The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
4 BOXERS Q has finished one call ahead of Pappy's Q 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Pappy's Q
Pappy's Q is a competition barbecue team with 21 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 12th of 44 at the Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (2019). They are ranked #6465 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1337
peak 1505 · rated over 20 contests
Contests
21
in the data
First seen
May 17, 2019
latest Jul 25, 2026 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 21 contests
Avg finish
top 93%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
598.32
last 5 Master vs avg 597.85 (+0.46)
Walk rate
5%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±19.28
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 152.34 · weakest Brisket (145.26)
Road miles
788
across 21 mapped stops · furthest 113 mi
Schedule strength
48%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1563)
Purse competed for
$159K
listed at 18 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 20 state-championship entries
Master avg
597.85 / 720
19 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
296.48 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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 ↗ | Master | #814 (120 pts) | #882 (120 pts) | #940 (125 pts) | #837 (120 pts) | #838 (120 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #980 (107 pts) | #1049 (107 pts) | #1130 (107 pts) | #1028 (107 pts) | #1021 (107 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1182 (60 pts) | #1242 (60 pts) | #1317 (60 pts) | #1231 (60 pts) | #1204 (60 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1471 (120 pts) | #1593 (120 pts) | #1542 (125 pts) | #1513 (130 pts) | #1536 (120 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Pappy's Q, each with one reason worth a look.
#6,466 of the rated field
- Contests
- 54
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1501
They've been 1501 at their best, 165 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#6,468 of the rated field
- Contests
- 35
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1334
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 35 contests to 21.
⚔ Compare careers#6,467 of the rated field
- Contests
- 63
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1334
63 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#6,469 of the rated field
- Contests
- 38
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1332
1–4 in 5 shared contests (20% to Pappy's Q)
These two have cooked 5 of the same contests — Fire Ants BBQ ahead 4–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,470 of the rated field
- Contests
- 21
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1332
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before Pappy's Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#6,471 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 4%
- Peak
- 1330
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Pappy's Q's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 BOXERS Q | 18 | 1 | 17 | 6% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HARCO LOCO BBQ | 15 | 1 | 14 | 7% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| DRILLING & GRILLING | 14 | 1 | 13 | 7% | ⚔ compare |
| Capt. Blue BBQ | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| All About the Wood | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BIG BOB'S SMOKIN QUE | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Mullen It Over BBQ | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| The Fat is Where It's At | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | 11 | 1 | 10 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| WEEKEND SMOKERS | 11 | 1 | 10 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| BEER TIME BBQ | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8000 | 133.6228 | 152.34 | top 89% |
| Pork Ribs | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1428 | 121.0400 | 148.18 | top 85% |
| Pork | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.6916 | 125.0400 | 151.85 | top 87% |
| Brisket | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.3828 | 129.6572 | 145.26 | top 92% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 97% |
| Large (40+) | 14 | 0 | top 91% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Holland Summer Fest | 5 | 37 | 0 | top 92% | Aug 23, 2024 |
| Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) | 4 | 27 | 0 | top 99% | Jul 25, 2026 |
| Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | 4 | 42 | 0 | top 97% | Jul 30, 2022 |
| Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | 3 | 12 | 0 | top 74% | May 13, 2022 |
| Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) | 2 | 39 | 0 | top 97% | Jul 29, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
4 contests
Contests a season
2.3
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PA
20 of 21 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
7
5 of them more than once
Opponents faced
403
finished ahead 74 times, behind 1,202
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.1428 Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)
20222 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Grove (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score634.1148 New Holland Summer Fest
20192 milestones
- First call Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
- Peak power rating (1505) Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
20181 milestone
- First tracked contest Smoke in the Grove
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4.9 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | May 17, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.7 | Boo-B-Que | Oct 18, 2019 |
| -13.4 | Smoke in the Grove | Jul 24, 2020 |
| -12.6 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | May 14, 2021 |
| -12.1 | New Holland Summer Fest | Aug 23, 2019 |
| -11.7 | New Holland Summer Fest | Aug 27, 2021 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 85.8% | 83.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 83.6% | 81.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 85% | 85% |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 85.5% | 83.3% |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 88.1% | 85.7% |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 97% | 82.5% | 81.6% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 81% | 81% |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 73% | 83.9% | 80.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2026 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 39 / 39 (617.5544) | 39 (150.2056) | 24 (169.1428) | 39 (154.8116) | 39 (143.3944) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 43 / 43 (591.1316) | 43 (145.0972) | 42 (153.6344) | 43 (150.1828) | 43 (142.2172) |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 27 / 27 (568.9488) | 27 (156.5372) | 27 (121.0400) | 27 (149.7144) | 25 (141.6572) |
| Jul 25, 2025 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 29 / 30 (602.1260) | 30 (150.2056) | 30 (138.2516) | 27 (154.8344) | 25 (158.8344) |
| Aug 23, 2024 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 37 / 38 (611.8176) | 36 (159.4288) | 35 (157.0744) | 36 (147.9544) | 37 (147.3600) |
| Aug 25, 2023 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 38 / 44 (608.9260) | 36 (158.2400) | 39 (153.0972) | 34 (156.5144) | 42 (141.0744) |
| Jul 29, 2023 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 39 / 40 (615.7832) | 37 (159.4060) | 40 (149.0628) | 40 (151.3488) | 38 (155.9656) |
| Jul 28, 2023 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 49 / 51 (588.2056) | 47 (159.3600) | 50 (141.0284) | 49 (143.8972) | 50 (143.9200) |
| Apr 7, 2023 | The Ironman 🏅 Greencastle, PA | 28 / 30 (585.5312) | 26 (155.9768) | 30 (133.1200) | 26 (158.2400) | 28 (138.1944) |
| Aug 26, 2022 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 41 / 49 (634.1148) | 37 (162.8000) | 18 (169.1316) | 40 (158.2516) | 46 (143.9316) |
| Jul 30, 2022 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 42 / 42 (612.2976) | 41 (157.0628) | 38 (159.9888) | 42 (149.6344) | 42 (145.6116) |
| Jul 29, 2022 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 50 / 54 (619.2576) | 52 (149.6344) | 53 (149.7144) | 24 (165.6916) | 49 (154.2172) |
| May 13, 2022 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 38 / 39 (603.7376) | 38 (151.9316) | 36 (152.5144) | 37 (150.7772) | 35 (148.5144) |
| Aug 27, 2021 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 43 / 44 (584.8684) | 40 (150.8000) | 44 (134.8000) | 37 (150.2056) | 36 (149.0628) |
| Jul 30, 2021 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 52 / 54 (594.0228) | 53 (148.4800) | 53 (134.7888) | 50 (151.3712) | 37 (159.3828) |
| May 14, 2021 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 45 / 46 (583.2348) | 40 (151.3828) | 38 (150.2516) | 40 (147.9428) | 45 (133.6576) |
| Jul 24, 2020 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 59 / 59 (583.2576) | 44 (158.8116) | 59 (138.8004) | 57 (153.1084) | 59 (132.5372) |
| Oct 18, 2019 | Boo-B-Que 🏅 Rehoboth Beach, DE | 62 / 63 (550.6400) | 62 (133.6228) | 24 (162.3200) | 63 (125.0400) | 62 (129.6572) |
| Aug 23, 2019 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 61 / 65 (603.7832) | 63 (143.9200) | 62 (143.3716) | 23 (165.6800) | 52 (150.8116) |
| May 17, 2019 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 12 / 44 (296.4800) | 12 (143.9428) | 10 (152.5372) | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Smoke in the Grove Spring Grove, PA | — | — | — | — | — |