THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY WI
Rating
1592
peak 1625 · rated over 31 contests
Best runs
9
straight top-10s
Contests
40
in the data
First seen
2019-05-10
latest 2025-06-27
Best ToY finish
#87
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
1
3 reserve
Category wins
3
11 podiums
Overall top-10s
19
of 40 contests
Avg finish
top 36%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
328.62 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 335.55 (-6.93)
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
9
best run (overall)
Consistency
±7.68
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 168.97 · weakest Brisket (165.54)
Road miles
5354
mi across 38 mapped stops · furthest 769 mi
Schedule strength
61%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1556)
Purse competed for
$223K
listed at 32 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 21 state-championship entries
Master avg
674.55 / 720
11 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
335.55 / 360
21 Backyard contests · 1 GC
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN has finished one call ahead of THE GREAT PIG IN THE SKY 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Phoenix BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
HOT DADDY'S BBQ has come out ahead in 15 of their 20 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Good Grefe! in 17 of their 21 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Minnesota in May (Masters) is their spot: an average finish in the top 16% across 3 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.6056 points of the Grand Championship at Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 (2021-06-12).
😤 Chicken nemesis
Even in their strongest meat, SHIGGIN & GRINNIN has out-cooked them in 13 of 19 shared chicken entries.
📅 A May team
Something about May: average finish in the top 17% across 4 contests, versus top 36% the rest of the year.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 3 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Dells BBQ Bash(BACKYARD ONLY) ().
Teams like this (closest power rating, WI first)
Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGLY BABY BBQ | 23 | 15 | 8 | 65% | ⚔ compare |
| Good Grefe! | 21 | 17 | 4 | 81% | ⚔ compare |
| DAD BOD BARBEQUE | 21 | 11 | 10 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| Porket About It | 20 | 8 | 12 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| HOT DADDY'S BBQ | 20 | 5 | 15 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Ten Bones | 19 | 11 | 8 | 58% | ⚔ compare |
| NECTAR OF THE HOGS | 19 | 7 | 12 | 37% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 19 | 5 | 14 | 26% | ⚔ compare |
| Phoenix BBQ | 18 | 11 | 7 | 61% | ⚔ compare |
| LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | 18 | 10 | 8 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ | 18 | 5 | 12 | 28% | ⚔ compare |
| SIX BUTT BBQ | 17 | 15 | 2 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| What’cha Got BBQ | 17 | 12 | 5 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| MACHETE BOYS BBQ | 17 | 10 | 7 | 59% | ⚔ compare |
| FENDER BENDER BBQ | 16 | 6 | 10 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 33 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 176.0000 | 161.6572 | 168.97 | top 37% |
| Pork Ribs | 40 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 177.7144 | 156.5484 | 168.58 | top 33% |
| Pork | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 176.0344 | 157.6916 | 167.35 | top 58% |
| Brisket | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174.2744 | 157.0972 | 165.54 | top 56% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| WI | 18 | 0 | top 31% |
| MN | 7 | 1 | top 27% |
| IA | 3 | 0 | top 73% |
| OK | 2 | 0 | top 55% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 94% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 4% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 1 | top 51% |
| Medium (20–39) | 13 | 0 | top 41% |
| Large (40+) | 15 | 0 | top 27% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 6 | 6 | 0 | top 32% | 2025-06-13 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 5 | 2 | 0 | top 46% | 2025-06-14 |
| Minnesota in May (Masters) | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 16% | 2022-05-13 |
| Art of the Que (Backyard 2) | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 79% | 2025-06-27 |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2021 (12 contests)
- Cooks mostly in WI (21 of 40 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (40 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Big Island BBQ Backyard (2021-08-22)
- Wins it all in 3% of contests
- Average Master overall score: 674.55 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 335.55 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 — First tracked contest · Dells BBQ Bash(BACKYARD ONLY)
- 📣 — First call · Dells BBQ Bash(BACKYARD ONLY)
- 🏆 2021-08-22 — First Grand Championship · Big Island BBQ Backyard
- 📈 2022-05-13 — Peak power rating (1625) · Minnesota in May (Masters)
- 🎖️ 2023-05-12 — 25th tracked contest · Minnesota in May
- ⭐ 2023-06-09 — Career-best overall score (687.3600) · Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.1 | Minnesota in May | 2019-05-10 |
| +14.9 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 | 2021-06-12 |
| +14.5 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day one) | 2021-06-25 |
| +13.5 | Big Island BBQ Backyard | 2021-08-22 |
| +11.2 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 1 (BACKYARD) | 2021-10-15 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -15.7 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) | 2023-10-20 |
| -15.1 | Art of the Que (Masters and Backyard 1) | 2025-06-27 |
| -12.7 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2023-06-10 |
| -11.1 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open | 2021-11-11 |
| -9.8 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2022-06-10 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 36% | 92.2% | 90.7% |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 57% | top 50% | 95.7% | 93.2% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 51% | 94% | 93.9% |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50% | top 50% | 95.5% | 94.3% |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 95.1% | 93.4% |
| 2021 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 92% | top 23% | 97.1% | 93.7% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 14% | 94.4% | 93.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-27 | Art of the Que (Backyard 2) Spencer, IA | 10 / 17 (331.3600) | 15 (163.3828) | 5 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Art of the Que (Masters and Backyard 1) 🏅 Spencer, IA | 15 / 15 (323.8972) | 14 (161.6572) | 12 (162.2400) | — | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Art of the Que (One Meat Ribs) Spencer, IA | — | — | 4 (173.1200) | — | — |
| 2025-06-14 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 15 / 36 (334.7656) | 17 (167.3828) | 16 (167.3828) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 12 / 36 (342.8228) | 8 (176.0000) | 24 (166.8228) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 23 (165.6916) | — | — |
| 2025-04-25 | Smoke & Fire (BACKYARD ONLY) Stanley, WI | 4 / 24 (344.5484) | 5 (172.0000) | 4 (172.5484) | — | — |
| 2024-06-08 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 24 / 37 (676.9940) | 19 (173.1200) | 10 (174.2628) | 19 (171.9656) | 34 (157.6456) |
| 2024-06-07 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 15 / 41 (675.3028) | 17 (172.5600) | 2 (175.4056) | 33 (162.2400) | 26 (165.0972) |
| 2023-10-20 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) Roswell, GA | 33 / 35 (665.0176) | 33 (162.8116) | 30 (166.8344) | 18 (174.2628) | 33 (161.1088) |
| 2023-10-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 10 / 21 (677.5652) | 9 (171.9656) | 4 (169.7028) | 6 (173.1084) | 17 (162.7884) |
| 2023-10-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 16 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-06-10 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 29 / 40 (669.0288) | 30 (165.6916) | 4 (173.1316) | 34 (158.2284) | 8 (171.9772) |
| 2023-06-09 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 6 / 43 (687.3600) | 23 (167.3828) | 10 (170.8572) | 6 (174.8572) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2023-06-09 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 12 (168.0000) | — | — |
| 2023-05-12 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 12 / 59 (682.1944) | 20 (173.1084) | 15 (171.4172) | 41 (163.3944) | 6 (174.2744) |
| 2023-05-12 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 18 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2022-07-15 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off 🏅 Worthington, MN | 21 / 40 (668.5260) | 26 (166.8344) | 7 (172.0116) | 39 (157.6916) | 7 (171.9884) |
| 2022-07-15 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off (One Meat Ribs) Worthington, MN | — | — | 9 (168.5716) | — | — |
| 2022-06-11 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 18 / 37 (673.0516) | 22 (169.1200) | 8 (172.5600) | 23 (166.8228) | 22 (164.5488) |
| 2022-06-10 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 24 / 39 (665.0516) | 9 (171.4172) | 11 (169.1200) | 23 (167.4172) | 35 (157.0972) |
| 2022-05-13 | Minnesota in May (Masters) 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 6 / 59 (684.5716) | 7 (172.5600) | 21 (168.5600) | 4 (176.0344) | 24 (167.4172) |
| 2022-05-13 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) Cambridge, MN | — | — | 8 (169.1316) | — | — |
| 2021-11-12 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Backyard Shawnee, OK | 8 / 33 (340.5028) | 10 (171.9772) | 13 (168.5256) | — | — |
| 2021-11-11 | 3rd Annual KCBS World Invitational - Open Shawnee, OK | 95 / 111 (660.4456) | 89 (163.9544) | 7 (176.0116) | 100 (162.2168) | 100 (158.2628) |
| 2021-10-22 | Best of the Midwest BBQ 🏅 Union Grove, WI | 3 / 44 (330.8116) | 1 (170.8344) | 4 (159.9772) | — | — |
| 2021-10-16 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 2 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 9 / 36 (337.6800) | 2 (174.8572) | 22 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2021-10-15 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II Day 1 (BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 3 / 40 (336.5832) | 3 (173.7260) | 15 (162.8572) | — | — |
| 2021-08-22 | Big Island BBQ Backyard Albert Lea, MN | 1 / 15 (349.7144) | 2 (174.2628) | 1 (175.4516) | — | — |
| 2021-08-21 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 5 / 18 (335.9660) | 8 (169.1316) | 5 (166.8344) | — | — |
| 2021-08-07 | B-Dale BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Roseville, MN | 7 / 21 (331.9888) | 3 (168.5600) | 14 (163.4288) | — | — |
| 2021-06-25 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown (Day one) 🏅 Belvidere, IL | 2 / 49 (343.4288) | 2 (173.1316) | 3 (170.2972) | — | — |
| 2021-06-12 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 2 🏅 West Salem, WI | 2 / 45 (349.6916) | 6 (171.9772) | 1 (177.7144) | — | — |
| 2021-06-11 | Bring'n Home the Bacon - Day 1 🏅 West Salem, WI | 9 / 52 (333.6800) | 16 (164.5600) | 4 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2021-05-07 | Minnesota in May 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 21 / 60 (328.5028) | 25 (162.8228) | 19 (165.6800) | — | — |
| 2020-10-16 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 🏅 West Salem, WI | 12 / 40 (324.5144) | 8 (165.6800) | 18 (158.8344) | — | — |
| 2019-06-21 | Bring'n Home the Bacon 🏅 West Salem, WI | 9 / 37 (333.0860) | 7 (168.5488) | 10 (164.5372) | — | — |
| 2019-05-10 | Minnesota in May 🏅 | 2 / 57 (340.0000) | 5 (167.4172) | 2 (172.5828) | — | — |
| Bourbon, Brews & BBQ(BACKYARD ONLY) Bancroft, IA | 9 / 15 (321.1312) | 5 (164.5828) | 10 (156.5484) | — | — | |
| Dells BBQ Bash(BACKYARD ONLY) Wisconsin Dells, WI | 3 / 25 (331.9544) | 6 (162.8344) | 4 (169.1200) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #87 (638 pts) | #92 (613 pts) | #72 (760 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | — | #712 (257 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #773 (175 pts) | #789 (190 pts) | #561 (395 pts) | #864 (150 pts) | #922 (120 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #412 (481 pts) | #559 (346 pts) | #245 (961 pts) | #459 (456 pts) | #357 (601 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #243 (133 pts) | #263 (118 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #453 (475 pts) | #450 (505 pts) | #245 (979 pts) | #478 (470 pts) | #514 (425 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #7 (1241 pts) | #20 (1155 pts) | — | — |