Happy hunting ground
Top 20%
average finish here
Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship is their spot: an average finish in the top 20% across 2 visits.
- 2 visits
- best finish 4th
- average top 20%
Just Katie
Just Katie is a competition barbecue team with 14 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 16 at the Smoke, Wind & Fire (2021). They are ranked #1672 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1554
peak 1554 · rated over 13 contests
Contests
14
in the data
First seen
Jul 10, 2021
latest Aug 30, 2025 · 4.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
8 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
43% of 14 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 35%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
675.39
last 5 Master vs avg 674.96 (+0.43)
Walk rate
93%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.34
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.33 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.47)
Road miles
2,111
across 14 mapped stops · furthest 491 mi
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Purse competed for
$5,000
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
Master avg
674.96 / 720
11 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
321.99 / 360
2 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)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #473 (404 pts) | #548 (374 pts) | #602 (334 pts) | #598 (294 pts) | #512 (374 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Just Katie, each with one reason worth a look.
50 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,671 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1558
Careers of much the same size, 15 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,660 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1554
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,662 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1556
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Just Katie's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,678 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1553
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Just Katie's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#1,667 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1571
Level with Just Katie on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,677 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1553
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kreiser Barbecue | 13 | 5 | 8 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Homestead Smoke Shack | 12 | 4 | 7 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SMELLAQUE | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Fire BBQ | 11 | 9 | 2 | 82% | ⚔ compare |
| Mark's Meats and Treats | 10 | 10 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Bad to the Brisket | 10 | 6 | 4 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Brisket Butts | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| MOTLEY QUE | 9 | 8 | 1 | 89% | ⚔ compare |
| ROKER Q | 9 | 8 | 1 | 89% | ⚔ compare |
| HOME COOKIN' BBQ | 9 | 6 | 3 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| Slam Dunk BBQ | 9 | 5 | 4 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| Q Cartel | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Murfy's BBQ Co. | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Rack Addicts BBQ Team | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 13 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 178.8572 | 161.7144 | 171.33 | top 30% |
| Pork Ribs | 13 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 173.1428 | 151.3944 | 164.47 | top 46% |
| Pork | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 171.9772 | 163.4400 | 168.45 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 174.2856 | 155.9656 | 168.20 | top 38% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 30% |
| Medium (20–39) | 10 | 0 | top 36% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 38% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbeque on the Bow Festival | 3 | 4 | 0 | top 27% | Aug 30, 2025 |
| Didsbury Lions BBQ | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 50% | Jul 26, 2025 |
| Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 20% | May 24, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
5 contests
Contests a season
2.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AB
12 of 14 contests · 2 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
9
3 of them more than once
Opponents faced
145
finished ahead 260 times, behind 150
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- Career-best overall score687.3712 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Peak power rating (1554) Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Most recent contest Barbeque on the Bow Festival
20241 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Barbeque on the Bow Festival
20231 milestone
- Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
20222 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) Barbeque on the Bow
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score328.0232 Barbeque on the Bow
20214 milestones
- First tracked contest Smoke, Wind & Fire
- First call Smoke, Wind & Fire
- First overall top-10 Smoke, Wind & Fire
- First overall podium Smoke, Wind & Fire
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.6 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | May 24, 2025 |
| +10.6 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival | Aug 30, 2025 |
| +9.7 | Smoke, Wind & Fire | Jul 10, 2021 |
| +8.5 | Barbeque on the Bow | Sep 3, 2022 |
| +7.7 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | May 25, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -3.9 | Smokey Skies BBQ Competition | Jun 21, 2025 |
| -2 | Small Town Smoke Down | Jun 8, 2024 |
| -1.4 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival | Sep 2, 2023 |
| -0.6 | Didsbury Lions BBQ | Jul 27, 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 95.5% | 93.8% |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 41% | 94.7% | 93.7% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 94.6% | 93.7% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50% | top 17% | 91.1% | 91.1% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 19% | 87.8% | 87.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2025 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 4 / 38 (687.3712) | 8 (173.1200) | 10 (171.4056) | 12 (171.4056) | 7 (171.4400) |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 15 / 32 (671.3484) | 7 (172) | 9 (171.4056) | 17 (168.5256) | 24 (159.4172) |
| Jun 21, 2025 | Smokey Skies BBQ Competition Kipling, SK | 18 / 27 (659.3596) | 24 (162.2628) | 24 (164.5484) | 21 (163.4400) | 8 (169.1084) |
| May 24, 2025 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 4 / 34 (684.0112) | 3 (174.2628) | 9 (168.5828) | 9 (168.5828) | 7 (172.5828) |
| Aug 31, 2024 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 12 / 35 (681.0968) | 15 (170.2856) | 7 (173.1428) | 24 (165.1200) | 12 (172.5484) |
| Aug 31, 2024 | Prairie Dog on the Bow Calgary, AB | 12 / 24 (674.8688) | 23 (161.7144) | 10 (168.6060) | 9 (170.2628) | 3 (174.2856) |
| Jul 27, 2024 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 15 / 28 (666.7768) | 7 (171.4172) | 26 (155.9428) | 16 (166.8112) | 7 (172.6056) |
| Jun 8, 2024 | Small Town Smoke Down Bassano, AB | 10 / 27 (668.4684) | 8 (170.8228) | 25 (157.7028) | 14 (169.1200) | 9 (170.8228) |
| May 25, 2024 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 11 / 39 (681.7260) | 3 (177.1544) | 17 (165.1544) | 13 (171.9772) | 15 (167.4400) |
| Sep 2, 2023 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 15 / 40 (668.4568) | 2 (178.8572) | 24 (165.6800) | 17 (167.9540) | 25 (155.9656) |
| Jul 20, 2023 | Smoke, Wind & Fire Raymond, AB | 5 / 12 (681.1084) | 3 (174.8572) | 3 (172.5944) | 7 (169.7028) | 8 (163.9540) |
| Sep 3, 2022 | Barbeque on the Bow Calgary, AB | 6 / 36 (328.0232) | 1 (176.0116) | 7 (152.0116) | — | — |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta Bassano, AB | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 10, 2021 | Smoke, Wind & Fire Lethbridge | 3 / 16 (315.9544) | 3 (164.5600) | 5 (151.3944) | — | — |