The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
BIG WOOD has finished one call ahead of Making BBQ Great Again 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Making BBQ Great Again
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1429
peak 1429 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
2017-08-25
latest 2026-08-28
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 95%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
573.65 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 578.50 (-4.85)
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±57.12
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 157.29 · weakest Brisket (140.85)
Road miles
2,937
mi across 9 mapped stops · furthest 979 mi
Schedule strength
52%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)
Purse competed for
$19K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
578.50 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
302.25 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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.
Storylines (6 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.
A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Smokey and the Brisket ahead in 100% of their meetings
Smokey and the Brisket has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
The weak link
−16.4
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 16.43 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 140.85
- Pork avg 157.29
- 0 calls in 5 entries
The comeback
4 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4 years, then back at East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival (2022-08-26).
- last seen 2018-08-24
- back 2022-08-26
Looking over their shoulder
2×
one call behind them
Two Fat Guys Burnin' Meat has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Boom or bust
±7.45%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±7.45% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
- averages 80.9% of a perfect score
- best 85.8%
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.
46 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6055 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1429
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to Making BBQ Great Again)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Making BBQ Great Again has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#6049 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Making BBQ Great Again's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#6044 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#6039 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1430
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than Making BBQ Great Again has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#6041 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
No shared contest yet.
Level with Making BBQ Great Again on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#6053 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1429
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2017.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Smoke | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokey and the Brisket | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 164.5716 | 142.8344 | 151.24 | top 87% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2516 | 145.0628 | 152.37 | top 84% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.2744 | 139.8856 | 157.29 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.3828 | 121.0056 | 140.85 | top 92% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 89% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 93% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 97% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival | 3 | 45 | 0 | top 98% | 2022-08-26 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
9 yrs
2017-08-25 → 2026-08-28
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
KS
7 of 9 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 157.29 · weakest Brisket (140.85)
Walk rate
11%
a top-10 call in 1 of 9 contests
Overall top-10 rate
11%
1 of 9 contests
Master average
578.50
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
302.25
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
171
11–260 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
2,937
9 mapped stops · furthest 979 mi
Schedule strength
1567
average field rating faced — tougher than 52% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$18,650
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
4 yrs
2018-08-24 → 2022-08-26
Power rating
1429
peak 1429 · #6046 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2017
- First tracked contest 4th Annual Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition
- Peak power rating (1486) *East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival
- 2023
- First call East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival
- First overall top-10 East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival
- 2024
- Career-best overall score617.5316 East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship
- 2026
- Career-best single call (Pork)166.2744 East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival
- Most recent contest East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.7 | *East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival | 2017-08-25 |
| -11.8 | *East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival | 2018-08-24 |
| -11.8 | East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival | 2022-08-26 |
| -8.8 | East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship | 2024-08-23 |
| -8.7 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival | 2026-08-28 |
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 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 85.3% | 85.3% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 85.1% | 85.1% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 85.8% | 85.8% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 89% | 84% | 84% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 63.4% | 63.4% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 78.8% | 78.8% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 83.7% | 83.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-28 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS | 29 / 31 (614.1256) | 28 (147.4056) | 30 (145.0628) | 20 (166.2744) | 26 (155.3828) |
| 2025-08-22 | East Central State BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Paola, KS | 25 / 27 (612.8804) | 23 (155.9544) | 25 (150.2172) | 24 (154.7772) | 23 (151.9316) |
| 2024-08-23 | East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship 🏅 Paola, KS | 40 / 42 (617.5316) | 27 (164.5716) | 26 (166.2516) | 28 (165.7028) | 42 (121.0056) |
| 2023-08-25 | East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship (BACKYARD) - Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS | 8 / 9 (302.2516) | 8 (151.9544) | 8 (150.2972) | — | — |
| 2022-08-26 | East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS | 45 / 45 (456.5028) | 39 (151.9772) | 44 (146.2856) | 34 (158.2400) | — |
| 2018-08-24 | *East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS | 64 / 67 (567.2004) | 64 (143.9772) | 63 (147.3832) | 66 (139.8856) | 63 (135.9544) |
| 2018-04-27 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lenexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-08-25 | *East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS | 56 / 57 (602.7772) | 56 (142.8344) | 33 (161.1084) | 42 (158.8456) | 54 (139.9888) |
| 2017-04-28 | 4th Annual Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lanexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |