The heartbreaker
0.6172
points from the title
Came within 0.6172 points of the Grand Championship at Cowchip BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 (2024-08-24).
I'll Tell You Later BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1488
peak 1488 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2023-08-18
latest 2025-09-12
Best ToY finish
#206
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
2
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 66%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
670.98 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 665.85 (+5.13)
Walk rate
38%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±15.46
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 168.46 · weakest Chicken (165.12)
Road miles
2,236
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 387 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)
Purse competed for
$154K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
665.85 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
342.25 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.
Storylines (5 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.
- Pork ×1
High-water mark
685.6112
career-best overall
95.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 685.6112 at Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships — 95.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2024-08-16
A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas ahead in 100% of their meetings
Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
The metronome
±2.18%
swing around their own average
Their overall lands within ±2.18% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
- averages 92.8% of a perfect score
- 8 contests
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
144 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3784 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 75%
- Peak
- 1487
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#3753 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3783 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1487
No shared contest yet.
Level with I'll Tell You Later BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3777 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1487
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 9 years before I'll Tell You Later BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3751 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before I'll Tell You Later BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3769 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1488
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA PASADITA | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Texas Revolution | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 170.8460 | 154.8456 | 165.12 | top 68% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 171.9884 | 155.9544 | 165.73 | top 65% |
| Pork | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 180.0000 🔥 | 156.5600 | 168.46 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 178.8572 | 161.6916 | 167.82 | top 39% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX | 5 | 0 | top 53% |
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| OK | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 80% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 53% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | 2 | 39 | 0 | top 60% | 2025-09-12 |
| Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 48% | 2024-08-16 |
| Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 80% | 2024-07-27 |
The story so far (19 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.1 yrs
2023-08-18 → 2025-09-12
Busiest season
2024
5 contests
Contests a season
2.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
TX
5 of 8 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
3 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 168.46 · weakest Chicken (165.12)
Walk rate
38%
a top-10 call in 3 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
25%
2 of 8 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests
Master average
665.85
out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
342.25
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Perfect 180s
1
every judge at the table handing back a nine
Opponents faced
245
143–194 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
2,236
8 mapped stops · furthest 387 mi
Schedule strength
1552
average field rating faced — tougher than 39% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$154,325
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 7 state-championship entries
Power rating
1488
peak 1488 · #3770 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2023
- First tracked contest Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- 2024
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score670.1484 Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1)
- First call Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2)
- First category win (Pork) Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- First overall top-10 Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- First perfect 180 (Pork) Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- Career-best overall score685.6112 Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- Peak power rating (1496) Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
- First overall podium Cowchip BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2
- First Reserve Championship Cowchip BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2
- 2025
- Most recent contest Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.6 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships | 2024-08-16 |
| +2.4 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship | 2025-08-15 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.3 | Cowchip BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 | 2024-08-24 |
| -6.5 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) | 2024-07-26 |
| -5.2 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships | 2023-08-18 |
| -2.9 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) | 2024-07-27 |
| -1.8 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | 2025-09-12 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 56% | 92.4% | 91.8% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 60% | top 69% | 95.2% | 94.1% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 71% | 88.3% | 88.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-12 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 57 / 92 (657.0284) | 87 (154.8456) | 72 (161.6572) | 21 (173.1200) | 30 (167.4056) |
| 2025-08-15 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championship 🏅 Lubbock, TX | 28 / 55 (664.9592) | 22 (170.8228) | 30 (167.3712) | 37 (161.0740) | 22 (165.6912) |
| 2024-09-13 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 39 / 67 (664.5256) | 38 (166.8572) | 29 (170.2856) | 44 (164.5256) | 37 (162.8572) |
| 2024-08-24 | Cowchip BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Beaver, OK | 2 / 2 (342.2512) | 1 (170.2628) | 2 (171.9884) | — | — |
| 2024-08-16 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX | 10 / 41 (685.6112) | 25 (164.5256) | 13 (169.6800) | 1 (180.0000) | 10 (171.4056) |
| 2024-07-27 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 2) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 15 / 20 (682.7776) | 15 (170.8460) | 15 (163.3828) | 15 (169.6916) | 2 (178.8572) |
| 2024-07-26 | Smokin' Saddles Double Header (Day 1) 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 17 / 20 (670.1484) | 20 (161.0972) | 15 (167.9656) | 12 (174.2628) | 13 (166.8228) |
| 2023-08-18 | Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX | 34 / 48 (635.9088) | 32 (161.7028) | 38 (155.9544) | 38 (156.5600) | 23 (161.6916) |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #875 (120 pts) | #910 (135 pts) | #1020 (120 pts) | #882 (140 pts) | #882 (135 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #206 (227 pts) | #201 (252 pts) | #216 (227 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #754 (180 pts) | #853 (165 pts) | #829 (190 pts) | #752 (205 pts) | #551 (350 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1249 (70 pts) |