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
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1513 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
2019-05-31
latest 2025-08-22
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
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
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 157.44 · weakest Pork Ribs (156.29)
Road miles
213
mi 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 🏅
GCs in 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.
Storylines (2 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 comeback
2.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.9 years, then back at Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) (2022-06-17).
- last seen 2019-07-19
- back 2022-06-17
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.
150 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3870 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1505
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3914 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head#3901 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-head#3867 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
Level with Dead End BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3877 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
3 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Head-to-head#3906 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than Dead End BBQ has cooked, 6 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar 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% |
| Pork | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 64% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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% | 2025-08-22 |
| Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 58% | 2023-06-17 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
6.2 yrs
2019-05-31 → 2025-08-22
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
9 of 9 contests
Contests visited
3
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 157.44 · weakest Pork Ribs (156.29)
Walk rate
11%
a top-10 call in 1 of 9 contests
Overall top-10 rate
11%
1 of 9 contests
Backyard average
313.73
out of 360 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
174
109–136 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
213
9 mapped stops · furthest 73 mi
Schedule strength
1539
average field rating faced — tougher than 29% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$29,625
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
2019-07-19 → 2022-06-17
Power rating
1485
peak 1513 · #3892 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2017
- First tracked contest Up In smoke on the Square
- 2019
- 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
- 2023
- 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)
- 2025
- 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)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8 | Up In Smoke on the Square | 2019-05-31 |
| +4.7 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown | 2019-07-19 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.6 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-08-25 |
| -8.1 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-08-23 |
| -5.5 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-08-22 |
| -2.8 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) | 2022-06-17 |
| -0.6 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-06-17 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-22 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 25 / 31 (316.4912) | 22 (165.1084) | 26 (151.3828) | — | — |
| 2024-08-23 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 22 / 28 (318.2288) | 24 (154.2516) | 18 (163.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-08-25 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 22 / 26 (307.2916) | 20 (156.5144) | 22 (150.7772) | — | — |
| 2023-06-17 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 18 / 33 (325.6916) | 17 (164.0000) | 17 (161.6916) | — | — |
| 2022-06-17 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (Backyard) Morris, IL | 14 / 23 (323.4060) | 16 (161.7144) | 12 (161.6916) | — | — |
| 2019-07-19 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Peoria, IL | 13 / 40 (306.1256) | 13 (151.9084) | 14 (154.2172) | — | — |
| 2019-05-31 | Up In Smoke on the Square 🏅 Lincoln, IL | 9 / 36 (298.8460) | 11 (148.5716) | 6 (150.2744) | — | — |
| 2018-06-01 | *Up In smoke on the Square( WAIT LIST ONLY FOR JUDGES) Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017-06-02 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |