A tough matchup
5–0
behind in the head-to-head
Sugba Smokehouse ahead in 100% of their meetings
Sugba Smokehouse has come out ahead in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
Firehouse 51
Firehouse 51 is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 13th of 16 at the Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026). They are ranked #3826 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1486
peak 1486 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
May 31, 2019
latest Aug 28, 2026 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 65%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
22%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±2.04
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 170.87 · weakest Pork (155.38)
Road miles
157
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 31 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$37K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
653.66 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
325.75 / 360
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1955 (60 pts) | #1796 (100 pts) | #2026 (60 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #1465 (135 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Firehouse 51, each with one reason worth a look.
139 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,821 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1515
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before Firehouse 51's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,848 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1517
They've been 1517 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#3,828 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,849 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Level with Firehouse 51 on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,842 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Firehouse 51's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,838 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Firehouse 51's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 309 BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Sugba Smokehouse | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 173.1316 | 161.0972 | 165.59 | top 57% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8228 | 152.5028 | 160.43 | top 75% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.3828 | 155.3828 | 155.38 | top 92% |
| Brisket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8684 | 170.8684 | 170.87 | top 28% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 81% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 62% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 5 | 13 | 0 | top 67% | Aug 28, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
2
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
145
finished ahead 64 times, behind 129
Longest layoff
4.2 yrs
May 31, 2019 → Aug 25, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20251 milestone
- Peak power rating (1495) Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown
20241 milestone
- Career-best single call (Chicken)173.1316 Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20193 milestones
- First call Up In Smoke on the Square
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.6572 Up In Smoke on the Square
- Career-best overall score653.6572 Up In Smoke on the Square
20171 milestone
- First tracked contest Up In smoke on the Square
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +1.6 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 23, 2024 |
| +1.1 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown | Jun 27, 2025 |
| +0.5 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 25, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8 | Up In Smoke on the Square | May 31, 2019 |
| -6.4 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 28, 2026 |
| -2.5 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 22, 2025 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 64% | 91.3% | 90.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 50% | 90.5% | 90.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 54% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 78% | 90.8% | 90.8% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 13 / 16 (327.3600) | 15 (162.2400) | 13 (165.1200) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 22 / 31 (324.4916) | 25 (161.0972) | 21 (163.3944) | — | — |
| Jun 27, 2025 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 15 / 26 (328.5028) | 17 (161.6800) | 14 (166.8228) | — | — |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 14 / 28 (325.6344) | 3 (173.1316) | 26 (152.5028) | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 14 / 26 (322.7428) | 12 (167.9656) | 21 (154.7772) | — | — |
| May 31, 2019 | Up In Smoke on the Square 🏅 Lincoln, IL | 28 / 36 (653.6572) | 17 (167.4516) | 27 (159.9544) | 33 (155.3828) | 10 (170.8684) |
| Jul 20, 2018 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Peoria, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Up In smoke on the Square ( WAIT LIST ONLY FOR JUDGES) Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |