Code 3 Spices

Code 3 Spices is a competition barbecue team with 18 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 6th of 43 at the Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest (2017). They are ranked #3572 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#3,572

of 6,485 rated · rankings

Rating

1492

peak 1521 · rated over 13 contests5 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Oct 2, 2014

latest Aug 15, 2026 · 11.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#841

Master 2024 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

6% of 18 contests

Avg finish

top 58%

overall standings

Best overall

693.0972 / 720

Master · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST

Perfect 180s

Current form

680.69 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 669.02 (+11.67)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Chicken · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST

Consistency

±16.55

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 169.21 · weakest Pork (165.87)

Road miles

1,005

across 18 mapped stops · furthest 313 mi

Schedule strength

71%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1590)

Purse competed for

$271K

listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 10 state-championship entries

Master avg

669.02 / 720

18 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (6 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

693.0972 career-best overall

96.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 693.0972 at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST — 96.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 29, 2022

A tough matchup

13–1 behind in the head-to-head

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ ahead in 93% of their meetings

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ has come out ahead in 13 of their 14 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Smoke & Beer BBQ in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The comeback

2.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.1 years, then back at Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off (Sep 20, 2019).

last seen Aug 18, 2017
back Sep 20, 2019

Brisket nemesis

11 of 14 shared brisket entries lost

IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ ahead 79% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ has out-cooked them in 11 of 14 shared brisket entries.

The metronome

±2.30% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.30% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.9% of a perfect score
18 contests

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2024 ↗	Master	#841 (137 pts)	#915 (142 pts)	#666 (287 pts)	#889 (137 pts)	#731 (222 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1467 (175 pts)	#1631 (155 pts)	#1602 (165 pts)	#2095 (90 pts)	#1458 (185 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Code 3 Spices, each with one reason worth a look.

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

RJ'S BOW TIE BARBECUE

#3,561 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1512

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Code 3 Spices)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Code 3 Spices has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Sep 20, 2019

⚔ Head-to-head

MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN

#3,580 of the rated field

1491 power rating

Contests: 42
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1547

3–1 in 4 shared contests (75% to Code 3 Spices)

They've been 1547 at their best, 56 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 42 contests
last seen Sep 29, 2022

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' BUTTS

#3,554 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 108
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1569

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Code 3 Spices)

108 contests to 18: their number has had years to settle where Code 3 Spices's is still finding its level.

rated over 107 contests
last seen May 9, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

DOUBLE DUECE SMOKIN BBQ

#3,557 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1510

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Code 3 Spices's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 15 contests

⚔ Compare careers

BOVINE & SWINE

#3,556 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1492

Level with Code 3 Spices on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Aug 25, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

RUMPLEPIGSKIN BBQ

#3,566 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

They turned up 9 years after Code 3 Spices did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Jul 11, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE	14	3	11	21%	⚔ compare
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
SMOKE THIS BBQ MO	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
JANKY LEG BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' BASTED	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
BIG POPPA SMOKERS	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
CLARK CREW BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' SAUCED	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
REDNECK SCIENTIFIC	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
One2BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	3	0	178.8572	145.0400	166.34	top 60%
Pork Ribs	18	3	1	176.5716	152.5140	167.59	top 51%
Pork	18	2	0	177.7144	141.0628	165.87	top 54%
Brisket	18	3	0	175.4056	162.7884	169.21	top 44%

“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)	5	0	top 73%
Large (40+)	13	0	top 53%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	8	top 53%
IL	6	top 73%
MO	4	top 48%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)	3	20	top 78%	Aug 15, 2026
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest	3	76	top 49%	Sep 27, 2023
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	3	41	top 43%	Sep 27, 2023
Trekking for CDH	2	15	top 65%	Sep 13, 2025
37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2	141	top 75%	Oct 29, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 2 contests

Contests a season 1.6 across 11 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 8 of 18 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 10 5 of them more than once

Opponents faced 1,765 finished ahead 1,962 times, behind 2,535

Longest layoff 2.1 yrs Aug 18, 2017 → Sep 20, 2019

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

20261 milestone

Aug 15 Most recent contest Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)

20224 milestones

Sep 29 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST
Sep 29 Career-best overall score693.0972 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST
Sep 29 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST
Sep 29 Peak power rating (1521) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST

20172 milestones

Aug 18 First call Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest
Aug 18 First overall top-10 Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest

20142 milestones

Oct 2 First tracked contest 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open
Oct 2 First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.1024 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.8	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	Sep 29, 2022
+14.5	Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest	Aug 18, 2017
+5	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open	Oct 3, 2015
+2.4	Trekking for CDH	Sep 13, 2025

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.6	Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)	Aug 15, 2026
-7.7	Trekking for CDH	Sep 14, 2024
-6.2	Smoke N for the Kids	Aug 17, 2024
-4.1	Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off	Sep 20, 2019
-3.9	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST	Sep 16, 2021

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	0	0%	top 97%	93.4%	93.4%
2025	2	0	100%	top 59%	95.7%	95.7%
2024	2	0	50%	top 74%	94.4%	94%
2023	2	0	0%	top 70%	93.9%	92.5%
2022	2	0	50%	top 21%	96.3%	95.8%
2021	2	0	50%	top 46%	94.9%	93.4%
2019	1	0	0%	top 72%	89.7%	89.7%
2017	1	1	100%	top 14%	93.7%	93.7%
2016	2	0	0%	top 75%	92.4%	90.5%
2015	1	0	0%	top 42%	91.3%	91.3%
2014	2	0	0%	top 68%	92%	90.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 15, 2026	Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL	31 / 32 (672.4344)	28 (169.6800)	31 (165.0972)	25 (169.6916)	27 (167.9656)
Sep 13, 2025	Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL	15 / 27 (689.0284)	4 (177.7144)	8 (176.5600)	14 (170.8112)	24 (163.9428)
Aug 16, 2025	Smoke N for the Kids 🏅 Troy, IL	20 / 32 (688.4916)	25 (169.1316)	26 (168.5372)	8 (175.4172)	10 (175.4056)
Sep 14, 2024	Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL	26 / 35 (679.8852)	23 (170.8112)	27 (168.5256)	20 (171.4056)	24 (169.1428)
Aug 17, 2024	Smoke N for the Kids 🏅 Troy, IL	20 / 27 (673.5884)	21 (167.3828)	3 (176.5716)	27 (155.3712)	7 (174.2628)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS	149 / 211 (676.4340)	165 (167.3828)	55 (174.2628)	149 (167.9656)	142 (166.8228)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	339 / 487 (655.2568)	411 (158.8116)	453 (152.5140)	170 (170.8228)	84 (173.1084)
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	41 / 505 (693.0972)	74 (174.3088)	29 (176.5600)	145 (171.4056)	126 (170.8228)
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST unrated Kansas City, KS	85 / 249 (686.1712)	10 (178.8572)	185 (166.8228)	24 (177.7028)	215 (162.7884)
Sep 16, 2021	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	242 / 467 (661.5656)	355 (159.3600)	394 (155.3600)	47 (173.7028)	51 (173.1428)
Sep 16, 2021	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST 🏅 unrated Kansas City, KS	76 / 185 (683.3144)	172 (161.6456)	21 (176.5716)	10 (177.7144)	123 (167.3828)
Sep 20, 2019	Murphysboro BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Murphysboro, IL	39 / 54 (646.0684)	37 (161.6456)	29 (166.2400)	49 (153.6456)	30 (164.5372)
Aug 18, 2017	Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO	6 / 43 (674.7196)	8 (171.9656)	7 (169.6800)	19 (165.6684)	5 (167.4056)
Oct 29, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	395 / 557 (636.9712)	530 (145.0400)	454 (154.8000)	218 (166.8684)	110 (170.2628)
Oct 28, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS	141 / 180 (665.5652)	165 (161.6456)	127 (165.1084)	109 (167.9656)	75 (170.8456)
Oct 3, 2015	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO	255 / 606 (657.6572)	420 (159.3828)	139 (169.7028)	438 (158.2744)	113 (170.2972)
Oct 2, 2014	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO	114 / 165 (662.1024)	47 (171.9884)	79 (167.9656)	160 (150.1828)	50 (171.9656)
Oct 2, 2014	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	370 / 552 (639.9200)	206 (167.4172)	227 (165.7372)	537 (141.0628)	191 (165.7028)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

Code 3 Spices

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

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 (6 found in their record)

High-water mark

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Brisket nemesis

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

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)