They almost always walk
77%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 10 of 13 contests
A top-10 category call in 77% of their 13 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
DIGGERS BBQ
DIGGERS BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 13 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 4th of 14 at the Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (). They are ranked #3793 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Digger's BBQ” and “Digger;s BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1487
peak 1487 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
Sep 16, 2016
latest Jun 26, 2026 · 9.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
38% of 13 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s, still running
Avg finish
top 61%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
326.25 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 324.69 (+1.56)
Walk rate
77%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.83
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.86 · weakest Brisket (150.97)
Road miles
380
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 50 mi
Schedule strength
30%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1540)
Purse competed for
$21K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
623.01 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
324.69 / 360
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #229 (149 pts) | #207 (194 pts) | #265 (129 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #238 (170 pts) | #243 (170 pts) | #292 (140 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #179 (188 pts) | #217 (163 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #247 (72 pts) | #156 (152 pts) | — | — |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #2568 (52 pts) | #2565 (52 pts) | #1945 (72 pts) | #2021 (62 pts) | #2560 (52 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #2212 (60 pts) | #2286 (60 pts) | #2304 (60 pts) | #2260 (60 pts) | #2109 (85 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to DIGGERS BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
119 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,802 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 18%
- Peak
- 1504
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before DIGGERS BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,787 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1508
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,800 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
Level with DIGGERS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,798 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#3,776 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1488
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#3,796 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1487
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.62 BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Patti's Pit Stop | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| 2 B's BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ Pit Bros | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY GQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 142.1944 | 159.46 | top 53% |
| Pork Ribs | 13 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 179.4400 | 154.7884 | 164.86 | top 47% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9428 | 145.6912 | 152.51 | top 86% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2744 | 143.4400 | 150.97 | top 85% |
“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) | 5 | 0 | top 48% |
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 72% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 6 | 4 | 0 | top 47% | Jun 20, 2025 |
| Tri City BBQ Fest | 3 | 26 | 0 | top 89% | Sep 21, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 11 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IA
12 of 13 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
136
finished ahead 81 times, behind 155
Longest layoff
1.8 yrs
Sep 6, 2019 → Jun 19, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20231 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20221 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.8000 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (Backyard)
20181 milestone
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
20172 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)179.4400 Rib Fest 2017 (BACKYARD)
- Career-best overall score636.4804 Tri City BBQ Fest
20161 milestone
- Peak power rating (1491) Tri City BBQ Fest
—3 milestones
- First tracked contest Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First call Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.2 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 20, 2025 |
| +7.1 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 26, 2026 |
| +6.7 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (Backyard) | Jun 17, 2022 |
| +2.7 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 19, 2021 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | Tri City BBQ Fest | Sep 21, 2018 |
| -9.3 | Tri City BBQ Fest | Sep 16, 2016 |
| -7.1 | Tri City BBQ Fest | Sep 22, 2017 |
| -6.3 | Ribs, Rod & Rock'n Roll | Sep 6, 2019 |
| -3.8 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 21, 2024 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 29% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 37% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 25% | 94.5% | 94.5% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 71% | 89.8% | 89.8% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 67% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 38% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 50% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 90% | 87% | 87% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50% | top 96% | 85.4% | 85.4% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 81% | 88.4% | 88.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 88% | 85.2% | 85.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 7 / 19 (337.1316) | 4 (172) | 9 (165.1316) | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 5 / 20 (340.0232) | 5 (171.4400) | 8 (168.5832) | — | — |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 12 / 17 (323.3484) | 5 (168.5600) | 14 (154.7884) | — | — |
| Jun 23, 2023 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 10 / 15 (311.9428) | 13 (145.1084) | 5 (166.8344) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (Backyard) Sioux City, IA | 5 / 13 (330.8000) | 4 (166.8228) | 5 (163.9772) | — | — |
| Jun 19, 2021 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 11 / 22 (310.7544) | 20 (142.1944) | 7 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Sep 6, 2019 | Ribs, Rod & Rock'n Roll 🏅 Vermillion, SD | 26 / 29 (626.6288) | 13 (168.5600) | 23 (161.0972) | 27 (147.8972) | 27 (149.0744) |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 26 / 27 (615.2228) | 25 (151.4056) | 21 (158.2284) | 23 (156.5144) | 27 (149.0744) |
| Jun 22, 2018 | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | — | 14 (147.3944) | 1 (174.3316) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 30 / 37 (636.4804) | 34 (153.1316) | 30 (161.1316) | 28 (159.9428) | 20 (162.2744) |
| Jun 23, 2017 | Rib Fest 2017 (BACKYARD) Sioux, IA | — | 4 (164.0456) | 2 (179.4400) | — | — |
| Sep 16, 2016 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 30 / 34 (613.6912) | 10 (168.0344) | 25 (156.5256) | 31 (145.6912) | 32 (143.4400) |
| — | Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA | 4 / 14 (318.8112) | 7 (154.2512) | 2 (164.5600) | — | — |