The heartbreaker
4.0000
points from the title
Came within 4.0000 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) (Aug 17, 2024).
Stone Cold Grillers
Stone Cold Grillers is a competition barbecue team with 45 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2020 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2022), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #833 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1625
peak 1625 · rated over 29 contests9 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
45
in the data
First seen
Nov 13, 2020
latest Sep 5, 2025 · 4.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
1 reserve · wins it all 2% of the time
Category wins
2
12 podiums
Overall top-10s
20
44% of 45 contests
Best top-10 run
5
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
331.63 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 330.53 (+1.09)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.40
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.02 · weakest Brisket (163.39)
Road miles
7,660
across 42 mapped stops · furthest 618 mi
Schedule strength
41%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1554)
Purse competed for
$146K
listed at 33 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 14 state-championship entries
Master avg
670.72 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
330.53 / 360
32 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Backyard (3-meat) avg
425.66 / 540
2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #141 (405 pts) | #139 (425 pts) | #159 (375 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #59 (864 pts) | #84 (714 pts) | #50 (895 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1175 (62 pts) | #1529 (57 pts) | #1118 (112 pts) | #1505 (57 pts) | #899 (127 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #110 (569 pts) | #67 (917 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #435 (556 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #36 (945 pts) | #24 (1,130 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | — | — | #732 (269 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #54 (671 pts) | #28 (1,035 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Stone Cold Grillers, each with one reason worth a look.
26 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#834 of the rated field
- Contests
- 33
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 36%
- Peak
- 1624
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 32 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#830 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 65%
- Peak
- 1629
Fewer contests behind them than Stone Cold Grillers has cooked, 20 to 45, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#831 of the rated field
- Contests
- 51
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 57%
- Peak
- 1630
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 51 contests, alongside a 57% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#832 of the rated field
- Contests
- 54
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1645
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Stone Cold Grillers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#835 of the rated field
- Contests
- 70
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 47%
- Peak
- 1691
They were already cooking in 2013, 7 years before Stone Cold Grillers's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#829 of the rated field
- Contests
- 71
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 31%
- Peak
- 1663
Level with Stone Cold Grillers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | 23 | 3 | 20 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Shmack Q | 19 | 7 | 12 | 37% | ⚔ compare |
| Too Sauced Guys Bar-B-Que | 15 | 7 | 8 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| T Daddys BBQ | 13 | 6 | 7 | 46% | ⚔ compare |
| UGLY BABY BBQ | 12 | 8 | 4 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 12 | 4 | 8 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Ten Bones | 11 | 7 | 4 | 64% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ MIKE | 11 | 5 | 6 | 45% | ⚔ compare |
| Furlongs Smoke & Seafood | 11 | 3 | 8 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| 309 BBQ | 11 | 2 | 9 | 18% | ⚔ compare |
| Ishy Links BBQ | 10 | 9 | 1 | 90% | ⚔ compare |
| Sugar Shack | 10 | 7 | 3 | 70% | ⚔ compare |
| T.J.D. Smokehouse | 10 | 6 | 4 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Rusty Pig BBQ | 10 | 6 | 1 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Loose Cannon BBQ | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 37 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 175.4172 | 134.2972 | 164.18 | top 44% |
| Pork Ribs | 43 | 29 | 2 | 10 | 180 🔥 | 142.2972 | 168.02 | top 29% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5372 | 159.9428 | 164.72 | top 62% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 155.9544 | 163.39 | top 66% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 81% |
| Medium (20–39) | 25 | 0 | top 31% |
| Large (40+) | 10 | 1 | top 35% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 5 | 1 | 1 | top 14% | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 40% | Aug 16, 2025 |
| Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 6 | 0 | top 43% | Jun 14, 2024 |
| Iowa State BBQ Championship | 3 | 4 | 0 | top 38% | Mar 29, 2024 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 38% | Jun 8, 2024 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 30% | Jun 7, 2024 |
| Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 26% | Jul 14, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2022
14 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
6.4
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
25 of 45 contests · 8 states in all
Contests visited
25
7 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
43 entries · 2 wins · 29 calls
First title
Aug 20, 2022
Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Opponents faced
726
finished ahead 1,045 times, behind 560
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Peak power rating (1625) Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20241 milestone
- First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY)
20232 milestones
- Career-best overall score673.0288 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN
- First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL
20223 milestones
- First Grand Championship Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Biggest field won (41 teams) Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 25th tracked contest 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL
20212 milestones
- First overall podium GOBS Que (DAY 1)
- 10th tracked contest 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Ancillary
—5 milestones
- First tracked contest Honor-Q Competitor's Series
- First call Honor-Q Competitor's Series
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Honor-Q Competitor's Series
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.6344 Honor-Q Competitor's Series
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.9 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day One) | Jun 24, 2022 |
| +14.4 | GOBS Que (DAY 1) | Aug 13, 2021 |
| +12.6 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 17, 2024 |
| +12.5 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Mar 29, 2024 |
| +11.9 | Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 28, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -19.2 | Bar-B-QC (Backyard) | Sep 9, 2022 |
| -9.2 | Iowa State BBQ Championship (Backyard) | Apr 1, 2022 |
| -7.4 | Rockin' BBQ Warsaw | May 17, 2024 |
| -7.1 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 19, 2023 |
| -3.7 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 17, 2023 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 100% | top 31% | 91.7% | 90.2% |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 96% | 93.8% |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 57% | top 34% | 97.3% | 93.9% |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 70% | top 46% | 98.1% | 92.4% |
| 2022 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 79% | top 35% | 94.9% | 89.6% |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 71% | top 33% | 92.5% | 88.6% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 29% | 88.7% | 88.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2025 | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 8 / 38 (335.9544) | 5 (172.5600) | 15 (163.3944) | — | — |
| Aug 16, 2025 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 10 / 20 (331.4516) | 15 (160.5716) | 5 (170.8800) | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 11 / 36 (345.6800) | 9 (175.4056) | 18 (170.2744) | — | — |
| Aug 24, 2024 | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 4 / 36 (340.5372) | 12 (167.4172) | 4 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Aug 17, 2024 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 2 / 26 (350.2628) | 3 (174.8456) | 3 (175.4172) | — | — |
| Jun 14, 2024 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 20 / 40 (329.0512) | 29 (160.4912) | 13 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Jun 8, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 16 / 37 (329.6344) | 21 (160.5028) | 7 (169.1316) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 16 / 41 (334.2512) | 14 (169.7028) | 18 (164.5484) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | Rockin' BBQ Warsaw 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 24 / 32 (668.4112) | 25 (168.5256) | 14 (169.1200) | 27 (159.9428) | 11 (170.8228) |
| Mar 29, 2024 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 4 / 42 (347.9772) | 5 (174.8572) | 5 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Sep 15, 2023 | Saluting with Smoke (COMPETITOR'S SERIES) unrated Yorkville, IL | 15 / 17 (658.7080) | 9 (170.8112) | 4 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Sep 15, 2023 | Saluting with Smoke Single Meat - Rib Burn (ONE MEAT RIBS) Yorkville, IL | — | — | 22 (161.1088) | — | — |
| Aug 19, 2023 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 20 / 32 (314.1712) | 30 (148.4796) | 9 (165.6916) | — | — |
| Aug 12, 2023 | 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Mayetta, KS | 5 / 29 (353.1200) | 17 (173.1200) | 3 (180) | — | — |
| Aug 11, 2023 | 5th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Mayetta, KS | 69 / 90 (673.0288) | 47 (171.9656) | 8 (176.5716) | 59 (168.5372) | 87 (155.9544) |
| Jul 14, 2023 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 8 / 25 (328.4684) | 11 (162.2284) | 6 (166.2400) | — | — |
| Jul 14, 2023 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (One Meat Ribs) Eureka, IL | — | — | 3 (174.2628) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2023 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 17 / 33 (326.8000) | 22 (160.5256) | 13 (166.2744) | — | — |
| May 27, 2023 | Westmont Red White & BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Westmont, IL | 4 / 34 (511.3716) | 5 (175.4172) | 6 (170.2628) | 12 (165.6916) | — |
| Mar 31, 2023 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 14 / 47 (331.9544) | 15 (164.5716) | 13 (167.3828) | — | — |
| Nov 12, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL | 28 / 49 (334.8000) | 34 (166.8228) | 20 (167.9772) | — | — |
| Nov 11, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Gadsden, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 4, 2022 | Saluting with Smoke Single Meat Rib Burn (ONE MEAT RIBS) Yorkville, IL | — | — | 10 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Bar-B-QC (Backyard) Davenport, IA | 13 / 13 (339.9428) | 9 (169.1200) | 6 (170.8228) | — | — |
| Aug 20, 2022 | Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 1 / 41 (341.7028) | 2 (169.1428) | 4 (172.5600) | — | — |
| Jul 15, 2022 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 5 / 25 (330.7772) | 7 (161.6572) | 2 (169.1200) | — | — |
| Jul 15, 2022 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (One Meat Ribs) Eureka, IL | — | — | 12 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Jun 24, 2022 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day One) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 3 / 36 (336.5028) | 5 (168.5372) | 4 (167.9656) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) Morris, IL | 6 / 23 (333.6800) | 4 (171.9772) | 11 (161.7028) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 12 / 37 (332.4684) | 24 (157.0512) | 4 (175.4172) | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 8 / 39 (333.0856) | 17 (160.5256) | 3 (172.5600) | — | — |
| May 28, 2022 | Westmont Red White & BBQ Backyard BBQ Cook-Off 2022 (BACKYARD ONLY) Westmont, IL | 3 / 28 (339.3828) | 5 (170.8228) | 2 (168.5600) | — | — |
| May 14, 2022 | BBQ, BLESSINGS & THE VFW (ONE MEAT RIBS) Oconomowoc, WI | — | — | 5 (166.2860) | — | — |
| Apr 1, 2022 | Iowa State BBQ Championship (Backyard) Altoona, IA | 20 / 27 (316.4916) | 24 (149.6572) | 10 (166.8344) | — | — |
| Nov 12, 2021 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Backyard unrated Shawnee, OK | 28 / 33 (329.0284) | 29 (163.9428) | 20 (165.0856) | — | — |
| Nov 11, 2021 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Ancillary unrated Shawnee, OK | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 16, 2021 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 2 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 11 / 36 (333.1200) | 17 (165.1084) | 9 (168.0116) | — | — |
| Oct 15, 2021 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 1 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 13 / 40 (328.4912) | 23 (159.9312) | 7 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Aug 13, 2021 | GOBS Que (DAY 1) 🏅 Arlington, NE | 3 / 26 (276.5944) | 5 (134.2972) | 3 (142.2972) | — | — |
| Jul 16, 2021 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown Day 1 🏅 Eureka, IL | 4 / 25 (325.6228) | 4 (159.9428) | 2 (165.6800) | — | — |
| Jun 25, 2021 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day one) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 10 / 49 (321.6116) | 10 (162.8000) | 12 (158.8116) | — | — |
| Nov 13, 2020 | Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition 🏅 unrated Mayetta, KS | 27 / 94 (319.3028) | 19 (167.3828) | 28 (151.9200) | — | — |
| — | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 10 / 39 (314.8004) | 25 (145.6460) | 1 (169.1544) | — | — |
| — | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 4 / 38 (330.2400) | 15 (158.2628) | 1 (171.9772) | — | — |
| — | Honor-Q Competitor's Series unrated Plainfield, IL | 5 / 9 (329.6344) | — | 8 (165.6800) | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.