TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS

TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS is a competition barbecue team with 15 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 14th of 19 at the Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Zooland (2021). They are ranked #6363 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,363

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1397

peak 1397 · rated over 15 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 3, 2018

latest Jul 25, 2025 · 7 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#716

Master 2020 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

0% of 15 contests

Avg finish

top 92%

overall standings

Best overall

660.5028 / 720

Master · Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Zooland

Perfect 180s

Current form

635.88 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 628.35 (+7.53)

Walk rate

13%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1544

Chicken · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST

Consistency

±21.84

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 158.56 · weakest Pork (155.24)

Road miles

2,827

across 15 mapped stops · furthest 861 mi

Schedule strength

87%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1619)

Purse competed for

$109K

listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 14 state-championship entries

Master avg

628.35 / 720

15 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (4 found in their record)

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

A tough matchup

14–0 behind in the head-to-head

MUTTLEY CREW BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

MUTTLEY CREW BBQ has come out ahead in 14 of their 14 shared contests.

A strong matchup

3–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Big Butts BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

13 of 14 shared chicken entries lost

MUTTLEY CREW BBQ ahead 93% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, MUTTLEY CREW BBQ has out-cooked them in 13 of 14 shared chicken entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1619 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 87% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1619 power rating — a tougher draw than 87% of every rated contest in the data.

15 rated 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 ↗	Master	#1148 (60 pts)	#1221 (60 pts)	#1293 (60 pts)	#1190 (60 pts)	#1190 (60 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#1242 (60 pts)	#1317 (60 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	#1204 (60 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#920 (125 pts)	#971 (135 pts)	#1063 (135 pts)	#964 (125 pts)	#948 (135 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#830 (177 pts)	#755 (237 pts)	#933 (177 pts)	#880 (177 pts)	#859 (177 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#834 (151 pts)	#872 (156 pts)	#901 (156 pts)	#880 (146 pts)	#699 (231 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#716 (119 pts)	#633 (149 pts)	#783 (109 pts)	#696 (124 pts)	#734 (119 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1226 (180 pts)	#1295 (180 pts)	#1111 (245 pts)	#1167 (225 pts)	#1031 (275 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS, each with one reason worth a look.

SMOKIN BIG DAWGS

#6,362 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jun 18, 2021

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SMOKE DOCTOR

#6,368 of the rated field

1396 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1396

Careers of much the same size, 13 contests to 15, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026

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PIPIN' HOT SMOKERS BBQ

#6,365 of the rated field

1396 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1396

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Apr 26, 2024

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POKER SMOKERS

#6,358 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

They were already cooking in 2013, 5 years before TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS's first contest.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Sep 20, 2024

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STEVE'S PIG PIKINS BBQ

#6,367 of the rated field

1396 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1396

Level with TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 19 contests
last seen May 23, 2026

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Taste-T Base-T BBQ

#6,364 of the rated field

1397 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1397

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 11 contests

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN SKULLIES	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
ELITE BBQ SMOKERS	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
MCADOO HEIGHTS BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
REDNECK SCIENTIFIC	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
HICKORY BARBEQUE COMPANY	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
Smoke Central BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE N BREW	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
JL Smokers	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
HOLT BROTHERS BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SMOKING STUDS BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
TWISTED PAIR BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
BUD WISER'S BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	15	0	177.1544	133.6800	158.56	top 81%
Pork Ribs	15	0	172.0572	143.3372	156.46	top 84%
Pork	15	0	170.2856	132.5028	155.24	top 88%
Brisket	15	2	173.7028	146.1944	158.10	top 81%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 74%
Medium (20–39)	8	top 96%
Large (40+)	6	top 90%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
NC	10	top 93%
VA	2	top 93%
SC	2	top 100%
KS	1	top 67%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Pigs & Pedals	2	38	0	top 98%	Aug 2, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 3 contests

Contests a season 1.9 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NC 10 of 15 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 14 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 714 finished ahead 196 times, behind 830

Longest layoff 1.2 yrs May 3, 2024 → Jul 25, 2025

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

20251 milestone

Jul 25 Most recent contest Smoke on the Mountain

20222 milestones

Jul 22 10th tracked contest Bone Suckin Sauce Peak City Pig Fest
Sep 29 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1544 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST

20212 milestones

Apr 16 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.6112 Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge
Jul 16 Career-best overall score660.5028 Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Zooland

20191 milestone

Apr 26 First call BBQ Capital Cook Off

20182 milestones

Aug 3 First tracked contest Pigs & Pedals
Aug 3 Peak power rating (1488) Pigs & Pedals

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+1.2	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	Sep 29, 2022

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.6	Pigs & Pedals	Aug 3, 2018
-10.7	Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic	Sep 20, 2019
-9.2	Kings of Q BBQ Cook-Off and Festival	May 20, 2022
-9.1	Pigs & Pedals	Aug 2, 2019
-9	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Roebuck	Aug 28, 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 95%	89.1%	89.1%
2024	1	0%	top 96%	87.4%	87.4%
2023	2	0%	top 98%	88.6%	87.1%
2022	3	0%	top 84%	91%	88.9%
2021	2	50%	top 87%	91.7%	91.3%
2020	2	0%	top 96%	89.6%	87.9%
2019	3	33%	top 92%	85.1%	84.3%
2018	1	0%	top 100%	80.6%	80.6%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jul 25, 2025	Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA	35 / 37 (641.6116)	29 (166.2628)	31 (162.8344)	36 (151.9772)	34 (160.5372)
May 3, 2024	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	43 / 45 (628.9596)	44 (152.5140)	44 (156.5256)	39 (162.2628)	42 (157.6572)
Sep 1, 2023	Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC	20 / 21 (616.2852)	20 (157.6224)	20 (152.4684)	20 (150.8000)	20 (155.3944)
Apr 28, 2023	Smokin' in the Pines 🏅 Pinehurst, NC	24 / 24 (637.6224)	22 (159.9540)	22 (159.4056)	24 (155.3828)	22 (162.8800)
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	336 / 505 (654.9144)	35 (177.1544)	120 (172.0572)	461 (153.1312)	444 (152.5716)
Jul 22, 2022	Bone Suckin Sauce Peak City Pig Fest 🏅 Apex, NC	31 / 35 (642.7316)	15 (170.8572)	33 (155.9772)	26 (162.2400)	30 (153.6572)
May 20, 2022	Kings of Q BBQ Cook-Off and Festival 🏅 Ayden, NC	31 / 32 (621.5768)	23 (164.5484)	31 (149.0856)	31 (154.8228)	29 (153.1200)
Jul 16, 2021	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Zooland 🏅 Asheboro, NC	14 / 19 (660.5028)	15 (168)	13 (165.1428)	15 (163.9772)	13 (163.3828)
Apr 16, 2021	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pine Ridge 🏅 Roebuck, SC	27 / 27 (653.6112)	23 (168.5256)	26 (156.5256)	27 (154.8572)	10 (173.7028)
Oct 23, 2020	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Galax 🏅 Galax, VA	23 / 25 (644.9716)	17 (167.9656)	25 (155.9316)	22 (163.3712)	23 (157.7032)
Aug 28, 2020	Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Roebuck 🏅 Roebuck, SC	34 / 34 (620.9024)	34 (151.9656)	33 (158.2400)	33 (153.0512)	33 (157.6456)
Sep 20, 2019	Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic 🏅 Salisbury, NC	54 / 56 (610.1256)	56 (147.9656)	55 (145.6800)	16 (170.2856)	54 (146.1944)
Aug 2, 2019	Pigs & Pedals 🏅 Asheboro, NC	38 / 40 (598.0800)	39 (145.6572)	12 (168.5600)	40 (132.5028)	37 (151.3600)
Apr 26, 2019	BBQ Capital Cook Off 🏅 Lexington, NC	37 / 43 (612.9600)	41 (145.6572)	42 (143.3372)	37 (152.5600)	8 (171.4056)
Aug 3, 2018	Pigs & Pedals Asheboro, NC	48 / 48 (580.4116)	48 (133.6800)	46 (145.0628)	48 (147.3600)	40 (154.3088)

TOBACCO ROAD PITMASTERS

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 (4 found in their record)

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

They cook the hard rooms

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)