They almost always walk
79%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 15 of 19 contests
A top-10 category call in 79% of their 19 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Little E's Que
Little E's Que is a competition barbecue team with 19 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Almost Heaven BBQ Bash (2022). They are ranked #1977 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1539
peak 1539 · rated over 17 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
19
in the data
First seen
May 14, 2021
latest Jul 25, 2025 · 4.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
0 reserve · wins it all 5% of the time
Category wins
1
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
11
58% of 19 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 53%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
325.99
last 5 Backyard vs avg 326.06 (-0.07)
Walk rate
79%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.32
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.38 · weakest Pork (159.68)
Road miles
2,484
across 19 mapped stops · furthest 482 mi
Schedule strength
86%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1616)
Purse competed for
$97K
listed at 14 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
won from 15 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
326.06 / 360
17 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Backyard (3-meat) avg
479.38 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Little E's Que, each with one reason worth a look.
71 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,970 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 56%
- Peak
- 1542
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,982 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 28%
- Peak
- 1539
Careers of much the same size, 18 contests to 19, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,987 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1553
16 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#1,984 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 44%
- Peak
- 1539
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before Little E's Que's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,978 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1543
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Little E's Que's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#1,976 of the rated field
- Contests
- 21
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 19%
- Peak
- 1540
Level with Little E's Que on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POOR BOYS BBQ | 16 | 4 | 12 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Bowmans Butt & BBQ | 16 | 2 | 14 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 14 | 3 | 11 | 21% | ⚔ compare |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | 14 | 2 | 12 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 13 | 4 | 8 | 31% | ⚔ compare |
| Off The Rack BBQ | 13 | 4 | 9 | 31% | ⚔ compare |
| Full Throttle BBQ | 12 | 4 | 7 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 12 | 2 | 10 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| D’Qued Barbeque | 10 | 2 | 8 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| T & S BBQ | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Dog Bite Barbecue | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Country Boys BBQ | 9 | 1 | 8 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Hatter BBQ | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 18 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 176 | 150.2628 | 161.63 | top 55% |
| Pork Ribs | 18 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 173.1200 | 149.0632 | 164.38 | top 43% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.0972 | 154.2628 | 159.68 | top 65% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 7 | 0 | top 71% |
| Medium (20–39) | 10 | 1 | top 38% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 84% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Mountain | 3 | 8 | 0 | top 28% | Jul 25, 2025 |
| Almost Heaven BBQ Bash | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 35% | Jun 14, 2024 |
| Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 87% | Sep 9, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
6 contests
Contests a season
3.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
WV
8 of 19 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
14
3 of them more than once
First title
Jun 17, 2022
Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
Opponents faced
272
finished ahead 295 times, behind 356
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Peak power rating (1539) Smoke on the Mountain
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Mountain
20231 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
20226 milestones
- First overall top-10 Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown - Day 1
- First category win (Chicken) Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- First overall podium Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- First Grand Championship Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- First state championship Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash
20214 milestones
- First tracked contest Smokin' on the Buffalo BBQ Brawl - Day 1
- First call Smokin' on the Buffalo BBQ Brawl - Day 1
- Career-best overall score479.3828 Smokin' on the Buffalo BBQ Brawl - Day 1
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score325.7604 Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +18.7 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash | Jun 17, 2022 |
| +10.5 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1) | Apr 19, 2024 |
| +9.6 | Smoke on the Mountain | Jul 21, 2023 |
| +8.1 | Smoke on the Mountain | Jul 26, 2024 |
| +5.4 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash | Jun 16, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.2 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 | Aug 27, 2021 |
| -7.8 | Smokin' on the Buffalo BBQ Brawl - Day 1 | May 14, 2021 |
| -5.9 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) | Sep 9, 2023 |
| -5.2 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 1) | Sep 8, 2023 |
| -4.5 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 | May 20, 2022 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 35% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 94.5% | 92.2% |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 100% | top 60% | 90.9% | 89.9% |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 67% | top 52% | 95.4% | 92.6% |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67% | top 70% | 90.5% | 87.7% |
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 | 13 / 37 (311.3256) | 13 (150.8000) | 11 (160.5256) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 8 / 32 (334.2056) | 11 (163.3828) | 3 (170.8228) | — | — |
| Jun 14, 2024 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Buckhannon, WV | 10 / 30 (321.0744) | 10 (161.1200) | 11 (159.9544) | — | — |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1) 🏅 Williamsburg, VA | 8 / 25 (340.0232) | 13 (169.1888) | 5 (170.8344) | 13 (165.0972) | — |
| Oct 28, 2023 | Zom-B-Q (Day 2) 🏅 Galax, VA | 10 / 17 (323.3372) | 6 (163.9428) | 13 (159.3944) | — | — |
| Oct 27, 2023 | Nightmare before Zom-B-Q (Day 1) 🏅 Galax, VA | 13 / 19 (313.6572) | 14 (150.2628) | 6 (163.3944) | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2023 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 2) 🏅 Mannington, WV | 10 / 11 (325.6916) | 12 (155.4172) | 5 (170.2744) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2023 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown (Day 1) 🏅 Mannington, WV | 10 / 12 (325.0744) | 6 (168) | 10 (157.0744) | — | — |
| Jul 21, 2023 | Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA | 9 / 38 (327.3256) | 13 (157.6456) | 4 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Jun 16, 2023 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Buckhannon, WV | 10 / 28 (326.8116) | 10 (164) | 9 (162.8116) | — | — |
| Nov 12, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL | 41 / 49 (323.9088) | 38 (164.5372) | 45 (159.3716) | — | — |
| Nov 11, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Gadsden, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 21, 2022 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 2022 🏅 Galax, VA | 12 / 25 (326.7772) | 18 (157.0972) | 7 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Roanoke, WV | 1 / 20 (343.3828) | 1 (176) | 5 (167.3828) | — | — |
| May 21, 2022 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown - Day 2 🏅 Mannington, WV | 7 / 13 (341.6800) | 9 (168.5600) | 2 (173.1200) | — | — |
| May 20, 2022 | Forks of the Buffalo BBQ Throwdown - Day 1 🏅 Mannington, WV | 10 / 14 (330.8116) | 10 (159.3828) | 7 (171.4288) | — | — |
| Aug 28, 2021 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 2 Boonsboro, MD | 11 / 20 (325.7604) | 14 (160.5944) | 7 (165.1660) | — | — |
| Aug 27, 2021 | Dirty Boots BBQ and Meat Contest - Day 1 Boonsboro, MD | 20 / 24 (302.1488) | 20 (153.0856) | 19 (149.0632) | — | — |
| May 14, 2021 | Smokin' on the Buffalo BBQ Brawl - Day 1 🏅 Mannington, WV | 13 / 18 (479.3828) | 9 (166.2856) | 13 (158.8344) | 14 (154.2628) | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.