The heartbreaker
0.4912
points from the title
Came within 0.4912 points of the Grand Championship at Grizzly BBQ Brawl (Sep 6, 2024).
Buckeye Flavor
Buckeye Flavor is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 30 at the Grizzly BBQ Brawl (2024), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1487 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1565
peak 1565 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
Oct 13, 2023
latest Sep 5, 2025 · 1.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
2
6 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
27% of 11 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 37%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
687.13 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 682.46 (+4.67)
Walk rate
82%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.12
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 172.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (169.02)
Road miles
1,522
across 11 mapped stops · furthest 308 mi
Schedule strength
68%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1586)
Purse competed for
$49K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
682.46 / 720
9 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 ↗ | Master | #421 (481 pts) | #557 (361 pts) | #605 (326 pts) | #388 (581 pts) | #307 (771 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #324 (669 pts) | #420 (529 pts) | #373 (641 pts) | #412 (524 pts) | #263 (844 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1148 (85 pts) | #1219 (85 pts) | #1368 (75 pts) | #1118 (105 pts) | #1221 (75 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Buckeye Flavor, each with one reason worth a look.
#1,483 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1566
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,484 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1572
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 10 years before Buckeye Flavor's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,489 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1566
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 18 contests to 11.
⚔ Compare careers#1,482 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1584
23 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#1,486 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 12%
- Peak
- 1574
They were already cooking in 2013, 10 years before Buckeye Flavor's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#1,485 of the rated field
- Contests
- 29
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 31%
- Peak
- 1593
Level with Buckeye Flavor 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sailor Nicks BBQ | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44% | ⚔ compare |
| SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| Bleacher Bums BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| GO BIG OR GO BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| KEVLAR BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Q-JITSU | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| iBQ'n | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Shiggin aint easy | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| BooyaQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| TIRE SMOKE BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| BO B Q BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Backdraft BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| CIRCLE L BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ Maestros | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Salted Anchor | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176.5716 | 163.3944 | 170.46 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 160.5372 | 169.02 | top 52% |
| Pork | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 177.1428 | 162.2516 | 170.96 | top 41% |
| Brisket | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 180 🔥 | 158.8228 | 172.75 | top 25% |
“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+) | 3 | 0 | top 28% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLBBQA Spring Fling | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 33% | Apr 18, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
3.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MI
5 of 11 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
8
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
11 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Opponents faced
161
finished ahead 213 times, behind 101
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- Peak power rating (1565) Grizzly BBQ Brawl
- Most recent contest Grizzly BBQ Brawl
20247 milestones
- First call GLBBQA Spring Fling
- First category win (Brisket) Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest
- First overall top-10 Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest
- First overall podium Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest
- Career-best overall score699.3716 Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest
- First Reserve Championship Grizzly BBQ Brawl
20232 milestones
- First tracked contest BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.9828 BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +18.1 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl | Sep 6, 2024 |
| +13 | Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest | May 24, 2024 |
| +11.8 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl | Sep 5, 2025 |
| +10.5 | GLBBQA Spring Fling | Apr 19, 2024 |
| +6.2 | Smoke in the Mitten | May 9, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.8 | BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport | Oct 13, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 80% | top 35% | 96.2% | 95.2% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 100% | top 28% | 97.1% | 95.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2025 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wellington, OH | 7 / 42 (692.5028) | 24 (170.8228) | 18 (169.6916) | 3 (177.1428) | 4 (174.8456) |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Buckhannon, WV | 13 / 30 (683.9544) | 10 (174.2744) | 20 (165.7028) | 16 (169.6800) | 4 (174.2972) |
| May 9, 2025 | Smoke in the Mitten 🏅 Westland, MI | 11 / 26 (681.0284) | 14 (169.6800) | 17 (166.2628) | 6 (174.2628) | 11 (170.8228) |
| May 9, 2025 | Smoke in the Mitten (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 13 (169.1200) | — | — |
| Apr 18, 2025 | GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI | 21 / 56 (685.0284) | 45 (166.2516) | 33 (167.9656) | 21 (173.1084) | 3 (177.7028) |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wadsworth, OH | 2 / 30 (693.1544) | 23 (165.1316) | 5 (176) | 2 (176) | 1 (176.0228) |
| May 24, 2024 | Big Knob BBQ & Brew Fest 🏅 Rochester, PA | 3 / 23 (699.3716) | 3 (176.5716) | 7 (171.9772) | 8 (170.8228) | 1 (180) |
| May 17, 2024 | Rockin' BBQ Warsaw (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 Warsaw, IN | — | — | 8 (175.4288) | — | — |
| May 3, 2024 | Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition 🏅 Westland, MI | 16 / 26 (670.7432) | 9 (173.1200) | 16 (167.3944) | 22 (162.2516) | 10 (167.9772) |
| Apr 19, 2024 | GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Charlotte, MI | 18 / 62 (687.3828) | 16 (174.8572) | 28 (169.1200) | 37 (169.1200) | 7 (174.2856) |
| Oct 13, 2023 | BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport 🏅 Wadsworth, OH | 17 / 20 (648.9828) | 17 (163.3944) | 19 (160.5372) | 13 (166.2284) | 19 (158.8228) |