A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
309 BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
309 BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
Dead End BBQ
Dead End BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 9th of 36 at the Up In Smoke on the Square (2019). They are ranked #3897 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1513 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
May 31, 2019
latest Aug 22, 2025 · 6.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
11% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
318.22 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 313.73 (+4.50)
Walk rate
11%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±9.14
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 157.44 · weakest Pork Ribs (156.29)
Road miles
213
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 73 mi
Schedule strength
29%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1539)
Purse competed for
$30K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
313.73 / 360
7 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Dead End BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
159 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,876 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,913 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Dead End BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,883 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1502
Level with Dead End BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,895 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1502
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 8 contests, alongside a 13% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#3,924 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,914 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Dead End BBQ'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 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Rudes BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1084 | 148.5716 | 157.44 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 163.9772 | 150.2744 | 156.29 | top 55% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
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) | 4 | 9 | 0 | top 67% | Aug 22, 2025 |
| Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 58% | Jun 17, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
3
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
174
finished ahead 109 times, behind 136
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
Jul 19, 2019 → Jun 17, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Career-best single call (Chicken)165.1084 Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20232 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score325.6916 Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best overall score325.6916 Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20193 milestones
- First call Up In Smoke on the Square
- First overall top-10 Up In Smoke on the Square
- Peak power rating (1513) Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown
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 |
|---|---|---|
| +8 | Up In Smoke on the Square | May 31, 2019 |
| +4.6 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown | Jul 19, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.6 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 25, 2023 |
| -8.1 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 23, 2024 |
| -5.5 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 22, 2025 |
| -2.8 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) | Jun 17, 2022 |
| -0.6 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 17, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 87.9% | 87.9% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 88.4% | 88.4% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 70% | 90.5% | 87.9% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 61% | 89.8% | 89.8% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 29% | 85% | 84% |
| 2018 | 1 | 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 22, 2025 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 25 / 31 (316.4912) | 22 (165.1084) | 26 (151.3828) | — | — |
| Aug 23, 2024 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 22 / 28 (318.2288) | 24 (154.2516) | 18 (163.9772) | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 22 / 26 (307.2916) | 20 (156.5144) | 22 (150.7772) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2023 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 18 / 33 (325.6916) | 17 (164) | 17 (161.6916) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) Morris, IL | 14 / 23 (323.4060) | 16 (161.7144) | 12 (161.6916) | — | — |
| Jul 19, 2019 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Peoria, IL | 13 / 40 (306.1256) | 13 (151.9084) | 14 (154.2172) | — | — |
| May 31, 2019 | Up In Smoke on the Square 🏅 Lincoln, IL | 9 / 36 (298.8460) | 11 (148.5716) | 6 (150.2744) | — | — |
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — |