High-water mark
697.6572
career-best overall
96.9% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 697.6572 at Montana Pitmaster Classic — 96.9% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2026-08-28
Smoke On The Waters
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1534
peak 1534 · rated over 4 contests ⓘ
Contests
4
in the data
First seen
2024-08-23
latest 2026-08-28
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 4 contests
Avg finish
top 32%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
686.35
last 4 Master vs avg 686.35 (+0.00)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.92
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.83 · weakest Brisket (170.56)
Road miles
158
mi across 4 mapped stops · furthest 59 mi
Schedule strength
49%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)
Purse competed for
$49K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
686.35 / 720
4 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.
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ has finished one call ahead of Smoke On The Waters 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
SMELLAQUE ahead in 100% of their meetings
SMELLAQUE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
A strong matchup
4–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of BIG BOYZ BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
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.
Smoke On The Waters has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 66 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#2089 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1535
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Smoke On The Waters's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2090 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1534
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 4, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2097 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1539
No shared contest yet.
Level with Smoke On The Waters on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2088 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1535
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 10 years before Smoke On The Waters's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#2091 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1534
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 12 years before Smoke On The Waters's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2095 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 22%
- Peak
- 1547
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 9 contests, alongside a 22% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2744 | 169.6800 | 172.83 | top 36% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 177.1544 | 160.5028 | 170.69 | top 36% |
| Pork | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.8572 | 169.6800 | 172.27 | top 36% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 174.8800 | 163.9772 | 170.56 | top 46% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Pitmaster Classic | 3 | 8 | 0 | top 28% | 2026-08-28 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2 yrs
2024-08-23 → 2026-08-28
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MT
4 of 4 contests
Contests visited
2
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
4 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 172.83 · weakest Brisket (170.56)
Walk rate
75%
a top-10 call in 3 of 4 contests
Overall top-10 rate
25%
1 of 4 contests
Master average
686.35
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
84
102–43 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
158
4 mapped stops · furthest 59 mi
Schedule strength
1564
average field rating faced — tougher than 49% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$49,375
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
1 yrs
2025-08-22 → 2026-08-28
Power rating
1534
peak 1534 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2024
- First tracked contest Montana Pitmaster Classic
- First call Montana Pitmaster Classic
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score685.0860 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.1544 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- 2026
- First overall top-10 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Career-best overall score697.6572 Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Peak power rating (1534) Montana Pitmaster Classic
- Most recent contest Montana Pitmaster Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.4 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2026-08-28 |
| +7.9 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2025-08-22 |
| +7.7 | Montana Pitmaster Classic | 2024-08-23 |
| +6.1 | Montana BBQ Cookoff | 2025-06-13 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 21% | 96.9% | 96.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 37% | 95.8% | 94.6% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 33% | 95.2% | 95.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 8 / 39 (697.6572) | 18 (173.1200) | 7 (175.4172) | 8 (174.8572) | 16 (174.2628) |
| 2025-08-22 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 12 / 38 (689.6456) | 12 (174.2628) | 23 (169.6800) | 20 (170.8228) | 11 (174.8800) |
| 2025-06-13 | Montana BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Absarokee, MT | 14 / 33 (673.0056) | 16 (169.6800) | 17 (160.5028) | 6 (173.7028) | 14 (169.1200) |
| 2024-08-23 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 13 / 39 (685.0860) | 7 (174.2744) | 6 (177.1544) | 20 (169.6800) | 28 (163.9772) |