Royal Smoke

Royal Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 30 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 16 at the East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship - Paola Roots Festival (2023). They are ranked #6359 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,359

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1397

peak 1397 · rated over 30 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 23, 2013

latest Aug 28, 2026 · 13 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#1192

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

3% of 30 contests

Avg finish

top 76%

overall standings

Best overall

671.3488 / 720

Master · Border War Barbeque

Perfect 180s

Current form

477.37 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 602.04 (-124.67)

Walk rate

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4516

Chicken · East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival

Consistency

±102.55

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 159.24 · weakest Brisket (152.97)

Road miles

2,342

across 30 mapped stops · furthest 481 mi

Schedule strength

39%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)

Purse competed for

$77K

listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 13 state-championship entries

Master avg

602.04 / 720

29 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

316.49 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 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.

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

High-water mark

671.3488 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 671.3488 at Border War Barbeque — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 25, 2019

Their season

2016 their best year

2016 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 65%.

4 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 65%

A tough matchup

17–0 behind in the head-to-head

B & C SMOKERS ahead in 100% of their meetings

B & C SMOKERS has come out ahead in 17 of their 17 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.26 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 7%.

Brisket avg 152.97
Chicken avg 159.24
0 calls in 28 entries

A strong matchup

6–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 86% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Two Fat Guys Burning Meat in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

The comeback

2.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.7 years, then back at The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship (Jun 24, 2022).

last seen Oct 25, 2019
back Jun 24, 2022

Chicken nemesis

16 of 16 shared chicken entries lost

Big Wigs BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Big Wigs BBQ has out-cooked them in 16 of 16 shared chicken entries.

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Laurie & The 4 Pigs has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Boom or bust

±14.03% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±14.03% 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 83.8% of a perfect score
best 93.2%

A standing appointment

7 years running at one contest

They've cooked East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival every year from 2013 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

8 visits in all
best finish 26th

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
2015 ↗	Master	#1192 (238 pts)	#1206 (253 pts)	#1184 (263 pts)	#1302 (238 pts)	#1242 (238 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Royal Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.

POKER SMOKERS

#6,358 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to Royal Smoke)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Royal Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Sep 20, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

BOAR-N-Q

#6,366 of the rated field

1396 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1396

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 28 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Sep 2, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

DOUBLE J SMOKERS

#6,360 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

Careers of much the same size, 21 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 21 contests
last seen Sep 6, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

2 SKINNY COOKS

#6,361 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Royal Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 21 contests

⚔ Compare careers

SMOKIN BIG DAWGS

#6,362 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jun 18, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS

#6,363 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

They turned up 5 years after Royal Smoke did, first appearing in 2018.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Jul 25, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
DUNN UP BBQ	17	8	9	47%	⚔ compare
BEAUX HAWG BBQ	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
B & C SMOKERS	17	0	17	0%	⚔ compare
Big Wigs BBQ	16	1	15	6%	⚔ compare
HIGH i QUE	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
Knights of the Holy Grill	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
Pork Pullers	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Four Men and A Pig	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
Griswold Grillers	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
Dead Last BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
FUNNY FARM BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
BALDIN' SMOKIN' BANDITOS	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
OLD STYLE BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
BULL CREEK BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
BREW 'N' BAR-B-QUE	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	30	2	175.4516	137.6228	159.24	top 65%
Pork Ribs	29	1	171.4056	20	153.31	top 69%
Pork	28	1	171.4400	139.4056	158.45	top 67%
Brisket	28	0	172.5600	133.0056	152.97	top 70%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 56%
Medium (20–39)	4	top 92%
Large (40+)	25	top 74%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	25	top 77%
MO	4	top 67%
AL	1	top 84%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival	8	26	top 76%	Aug 26, 2022
Border War Barbeque	3	23	top 73%	Oct 25, 2019
The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	2	94	top 75%	Jun 23, 2023
Table Rock Boats and Bones	2	27	top 84%	Sep 17, 2016
Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship	2	60	top 63%	Jun 24, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 6 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 12 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 25 of 30 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 18 5 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 30 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Opponents faced 878 finished ahead 620 times, behind 1,723

Longest layoff 2.7 yrs Oct 25, 2019 → Jun 24, 2022

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20261 milestone

Aug 28 Most recent contest East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival

20231 milestone

Aug 26 First overall top-10 East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship - Paola Roots Festival

20221 milestone

Aug 26 25th tracked contest East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival

20192 milestones

Oct 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score671.3488 Border War Barbeque
Oct 25 Career-best overall score671.3488 Border War Barbeque

20172 milestones

Aug 25 First call East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival
Aug 25 Career-best single call (Chicken)175.4516 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival

20161 milestone

Apr 22 10th tracked contest Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival

20132 milestones

Aug 23 First tracked contest East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival
Aug 23 Peak power rating (1489) East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.1	Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship	Jun 24, 2016
+7.9	Border War Barbeque	Oct 25, 2019
+7.3	East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship - Paola Roots Festival	Aug 26, 2023
+4.5	Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival	Apr 24, 2015
+4.3	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship	Jun 21, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.8	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	Jun 23, 2023
-11.2	Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship	Jun 26, 2015
-11.2	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival	Aug 23, 2013
-10.4	Border War Barbecue	Oct 25, 2013
-10.4	Sertoma 48 BBQ	May 8, 2015

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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	0	0%	top 100%	20.7%	20.7%
2025	1	0	0%	top 96%	83.7%	83.7%
2024	1	0	0%	top 81%	87.6%	87.6%
2023	2	1	50%	top 78%	92.4%	69.7%
2022	2	0	0%	top 56%	90.1%	90.1%
2019	4	0	0%	top 67%	93.2%	89.6%
2018	3	0	0%	top 80%	88.6%	86.2%
2017	3	0	33%	top 70%	89.6%	87.7%
2016	4	0	0%	top 65%	89.6%	88.5%
2015	6	0	0%	top 83%	89%	85.5%
2014	1	0	0%	top 88%	82.8%	82.8%
2013	2	0	0%	top 88%	86%	85.4%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 28, 2026	East Central State BBQ Cookoff - Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS	31 / 31 (149.1428)	27 (149.1428)	—	—	—
Aug 22, 2025	East Central State BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Paola, KS	26 / 27 (602.6288)	26 (150.2400)	21 (158.2172)	21 (161.1316)	26 (133.0400)
Aug 23, 2024	East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship 🏅 Paola, KS	34 / 42 (630.7316)	30 (162.8572)	34 (161.6800)	31 (162.8572)	38 (143.3372)
Aug 26, 2023	East Central Kansas State BBQ Championship - Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS	9 / 16 (665.5428)	9 (167.3828)	10 (167.3828)	8 (167.3944)	11 (163.3828)
Jun 23, 2023	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	166 / 167 (338.7888)	11 (173.7028)	167 (20)	—	148 (145.0860)
Aug 26, 2022	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off-Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS	26 / 45 (648.4228)	27 (165.1084)	39 (153.6688)	24 (167.4172)	25 (162.2284)
Jun 24, 2022	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	89 / 164 (649.0288)	31 (170.2744)	120 (155.9772)	72 (166.2744)	127 (156.5028)
Oct 25, 2019	Border War Barbeque 🏅 Osawatomie, KS	23 / 44 (671.3488)	35 (162.8344)	30 (164.5372)	12 (171.4172)	11 (172.5600)
Aug 23, 2019	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival 🏅 Paola, KS	53 / 66 (636.4916)	54 (158.8228)	54 (158.2400)	57 (156.5944)	34 (162.8344)
Jun 21, 2019	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	94 / 183 (640.5032)	152 (152.5028)	20 (171.4056)	127 (157.7488)	101 (158.8460)
Apr 26, 2019	Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY) Florence, AL	38 / 45 (316.4916)	16 (169.1200)	41 (147.3716)	16 (167.3712)	—
Oct 26, 2018	Border War Barbeque Osawatomie, KS	49 / 56 (633.0748)	20 (169.7144)	51 (156.5488)	54 (152.5372)	48 (154.2744)
Aug 24, 2018	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	43 / 67 (637.6348)	29 (162.8344)	52 (158.2400)	59 (150.2860)	18 (166.2744)
Jun 22, 2018	The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle Lenexa, KS	166 / 185 (591.8056)	171 (145.6912)	172 (142.7888)	68 (163.9656)	171 (139.3600)
Oct 27, 2017	Border War Barbeque Osawatomie, KS	37 / 46 (637.7144)	38 (161.1544)	23 (168.0228)	42 (155.4284)	36 (153.1088)
Aug 25, 2017	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	31 / 57 (645.0516)	4 (175.4516)	43 (155.3828)	45 (157.1200)	43 (157.0972)
Jun 23, 2017	Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	141 / 184 (612.4344)	173 (145.0972)	104 (158.8572)	13 (171.4400)	173 (137.0400)
Sep 17, 2016	Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO	37 / 43 (642.7316)	38 (159.3944)	16 (169.1200)	25 (166.3200)	41 (147.8972)
Aug 26, 2016	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off, Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	52 / 61 (620.4116)	49 (156.5144)	51 (153.6572)	55 (149.7028)	30 (160.5372)
Jun 24, 2016	Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	60 / 183 (645.0056)	143 (151.3600)	86 (160.5028)	50 (165.7256)	33 (167.4172)
Apr 22, 2016	Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	33 / 61 (639.2684)	17 (167.9772)	40 (155.9428)	51 (150.7884)	20 (164.5600)
Sep 19, 2015	Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO	27 / 33 (625.0628)	22 (164.6056)	30 (153.6916)	25 (161.1084)	31 (145.6572)
Aug 28, 2015	East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	61 / 65 (600.4688)	59 (150.2744)	28 (163.9772)	62 (146.2856)	64 (139.9316)
Jun 26, 2015	Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS	170 / 183 (595.1424)	176 (137.6228)	81 (160.5484)	61 (163.9656)	176 (133.0056)
May 8, 2015	Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS	42 / 45 (607.8740)	45 (149.1200)	20 (163.9656)	42 (152.5484)	44 (142.2400)
Apr 24, 2015	Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	29 / 63 (641.0744)	13 (170.2972)	44 (151.9544)	21 (165.6800)	40 (153.1428)
Apr 17, 2015	VFW Post 846 7th Annual BBQ Challenge Overland Park, KS	42 / 47 (625.5316)	30 (162.8344)	37 (154.8344)	44 (150.7656)	39 (157.0972)
Aug 22, 2014	East Central State BBQ Cook Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	61 / 69 (595.9428)	55 (152)	65 (143.9772)	66 (141.0856)	27 (158.8800)
Oct 25, 2013	Border War Barbecue Osawatomie, KS	24 / 27 (619.4060)	27 (150.2972)	12 (164.5828)	24 (154.2744)	21 (150.2516)
Aug 23, 2013	East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS	59 / 68 (610.8456)	25 (162.8572)	53 (150.8800)	67 (139.4056)	41 (157.7028)

Royal Smoke

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

High-water mark

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

Boom or bust

A standing appointment

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)