Goudas Barbecue

Goudas Barbecue is a competition barbecue team with 25 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) (2024), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1146 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,146

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1591

peak 1591 · rated over 14 contests4 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 22, 2023

latest Aug 9, 2025 · 1.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#68

Backyard 2025 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve · wins it all 4% of the time

Category wins

7 podiums

Overall top-10s

32% of 25 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s, still running

Avg finish

top 39%

overall standings

Best overall

690.2288 / 720

Master · Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

342.69 ▲

last 5 Backyard vs avg 340.52 (+2.18)

Walk rate

72%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1)

Consistency

±8.16

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 171.17 · weakest Brisket (164.66)

Road miles

1,551

across 25 mapped stops · furthest 516 mi

Schedule strength

83%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1609)

Purse competed for

$103K

listed at 15 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

won from 12 state-championship entries

Master avg

683.92 / 720

5 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

340.52 / 360

9 Backyard contests · 1 GC

Backyard (3-meat) avg

505.38 / 540

2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 (16 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The heartbreaker

2.2856 points from the title

Came within 2.2856 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) (Jul 26, 2025).

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

On the rise

+77 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 77 points across 9 contests since Aug 9, 2024 — from 1513 up to 1591.

9 contests since Aug 9, 2024
now 1591

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championship here

Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 1st
average top 13%

They almost always walk

72% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 18 of 25 contests

A top-10 category call in 72% of their 25 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

690.2288 career-best overall

95.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 690.2288 at Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle — 95.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 21, 2025

State champions

1 state championship won

They've taken 1 state championship from 12 entries at contests carrying the title.

12 state-championship entries

Show 9 more storylines

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Oink N' Doink BBQ has finished one call ahead of Goudas Barbecue 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

10–4 behind in the head-to-head

WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ ahead in 71% of their meetings

WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 14 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.5 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.51 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 45%.

Brisket avg 164.66
Chicken avg 171.17
0 calls in 5 entries

The drought

16 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) on Aug 10, 2024 — 16 contests and 2.1 years ago.

last GC Aug 10, 2024
2.1 years ago

A strong matchup

11–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 85% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Menke Boys BBQ in 11 of their 13 shared contests.

They cook the hard rooms

1609 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 83% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1609 power rating — a tougher draw than 83% of every rated contest in the data.

14 rated contests

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BLUE & GRAY BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 23% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 23% across 4 contests, versus top 39% the rest of the year.

4 August contests
top 39% the rest of the year

The metronome

±1.82% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.82% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.6% of a perfect score
25 contests

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
2025 ↗	Backyard	#68 (754 pts)	#84 (685 pts)	#56 (885 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Master	#428 (466 pts)	#216 (1,022 pts)	#255 (994 pts)	#417 (516 pts)	#574 (301 pts)
2024 ↗	Backyard	#99 (618 pts)	#87 (690 pts)	#71 (795 pts)	—	—
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#753 (212 pts)	#689 (272 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	#1204 (60 pts)
2023 ↗	Backyard	—	#220 (184 pts)	#184 (249 pts)	—	—

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Goudas Barbecue, each with one reason worth a look.

35 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

HOLY SMOKIN!!!

#1,153 of the rated field

1590 power rating

Contests: 37
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1590

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Goudas Barbecue)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Goudas Barbecue has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 36 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026
on a 5-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Flat Tire BBQ

#1,144 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 71%
Peak: 1591

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Aug 21, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Bourbon Barrel BBQ

#1,145 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1592

Fewer contests behind them than Goudas Barbecue has cooked, 16 to 25, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jan 22, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

BACK PORCH Q

#1,143 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 41%
Peak: 1591

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 11 years before Goudas Barbecue's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 16 contests

⚔ Compare careers

I.B.O.K. HOLY SMOKERS

#1,151 of the rated field

1590 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 73%
Peak: 1594

Level with Goudas Barbecue on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Aug 16, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS

#1,150 of the rated field

1590 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 39%
Peak: 1590

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 18 contests, alongside a 39% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Mar 19, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	14	3	10	21%	⚔ compare
Menke Boys BBQ	13	11	2	85%	⚔ compare
Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
Piggy & Swine BBQ	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
The Swine Doctor's BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
3 EYZ BBQ	12	6	5	50%	⚔ compare
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	12	5	6	42%	⚔ compare
RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
Optimus Swine	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
Buckshot's BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
HotMess BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
POOR BOYS BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
Troublemaker BBQ	10	9	1	90%	⚔ compare
BLUE & GRAY BBQ	10	7	3	70%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	20	9	2	3	180 🔥	158.8232	171.17	top 40%
Pork Ribs	21	11	0	4	176.0116	159.9428	170.84	top 35%
Pork	11	5	0	0	176.5600	161.0972	170.52	top 41%
Brisket	5	0	0	0	166.8228	162.8000	164.66	top 77%

“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)	10	1	top 41%
Large (40+)	6	0	top 35%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
VA	10	1	top 38%
PA	2	0	top 25%
DC	2	0	top 58%
TN	2	0	top 36%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	4	7	0	top 34%	Mar 22, 2025
Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)	2	1	1	top 13%	Aug 10, 2024
Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2)	2	8	0	top 34%	Aug 9, 2025
Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2	2	0	top 25%	Jul 26, 2025
Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle	2	10	0	top 58%	Jun 21, 2025
7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025)	2	9	0	top 36%	May 25, 2025

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 16 contests

Contests a season 8.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in VA 16 of 25 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 8 6 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 21 entries · 0 wins · 11 calls

First title Aug 10, 2024 Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)

Opponents faced 274 finished ahead 565 times, behind 322

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20257 milestones

Mar 21 10th tracked contest BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT RIBS)
Jun 21 Career-best overall score690.2288 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle
Jul 26 First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)
Aug 8 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1)
Aug 9 25th tracked contest Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2)
Aug 9 Peak power rating (1591) Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2)
Aug 9 Most recent contest Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2)

20245 milestones

Aug 9 First overall top-10 Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 1)
Aug 10 First category win (Chicken) Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)
Aug 10 First overall podium Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)
Aug 10 First Grand Championship Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)
Aug 10 First state championship Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)

20233 milestones

Sep 22 First tracked contest Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 22 First call Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score505.0976 Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+20.2	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2)	Aug 10, 2024
+15.8	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	Jul 26, 2025
+13.7	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 1)	Aug 9, 2024
+13.2	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	Mar 22, 2025
+8	Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1)	Aug 8, 2025

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-5.8	Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 2 (BACKYARD ONLY)	Sep 23, 2023
-2.8	Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle	Jun 22, 2024
-1.9	Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY)	Sep 22, 2023

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	16	0	6	1	63%	top 32%	97.3%	95.3%
2024	7	1	2	1	86%	top 36%	96.8%	93.7%
2023	2	0	0	0	100%	top 73%	93.6%	93.6%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 9, 2025	Triple Crown BBQ (Day 2) 🏅 Doswell, VA	9 / 25 (686.2400)	11 (173.7028)	12 (172.5600)	7 (175.4172)	20 (164.5600)
Aug 8, 2025	Triple Crown BBQ (Day 1) 🏅 Doswell, VA	8 / 25 (687.9544)	1 (180)	7 (171.9772)	15 (170.2628)	19 (165.7144)
Aug 8, 2025	Triple Crown BBQ (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Doswell, VA	—	8 (169.6800)	—	—	—
Aug 8, 2025	Triple Crown BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) Doswell, VA	—	—	4 (170.8228)	—	—
Jul 26, 2025	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	2 / 27 (347.9772)	4 (174.2628)	3 (173.7144)	—	—
Jul 25, 2025	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	13 / 30 (341.0972)	26 (165.0856)	2 (176.0116)	—	—
Jun 21, 2025	Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle 🏅 Washington, DC	10 / 26 (690.2288)	2 (179.4400)	15 (170.8344)	4 (176.5600)	18 (163.3944)
Jun 21, 2025	Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle (ONE MEAT RIBS) Washington, DC	—	—	14 (166.2744)	—	—
May 25, 2025	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	9 / 70 (350.2512)	10 (175.4056)	13 (174.8456)	—	—
May 24, 2025	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Saturday, May 24, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	63 / 106 (682.7312)	33 (175.4056)	75 (169.6800)	57 (170.8228)	79 (166.8228)
May 23, 2025	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Chicken (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	—	20 (173.1084)	—	—	—
May 23, 2025	7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN	—	—	17 (173.1200)	—	—
Mar 22, 2025	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	7 / 43 (345.0856)	6 (175.4056)	15 (169.6800)	—	—
Mar 21, 2025	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	19 / 45 (329.0628)	21 (162.8228)	14 (166.2400)	—	—
Mar 21, 2025	BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Urbanna, VA	—	15 (167.3828)	—	—	—
Mar 21, 2025	BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT RIBS) Urbanna, VA	—	—	5 (173.7144)	—	—
Aug 10, 2024	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) 🏅 Ashland, VA	1 / 28 (348.5600)	1 (177.7028)	2 (170.8572)	5 (171.9772)	—
Aug 9, 2024	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (Day 1) 🏅 Ashland, VA	6 / 27 (342.8000)	13 (169.6684)	3 (173.1316)	5 (173.1200)	—
Aug 9, 2024	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Ashland, VA	—	14 (169.6684)	—	—	—
Aug 9, 2024	Americamps BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Ashland, VA	—	—	8 (171.4172)	—	—
Jun 22, 2024	Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle 🏅 Washington, DC	28 / 36 (672.4228)	15 (174.2628)	10 (174.2628)	34 (161.0972)	31 (162.8000)
Mar 23, 2024	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	18 / 42 (329.0400)	21 (159.3484)	10 (169.6916)	11 (167.3828)	—
Mar 22, 2024	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	16 / 45 (330.7656)	9 (170.8228)	23 (159.9428)	14 (167.3828)	—
Sep 23, 2023	Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 2 (BACKYARD ONLY) Ashland, VA	16 / 20 (505.6572)	10 (171.4172)	17 (165.7144)	12 (168.5256)	—
Sep 22, 2023	Americamps BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 (BACKYARD ONLY) Ashland, VA	16 / 24 (505.0976)	22 (158.8232)	6 (173.1544)	10 (173.1200)	—

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

Goudas Barbecue

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (16 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Perfect scores on the board

On the rise

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

State champions

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

They cook the hard rooms

Looking over their shoulder

An August team

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)