High-water mark
681.6456
career-best overall
94.7% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 681.6456 at Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) — 94.7% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Jun 13, 2025
Smokin Big
Smokin Big is a competition barbecue team with 34 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 10th of 26 at the MN Masters BBQ (2025). They are ranked #5294 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1456
peak 1456 · rated over 28 contests
Contests
34
in the data
First seen
Mar 3, 2017
latest Aug 22, 2025 · 8.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
2
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
3% of 34 contests
Avg finish
top 68%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
675.60 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 655.23 (+20.36)
Walk rate
38%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.02
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.47 · weakest Pork (162.99)
Road miles
3,023
across 34 mapped stops · furthest 149 mi
Schedule strength
63%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1579)
Purse competed for
$200K
listed at 23 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 24 state-championship entries
Master avg
655.23 / 720
28 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 | #448 (426 pts) | #480 (471 pts) | #559 (381 pts) | #618 (271 pts) | #366 (611 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #701 (215 pts) | #806 (180 pts) | #656 (310 pts) | #731 (220 pts) | #493 (420 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #529 (341 pts) | #604 (311 pts) | #343 (740 pts) | #496 (411 pts) | #490 (401 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #625 (295 pts) | #688 (270 pts) | #286 (879 pts) | #368 (645 pts) | #695 (265 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #640 (240 pts) | #620 (270 pts) | #573 (334 pts) | #666 (240 pts) | #601 (295 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #639 (125 pts) | #696 (120 pts) | #383 (320 pts) | #706 (120 pts) | #614 (155 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1471 (120 pts) | #1593 (120 pts) | #1575 (120 pts) | #1578 (120 pts) | #1536 (120 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2012 (60 pts) | #1996 (60 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | #1990 (60 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1722 (120 pts) | #1745 (130 pts) | #1822 (120 pts) | #1799 (120 pts) | #1794 (120 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smokin Big, each with one reason worth a look.
127 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,278 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
2–1 in 3 shared contests (67% to Smokin Big)
These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — Smokin Big ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#5,288 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1456
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Smokin Big)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before Smokin Big's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5,281 of the rated field
- Contests
- 25
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
They've been 1505 at their best, 48 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#5,289 of the rated field
- Contests
- 24
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1507
Careers of much the same size, 24 contests to 34, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,276 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1456
22 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 9% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#5,314 of the rated field
- Contests
- 21
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1456
Level with Smokin Big 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOT DADDY'S BBQ | 28 | 1 | 27 | 4% | ⚔ compare |
| LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 25 | 0 | 25 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| NECTAR OF THE HOGS | 24 | 3 | 21 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| SIX BUTT BBQ | 22 | 6 | 16 | 27% | ⚔ compare |
| ACES HIGH BBQ | 21 | 4 | 17 | 19% | ⚔ compare |
| WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | 21 | 2 | 19 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Phoenix BBQ | 20 | 5 | 15 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| SPITFIRE | 20 | 2 | 18 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Son of a Boar BBQ | 20 | 1 | 19 | 5% | ⚔ compare |
| UGLY BABY BBQ | 19 | 6 | 13 | 32% | ⚔ compare |
| MACHETE BOYS BBQ | 19 | 4 | 15 | 21% | ⚔ compare |
| Ash Kickin' BBQ | 19 | 1 | 18 | 5% | ⚔ compare |
| WHEN PIGS DIE | 17 | 4 | 13 | 24% | ⚔ compare |
| RUB MY RACK | 17 | 2 | 15 | 12% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.8456 | 150.2972 | 164.30 | top 69% |
| Pork Ribs | 34 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 177.1428 | 146.2284 | 164.47 | top 59% |
| Pork | 28 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 176.5944 | 145.6456 | 162.99 | top 66% |
| Brisket | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 147.3716 | 164.07 | top 56% |
“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) | 8 | 0 | top 66% |
| Large (40+) | 20 | 0 | top 69% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 6 | 12 | 0 | top 63% | Jun 13, 2025 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 4 | 28 | 0 | top 84% | Jun 8, 2024 |
| Minnesota in May | 3 | 37 | 0 | top 70% | May 9, 2025 |
| Minnesota in May (Masters) | 3 | 26 | 0 | top 66% | May 13, 2022 |
| Minnesota in May | 2 | 49 | 0 | top 75% | May 11, 2018 |
| Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship | 2 | 41 | 0 | top 88% | Mar 2, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
7 contests
Contests a season
3.8
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
21 of 34 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
14
6 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
34 entries · 1 win · 7 calls
Opponents faced
502
finished ahead 448 times, behind 1,339
Longest layoff
1 yrs
Aug 23, 2019 → Aug 28, 2020
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- Career-best overall score681.6456 Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
- First overall top-10 MN Masters BBQ
- Most recent contest MN Masters BBQ
20231 milestone
- 25th tracked contest Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
20221 milestone
- First category win (Pork) Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
20211 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Minnesota in May
20203 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.2684 Minnesota in Mayaugust
- First call Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.1428 Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1
20172 milestones
- First tracked contest Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship
- Peak power rating (1491) Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.5 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 13, 2025 |
| +13 | Fire on Ice BBQ Championship | Feb 21, 2025 |
| +12.7 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off | Jul 15, 2022 |
| +10 | MN Masters BBQ | Aug 22, 2025 |
| +8.2 | Minnesota in May (Masters) | May 13, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.1 | Minnesota in May | May 10, 2019 |
| -9.8 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 1 | Jun 11, 2021 |
| -9.3 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship | Mar 2, 2018 |
| -9.2 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 | Jun 12, 2021 |
| -9.1 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship | Mar 3, 2017 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 45% | 94.7% | 94% |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 61% | 93.8% | 93.5% |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43% | top 70% | 94% | 91.9% |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 67% | top 61% | 93.5% | 92.5% |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 91.3% | 88.8% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 61% | 92.1% | 91.9% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 88.2% | 87.5% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 89% | 88.1% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 87% | 86.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2025 | MN Masters BBQ 🏅 Pierz, MN | 10 / 26 (674.2284) | 11 (169.7028) | 12 (168.5716) | 17 (167.4056) | 7 (168.5484) |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 12 / 36 (681.6456) | 10 (171.9656) | 9 (172.0344) | 32 (162.2400) | 4 (175.4056) |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 43 / 58 (670.7652) | 26 (171.4056) | 49 (165.1200) | 26 (171.4284) | 44 (162.8112) |
| Feb 21, 2025 | Fire on Ice BBQ Championship 🏅 Onamia, MN | 14 / 42 (679.3600) | 8 (174.8456) | 27 (164.5716) | 29 (165.6800) | 5 (174.2628) |
| Jun 8, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 28 / 37 (671.9772) | 34 (162.8684) | 17 (171.4516) | 33 (163.3944) | 7 (174.2628) |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 18 / 41 (671.8972) | 36 (163.3828) | 21 (165.7028) | 17 (167.3944) | 5 (175.4172) |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 37 / 58 (675.3600) | 42 (169.1084) | 39 (166.8688) | 43 (167.9772) | 23 (171.4056) |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 23 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Jul 28, 2023 | 7th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest 🏅 Emmetsburg, IA | 17 / 32 (676.5260) | 31 (162.2516) | 4 (174.2628) | 14 (171.4172) | 18 (168.5944) |
| Jun 10, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 34 / 40 (654.1256) | 33 (163.3828) | 5 (173.1200) | 36 (155.3828) | 31 (162.2400) |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 26 / 43 (657.5660) | 33 (162.2516) | 30 (162.8344) | 19 (168.5256) | 28 (163.9544) |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 14 (167.9772) | — | — |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Smokin in Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 23 / 29 (658.2288) | 21 (165.0856) | 24 (158.8688) | 18 (165.1200) | 10 (169.1544) |
| May 12, 2023 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 43 / 59 (662.7200) | 42 (166.2628) | 37 (165.1316) | 28 (168.5256) | 43 (162.8000) |
| May 12, 2023 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 38 (161.0972) | — | — |
| Jul 15, 2022 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off 🏅 Worthington, MN | 14 / 40 (673.0400) | 29 (166.2400) | 2 (175.4400) | 10 (171.4172) | 33 (159.9428) |
| Jul 15, 2022 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off (One Meat Ribs) Worthington, MN | — | — | 1 (176) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 29 / 37 (663.3144) | 19 (171.4056) | 35 (154.7888) | 1 (176.5944) | 28 (160.5256) |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 34 / 39 (653.5428) | 38 (155.9200) | 25 (164.5604) | 21 (167.9656) | 20 (165.0968) |
| May 13, 2022 | Minnesota in May (Masters) 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 26 / 59 (673.0856) | 36 (165.1084) | 10 (171.4516) | 9 (173.7028) | 43 (162.8228) |
| May 13, 2022 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) Cambridge, MN | — | — | 18 (164.5372) | — | — |
| Aug 20, 2021 | 13th Annual Big Island BBQ 🏅 Albert Lea, MN | 28 / 35 (657.5312) | 19 (168.5256) | 21 (163.9772) | 28 (161.0972) | 21 (163.9312) |
| Jun 12, 2021 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 🏅 West Salem, WI | 43 / 45 (628.3772) | 44 (158.8000) | 23 (163.9884) | 37 (158.2172) | 45 (147.3716) |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 1 🏅 West Salem, WI | 49 / 52 (616.3312) | 49 (154.8000) | 46 (155.3600) | 51 (149.6684) | 44 (156.5028) |
| May 7, 2021 | Minnesota in May 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 41 / 60 (655.3368) | 44 (163.3712) | 45 (160) | 42 (162.8456) | 18 (169.1200) |
| May 7, 2021 | Minnesota in May - One Meat Contest - Ribs Cambridge, MN | — | — | 23 (165.1084) | — | — |
| Oct 16, 2020 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 🏅 West Salem, WI | 24 / 40 (663.4628) | 29 (162.3200) | 2 (177.1428) | 31 (162.2972) | 30 (161.7028) |
| Aug 28, 2020 | Minnesota in Mayaugust 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 28 / 45 (659.2684) | 28 (166.8344) | 36 (159.9428) | 25 (165.1084) | 18 (167.3828) |
| Aug 23, 2019 | Big Island BBQ 🏅 Alberta Lea, MN | 41 / 50 (634.6856) | 42 (159.9428) | 39 (155.9544) | 37 (161.7028) | 35 (157.0856) |
| May 10, 2019 | Minnesota in May 🏅 | 49 / 57 (624.9488) | 46 (158.8344) | 51 (154.2056) | 57 (145.6456) | 27 (166.2632) |
| May 11, 2018 | Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN | 49 / 70 (640.9828) | 33 (166.2628) | 45 (160.5600) | 63 (154.8000) | 51 (159.3600) |
| Mar 2, 2018 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship Onamia, MN | 51 / 57 (627.9432) | 56 (150.2972) | 40 (161.1316) | 46 (159.9772) | 45 (156.5372) |
| May 12, 2017 | Minnesota in May Falcon Heights, MN | 57 / 71 (626.1940) | 23 (165.7256) | 59 (155.4056) | 66 (151.9428) | 55 (153.1200) |
| Mar 3, 2017 | Fire on Ice Barbecue World Championship Onamia, MN | 41 / 47 (614.1140) | 30 (163.4056) | 46 (146.2284) | 44 (146.2284) | 26 (158.2516) |