LICENSE TO GRILL

LICENSE TO GRILL is a competition barbecue team with 16 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 16th of 25 at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition (2021). They are ranked #6075 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,075

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1431

peak 1431 · rated over 16 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 22, 2018

latest Aug 1, 2025 · 7.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#832

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

0% of 16 contests

Avg finish

top 76%

overall standings

Best overall

661.2116 / 720

Master · All American BBQ Throwdown

Perfect 180s

Current form

650.67 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 636.75 (+13.92)

Walk rate

13%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

169.7256

Chicken · Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown

Consistency

±17.03

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.20 · weakest Brisket (157.20)

Road miles

1,511

across 16 mapped stops · furthest 171 mi

Schedule strength

57%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1572)

Purse competed for

$82K

listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 12 state-championship entries

Master avg

636.75 / 720

16 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (9 found in their record)

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

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

S & G BBQ has finished one call ahead of LICENSE TO GRILL 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

16–0 behind in the head-to-head

iBQ'n ahead in 100% of their meetings

iBQ'n has come out ahead in 16 of their 16 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.0 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.00 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 6%.

Brisket avg 157.20
Chicken avg 163.20
0 calls in 16 entries

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of HASHTAG BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

14 of 16 shared chicken entries lost

iBQ'n ahead 88% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, iBQ'n has out-cooked them in 14 of 16 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Heritage Q has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 61% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 61% across 3 contests, versus top 76% the rest of the year.

3 September contests
top 76% the rest of the year

Show 2 more storylines

The metronome

±2.36% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.36% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.4% of a perfect score
16 contests

A standing appointment

6 years running at one contest

They've cooked All American BBQ Throwdown every year from 2020 to 2025 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 25th

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 ↗	Master	#1148 (60 pts)	#1221 (60 pts)	#1250 (75 pts)	#1190 (60 pts)	#1190 (60 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#1152 (85 pts)	#1296 (65 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	#1082 (90 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#1255 (60 pts)	#1257 (75 pts)	#1276 (100 pts)	#1287 (60 pts)	#1296 (60 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#1309 (60 pts)	#1341 (60 pts)	#1404 (60 pts)	#1348 (60 pts)	#1333 (60 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#832 (152 pts)	#916 (137 pts)	#945 (142 pts)	#728 (207 pts)	#823 (172 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#872 (70 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#838 (345 pts)	#688 (495 pts)	#803 (400 pts)	#792 (405 pts)	#799 (400 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1331 (175 pts)	#1054 (280 pts)	#1397 (175 pts)	#1238 (210 pts)	#1115 (255 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to LICENSE TO GRILL, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Drum Smoke BBQ

#6,068 of the rated field

1431 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1431

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to LICENSE TO GRILL)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team LICENSE TO GRILL has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Sep 11, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Meatheads

#6,082 of the rated field

1430 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1430

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Sep 27, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

REVIN IT UP BBQ

#6,077 of the rated field

1431 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1431

Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 5 years before LICENSE TO GRILL's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 17 contests

⚔ Compare careers

BLACKOUT BBQ

#6,080 of the rated field

1431 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

Careers of much the same size, 15 contests to 16, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Mar 27, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

2 GREEKS BBQ

#6,076 of the rated field

1431 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1431

15 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Sep 13, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

4 K'S BBQ

#6,083 of the rated field

1430 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1430

They were already cooking in 2013, 5 years before LICENSE TO GRILL's first contest.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Jun 16, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
iBQ'n	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
KEVLAR BBQ	15	0	15	0%	⚔ compare
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
BAD HABIT BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
Q-JITSU	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
Mac Attack BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
FIREHOUSE SMOKE	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
Heritage Q	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
BO B Q BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
PapaDads BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
BAD WOLF BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
AWW HELL	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
DETROIT PIGSKIN BARBEQUE	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
S & G BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
B&R SMOKE	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	16	1	169.7256	153.0628	163.20	top 62%
Pork Ribs	16	0	169.7028	135.4172	157.55	top 72%
Pork	16	1	167.4172	149.0628	158.80	top 70%
Brisket	16	0	165.7372	134.8000	157.20	top 68%

“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)	8	0	top 76%
Large (40+)	8	0	top 76%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MI	14	0	top 75%
IN	2	0	top 86%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
All American BBQ Throwdown	6	25	0	top 78%	Aug 1, 2025

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 5 contests

Contests a season 2 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in MI 14 of 16 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 11 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 237 finished ahead 144 times, behind 479

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

20251 milestone

Aug 1 Most recent contest All American BBQ Throwdown

20241 milestone

Aug 2 Career-best overall score661.2116 All American BBQ Throwdown

20201 milestone

Aug 7 10th tracked contest All American BBQ Throwdown

20192 milestones

Aug 2 Career-best single call (Chicken)169.7256 Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown
Sep 13 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.8344 Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival

20183 milestones

Jun 22 First tracked contest 10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off
Jun 22 Peak power rating (1491) 10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off
Oct 12 First call Smoke & Ale Fall Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+2	Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival	Sep 14, 2018
+0.3	All American BBQ Throwdown	Aug 2, 2024
+0.2	All American BBQ Throwdown	Aug 5, 2022

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.3	10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off	Jun 22, 2018
-9	Rockin BBQ	May 10, 2019
-7.4	Westland Area Jaycee's All American BBQ Throwdown	Aug 3, 2018
-6.9	All American BBQ Throwdown	Aug 1, 2025
-6.2	All American BBQ Throwdown	Aug 7, 2020

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2025	1	0%	top 93%	88.1%	88.1%
2024	1	0%	top 70%	91.8%	91.8%
2023	1	0%	top 75%	91.2%	91.2%
2022	1	0%	top 68%	91.2%	91.2%
2021	2	0%	top 71%	89.6%	89.3%
2020	1	0%	top 86%	87.2%	87.2%
2019	5	20%	top 78%	90.9%	88.8%
2018	4	25%	top 74%	87.3%	85.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 1, 2025	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	40 / 43 (634.1028)	41 (153.0628)	22 (169.1084)	40 (156.5372)	40 (155.3944)
Aug 2, 2024	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	28 / 40 (661.2116)	20 (169.1428)	24 (165.1888)	34 (161.1428)	19 (165.7372)
Aug 4, 2023	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	33 / 44 (656.4800)	22 (169.1200)	17 (169.6916)	37 (157.6800)	33 (159.9884)
Aug 5, 2022	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	34 / 50 (656.4912)	27 (167.3712)	36 (161.7144)	32 (164)	31 (163.4056)
Sep 10, 2021	Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition 🏅 Mears, MI	16 / 25 (645.0400)	19 (162.2972)	18 (162.2628)	18 (158.2400)	16 (162.2400)
Aug 6, 2021	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	25 / 32 (641.0284)	27 (158.8456)	28 (153.6800)	12 (166.8344)	21 (161.6684)
Aug 7, 2020	All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	36 / 42 (627.9428)	39 (156.5256)	34 (158.8572)	23 (164.5828)	40 (147.9772)
Sep 13, 2019	Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival 🏅 Mears, MI	23 / 35 (654.8344)	19 (167.4400)	14 (169.7028)	32 (153.1200)	16 (164.5716)
Aug 2, 2019	Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI	29 / 40 (645.0740)	11 (169.7256)	25 (163.9428)	28 (161.1312)	35 (150.2744)
Jun 21, 2019	11th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off 🏅 Auburn Hills, MI	23 / 30 (636.4572)	15 (165.6800)	18 (164.5600)	21 (157.6800)	27 (148.5372)
May 17, 2019	Sunset Hill Kansas City Barbecue Competition 🏅 Valparaiso, IN	16 / 20 (639.8628)	12 (161.6572)	19 (154.8344)	7 (167.4172)	18 (155.9540)
May 10, 2019	Rockin BBQ 🏅 Warsaw, IN	39 / 42 (622.1140)	38 (155.9884)	38 (151.9200)	41 (149.0628)	17 (165.1428)
Oct 12, 2018	Smoke & Ale Fall Festival Chelsea, MI	28 / 38 (623.9660)	9 (169.1544)	38 (137.6688)	29 (153.0972)	14 (164.0456)
Sep 14, 2018	Silver Lake Apple BBQ Festival Mears, MI	25 / 48 (628.5604)	16 (166.2972)	29 (146.8116)	22 (160.5828)	27 (154.8688)
Aug 3, 2018	Westland Area Jaycee's All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI	32 / 39 (623.4628)	31 (157.7028)	34 (155.4400)	34 (149.7600)	20 (160.5600)
Jun 22, 2018	10th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off Auburn Hills, MI	27 / 30 (591.3372)	21 (161.1200)	30 (135.4172)	18 (160)	28 (134.8000)

LICENSE TO GRILL

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

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

Storylines (9 found in their record)

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The metronome

A standing appointment

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 — 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)