | 11 (158.8688) | 7 (160.6060) | 17 (135.4056) |
| Sep 14, 2013 | Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA | 30 / 42 (613.0632) | 24 (158.8572) | 37 (147.9656) | 34 (151.9544) | 22 (154.2860) |