The comeback
2.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.8 years, then back at Hoosier BBQ Classic (ONE MEAT RIBS) (2023-06-09).
- last seen 2020-08-14
- back 2023-06-09
The Bearded Pig
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1479
peak 1479 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2020-08-14
latest 2025-08-09
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 86%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.68 · weakest Brisket (158.53)
Road miles
583
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 462 mi
Schedule strength
79%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1602)
Purse competed for
$19K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
638.70 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
329.66 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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 (1 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.
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.
The Bearded Pig has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 145 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#4166 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4205 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1511 at their best, 33 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4209 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
No shared contest yet.
Level with The Bearded Pig on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4169 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before The Bearded Pig's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4186 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2015, 5 years before The Bearded Pig's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4190 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1479
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before The Bearded Pig's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8228 | 159.3944 | 161.49 | top 88% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 152.5372 | 161.68 | top 75% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2284 | 155.9772 | 159.10 | top 90% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.0972 | 155.9544 | 158.53 | top 80% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 78% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5 yrs
2020-08-14 → 2025-08-09
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IN
3 of 5 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
5 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 161.68 · weakest Brisket (158.53)
Walk rate
40%
a top-10 call in 2 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 5 contests
Master average
638.70
out of 720 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
329.66
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
108
14–94 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
583
5 mapped stops · furthest 462 mi
Schedule strength
1602
average field rating faced — tougher than 79% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$18,550
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2.8 yrs
2020-08-14 → 2023-06-09
Power rating
1479
peak 1479 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2020
- First tracked contest Front Porch Rib Fest
- First call Front Porch Rib Fest
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.6856 BBQ & Fly in on the River
- Career-best overall score650.6856 BBQ & Fly in on the River
- Peak power rating (1494) BBQ & Fly in on the River
- 2025
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)170.2628 Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.8 | Hoosier BBQ Classic #1 | 2023-06-09 |
| -6.3 | Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-08-09 |
| -6 | BBQ & Fly in on the River | 2020-08-14 |
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 | 100% | top 78% | 91.6% | 91.6% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 87% | 87% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 85% | 90.4% | 90.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-09 | Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY) Warsaw, IN | 14 / 18 (329.6572) | 16 (159.3944) | 7 (170.2628) | — | — |
| 2023-06-09 | Hoosier BBQ Classic #1 🏅 Franklin, IN | 36 / 38 (626.7088) | 33 (162.2400) | 37 (152.5372) | 34 (155.9772) | 35 (155.9544) |
| 2023-06-09 | Hoosier BBQ Classic (ONE MEAT RIBS) Franklin, IN | — | — | 15 (155.9428) | — | — |
| 2020-08-14 | BBQ & Fly in on the River 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO | 47 / 55 (650.6856) | 48 (162.8228) | 43 (164.5372) | 50 (162.2284) | 37 (161.0972) |
| 2020-07-05 | Front Porch Rib Fest Kansas City, MO | — | — | 10 (165.0972) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 ↗ | Master | — | — | #753 (116 pts) | — | — |