Their season
2026
their best year
2026 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 34%.
- 3 contests
- 2 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 34%
Smokin A's
Smokin A's is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 26 at the Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) (2026). They are ranked #3293 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1498
peak 1498 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Jun 20, 2014
latest Sep 19, 2026 · 12.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
2
20% of 10 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 58%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
296.74 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 304.12 (-7.38)
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±50.50
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.86 · weakest Brisket (148.51)
Road miles
214
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 107 mi
Schedule strength
78%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1601)
Purse competed for
$80K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 9 state-championship entries
Master avg
629.05 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
304.12 / 360
9 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)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smokin A's, each with one reason worth a look.
108 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,288 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1500
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,282 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1531
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Smokin A's's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,295 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1498
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,287 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1500
Level with Smokin A's on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,286 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1499
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,291 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Smokin A's's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eleven Thirteen Q | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| 1Bite Stand | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| JANKY LEG BBQ | 9 | 1 | 7 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Snake Holler BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW | 8 | 4 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Take It Easy BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Two Pigs And A Smoker | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Mulkey's BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| OnlyCans Competition BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Three Stooges Barbeque | 7 | 1 | 4 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Wicked Pig BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.8456 | 156.5256 | 160.53 | top 56% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 176.5716 | 142.2400 | 161.86 | top 48% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154.2744 | 154.2744 | 154.27 | top 84% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148.5140 | 148.5140 | 148.51 | top 96% |
“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.
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | 4 | 5 | 0 | top 42% | Aug 15, 2026 |
| Trekking for CDH | 3 | 14 | 0 | top 68% | Sep 19, 2026 |
| Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 62% | Jul 26, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
2.5
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
10 of 10 contests
Contests visited
4
3 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
188
finished ahead 175 times, behind 303
Longest layoff
10.1 yrs
Jun 20, 2014 → Jul 27, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- First overall top-10 Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1)
- Peak power rating (1499) Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2)
- 10th tracked contest Trekking for CDH
- Most recent contest Trekking for CDH
20253 milestones
- First call Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score334.7888 Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5716 Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main
20142 milestones
- First tracked contest Knights of Columbus
- Career-best overall score629.0512 Knights of Columbus
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.5 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) | Aug 14, 2026 |
| +9.1 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) | Aug 15, 2026 |
| +4.9 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | Jul 26, 2025 |
| +4 | Smoke N for the Kids | Aug 16, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.2 | Knights of Columbus | Jun 20, 2014 |
| -9.1 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 13, 2025 |
| -7.5 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main | Jul 27, 2024 |
| -5.5 | Smoke N for the Kids | Aug 17, 2024 |
| -2.6 | Trekking for CDH | Sep 14, 2024 |
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 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 67% | top 34% | 93.2% | 91.6% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 59% | 93% | 76.8% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 87.1% | 85.1% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19, 2026 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 14 / 27 (319.3260) | 12 (159.9544) | 12 (159.3716) | — | — |
| Aug 15, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 2) 🏅 Troy, IL | 10 / 32 (334.7888) | 10 (166.2400) | 10 (168.5488) | — | — |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smoke N for the Kids (Day 1) 🏅 Troy, IL | 5 / 26 (335.3484) | 14 (162.7884) | 5 (172.5600) | — | — |
| Sep 13, 2025 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 24 / 27 (165.7372) | — | 13 (165.7372) | — | — |
| Aug 16, 2025 | Smoke N for the Kids 🏅 Troy, IL | 14 / 32 (328.5144) | 17 (158.8344) | 9 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main 🏅 Collinsville, IL | 14 / 32 (334.7888) | 23 (158.2172) | 2 (176.5716) | — | — |
| Sep 14, 2024 | Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL | 22 / 35 (313.6228) | 21 (157.7144) | 24 (155.9084) | — | — |
| Aug 17, 2024 | Smoke N for the Kids 🏅 Troy, IL | 20 / 27 (298.7656) | 18 (156.5256) | 21 (142.2400) | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2024 | Code 3 Spices - Smokin' on Main 🏅 Collinsville, IL | 27 / 34 (306.2172) | 24 (157.6800) | 28 (148.5372) | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2014 | Knights of Columbus Quincy, IL | 22 / 25 (629.0512) | 14 (166.8456) | 19 (159.4172) | 21 (154.2744) | 24 (148.5140) |