The heartbreaker
2.3204
points from the title
Came within 2.3204 points of the Grand Championship at Trekking for CDH (Sep 19, 2026).
Ruthless Hogs BBQ
Ruthless Hogs BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 27 at the Trekking for CDH (2026), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #2455 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1522
peak 1531 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Jul 27, 2024
latest Sep 25, 2026 · 2.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
38% of 8 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 49%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±5.99
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.59 · weakest Brisket (165.39)
Road miles
168
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 62 mi
Schedule strength
81%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1605)
Purse competed for
$63K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
676.15 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
334.78 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #163 (240 pts) | #170 (240 pts) | #236 (155 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #812 (122 pts) | #844 (137 pts) | #561 (347 pts) | #771 (147 pts) | #884 (117 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #206 (215 pts) | #158 (330 pts) | #250 (180 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #197 (244 pts) | #149 (409 pts) | #236 (199 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Ruthless Hogs BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
85 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,466 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1521
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before Ruthless Hogs BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,460 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1522
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,447 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1527
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before Ruthless Hogs BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,458 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1522
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,465 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1525
Level with Ruthless Hogs BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,464 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1527
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 11 contests, alongside a 27% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eleven Thirteen Q | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | 7 | 3 | 3 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| 1Bite Stand | 7 | 1 | 5 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Wicked Pig BBQ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin A's | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Take It Easy BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| OnlyCans Competition BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Snake Holler BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Mulkey's BBQ | 6 | 2 | 3 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Three Stooges Barbeque | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| My3Sons BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175.4288 | 161.6572 | 170.59 | top 38% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 176.5600 | 154.2056 | 166.53 | top 48% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 165.6684 | 169.39 | top 72% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2400 | 164.5372 | 165.39 | top 91% |
“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 42% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 89% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trekking for CDH | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 34% | Sep 19, 2026 |
| Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 38% | Jul 26, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
4 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
8 of 8 contests
Contests visited
4
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
8 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
186
finished ahead 182 times, behind 202
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20266 milestones
- Career-best overall score687.8972 Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5600 Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)
- First overall podium Trekking for CDH
- First Reserve Championship Trekking for CDH
- Peak power rating (1531) Trekking for CDH
- Most recent contest Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard
20244 milestones
- First tracked contest Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- First call Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.6228 Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- First overall top-10 Trekking for CDH
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.9 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 19, 2026 |
| +11.6 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 14, 2024 |
| +8.9 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | Jul 26, 2025 |
| +3.4 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | Jul 27, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | Sep 25, 2026 |
| -6.8 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | Aug 15, 2026 |
| -4.3 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 13, 2025 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 57% | 95.5% | 94.1% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 49% | 94.3% | 92.4% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 35% | 94.3% | 92.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard 🏅 Murphysboro, IL | 63 / 71 (664.3996) | 62 (165.6800) | 54 (168.5140) | 60 (165.6684) | 62 (164.5372) |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 2 / 27 (339.9312) | 2 (175.4056) | 6 (164.5256) | — | — |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Trekking for CDH (ONE MEAT RIBS) Pierron, IL | — | — | 7 (169.6684) | — | — |
| Aug 15, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 24 / 32 (687.8972) | 21 (171.9772) | 9 (176.5600) | 19 (173.1200) | 30 (166.2400) |
| Sep 13, 2025 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 19 / 27 (325.6000) | 19 (161.6572) | 16 (163.9428) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main 🏅 Collinsville, IL | 9 / 32 (339.3832) | 2 (175.4288) | 18 (163.9544) | — | — |
| Sep 14, 2024 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 8 / 35 (339.3716) | 7 (168.5372) | 9 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2024 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main 🏅 Collinsville, IL | 16 / 34 (329.6228) | 2 (175.4172) | 23 (154.2056) | — | — |