The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Loaded Barrel BBQ has finished one call ahead of What Up Grill 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
What Up Grill
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1435
peak 1435 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2021-04-23
latest 2025-09-12
Best ToY finish
#1043
Master 2021
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 94%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
607.57 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 611.52 (-3.96)
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.34
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 158.04 · weakest Brisket (148.32)
Road miles
206
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 206 mi
Schedule strength
49%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1563)
Purse competed for
$50K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
611.52 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (4 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.
A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Dogpatch Q ahead in 100% of their meetings
Dogpatch Q has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
The weak link
−9.7
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 9.72 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 148.32
- Pork avg 158.04
- 0 calls in 6 entries
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked Bands & BBQ at the Point every year from 2021 to 2024 — the contest they never miss.
- 4 visits in all
- best finish 25th
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.
51 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5935 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5940 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before What Up Grill's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5938 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 7 years before What Up Grill's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#5937 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Level with What Up Grill on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5947 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
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#5942 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogpatch Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HIGH ON THE HAWG | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Pullin Out the Butts BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Shiggin aint easy | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WeQ4U | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke Wagon BBQ KY | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HIGH ON THE HOG OHIO | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HOGGY BOTTOM BOYS, KY | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| McQ Smokers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Loaded Barrel BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Creek Smoke BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| All Sauced Up | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.6056 | 141.0856 | 153.78 | top 90% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.8344 | 147.3716 | 151.37 | top 96% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9656 | 152.5144 | 158.04 | top 87% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 154.8456 | 138.8116 | 148.32 | 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.
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bands & BBQ at the Point | 4 | 25 | 0 | top 95% | 2024-09-13 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
4.4 yrs
2021-04-23 → 2025-09-12
Busiest season
2021
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KY
5 of 6 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 158.04 · weakest Brisket (148.32)
Walk rate
0%
a top-10 call in 0 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Master average
611.52
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
151
12–271 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
206
6 mapped stops · furthest 206 mi
Schedule strength
1563
average field rating faced — tougher than 49% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$50,000
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 6 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1 yrs
2023-09-08 → 2024-09-13
Power rating
1435
peak 1435 · #5943 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2021
- First tracked contest Marietta River City BBQ
- Career-best overall score631.3140 Marietta River City BBQ
- Peak power rating (1490) Marietta River City BBQ
- 2022
- Career-best single call (Chicken)164.6056 Bands & BBQ at the Point
- 2025
- Most recent contest Bands and BBQ at the Point
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.8 | Bands & BBQ at the Point | 2023-09-08 |
| -11.3 | Bands & BBQ at the Point | 2022-09-09 |
| -11.2 | Bands & BBQ at the Point | 2024-09-13 |
| -11.1 | Bands & BBQ at the Point | 2021-09-10 |
| -10.3 | Marietta River City BBQ | 2021-04-23 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 81.9% | 81.9% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 84.3% | 84.3% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 85.6% | 85.6% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 87.7% | 85.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-12 | Bands and BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY | 28 / 29 (589.4288) | 29 (141.0856) | 29 (147.3716) | 28 (153.0628) | 29 (147.9088) |
| 2024-09-13 | Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY | 30 / 31 (606.6284) | 31 (143.9428) | 31 (149.0628) | 23 (163.9656) | 30 (149.6572) |
| 2023-09-08 | Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY | 33 / 33 (616.3660) | 32 (154.8344) | 33 (150.2172) | 31 (161.1200) | 33 (150.1944) |
| 2022-09-09 | Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY | 30 / 32 (620.9944) | 28 (164.6056) | 29 (155.3600) | 31 (152.5144) | 30 (148.5144) |
| 2021-09-10 | Bands & BBQ at the Point 🏅 Carrollton, KY | 25 / 28 (604.4120) | 18 (163.4288) | 27 (147.3944) | 25 (154.7772) | 28 (138.8116) |
| 2021-04-23 | Marietta River City BBQ 🏅 Marietta, OH | 25 / 29 (631.3140) | 26 (154.8112) | 25 (158.8344) | 21 (162.8228) | 24 (154.8456) |
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 | #1440 (55 pts) | #1476 (55 pts) | #1535 (55 pts) | #1451 (55 pts) | #1453 (55 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1499 (56 pts) | #1539 (56 pts) | #1588 (56 pts) | #1204 (66 pts) | #1504 (56 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1552 (58 pts) | #1584 (58 pts) | #1680 (58 pts) | #1557 (58 pts) | #1567 (58 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1627 (57 pts) | #1636 (57 pts) | #1675 (57 pts) | #1636 (57 pts) | #1636 (57 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1043 (107 pts) | #910 (142 pts) | #1133 (107 pts) | #935 (127 pts) | #1045 (112 pts) |