Hillbilly Smoke BBQ

Hillbilly Smoke BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2023), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #2470 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Hill Billy Smoke BBQ”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,470

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1521

peak 1521 · rated over 5 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jul 1, 2016

latest Jun 20, 2025 · 9 years on the trail

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 17% of the time

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

67% of 6 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s, still running

Avg finish

top 42%

overall standings

Best overall

657.1200 / 720

Master · Back to Mayberry

Perfect 180s

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Pork Ribs · Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

Consistency

±8.87

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.38 · weakest Brisket (161.68)

Road miles

across 5 mapped stops

Schedule strength

51%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1565)

Purse competed for

$7,000

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

Master avg

651.70 / 720

2 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

339.69 / 360

4 Backyard contests · 1 GC

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.

Storylines (7 found in their record)

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

The heartbreaker

0.6284 points from the title

Came within 0.6284 points of the Grand Championship at Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) ().

Against the odds

24-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 76 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Jun 23, 2023) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 24-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Wrecking Crew BBQ.

Signature meat

33% chicken entries won

2 wins from 6 entries

When chicken is on the table, watch out — they've won it in 33% of their entries (2 of 6).

best 177.7144
average 168.38
4 calls

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championship here

Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 4 visits.

4 visits
best finish 1st
average top 18%

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of 7.62 BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The comeback

6 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 6 years, then back at Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Jun 23, 2023).

last seen Jun 30, 2017
back Jun 23, 2023

Announced themselves early

2nd at their very first contest

Finished 2 of 14 at their very first tracked contest, Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) ().

14-team field

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Hillbilly Smoke BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Smokin Los BBQ

#2,463 of the rated field

1521 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1521

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

That Oil Money BBQ

#2,479 of the rated field

1521 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1521

They turned up 8 years after Hillbilly Smoke BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Sep 12, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

WESTCOAST 2LIVEQ

#2,478 of the rated field

1521 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1521

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Hillbilly Smoke BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 5 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Bbcats

#2,457 of the rated field

1522 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1532

Level with Hillbilly Smoke BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 5 contests
last seen Sep 16, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

Twizted Smoke

#2,465 of the rated field

1521 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1525

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen Mar 22, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

RACCOON FLATS

#2,482 of the rated field

1521 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1521

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 9 years before Hillbilly Smoke BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Compare careers

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	6	4	2	2	177.7144	151.9888	168.38	top 38%
Pork Ribs	6	4	1	2	178.8572	155.9656	166.55	top 46%
Pork	2	0	0	0	165.7372	163.4628	164.60	top 73%
Brisket	2	0	0	0	163.3828	159.9772	161.68	top 83%

“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)	3	1	top 11%
Medium (20–39)	3	0	top 74%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	4	1	1	top 18%	Jun 20, 2025

More numbers

Contests a season 1 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IA 6 of 6 contests

Contests visited 3 1 of them more than once

First title Jun 23, 2023 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

Opponents faced 84 finished ahead 59 times, behind 65

Longest layoff 6 yrs Jun 30, 2017 → Jun 23, 2023

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

20252 milestones

Jun 20 Peak power rating (1521) Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Jun 20 Most recent contest Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

20231 milestone

Jun 23 First Grand Championship Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

20171 milestone

Jun 30 Career-best overall score657.1200 Back to Mayberry

—8 milestones

First tracked contest Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First call Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First category win (Pork Ribs) Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall top-10 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall podium Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First Reserve Championship Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.8460 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.8572 Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+17.3	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 23, 2023
+14.8	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 21, 2024
+3.8	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 20, 2025

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.5	Back to Mayberry BBQ	Jul 1, 2016
-7.3	Back to Mayberry	Jun 30, 2017

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)
—	1	0	1	1	100%	top 14%	91.9%	91.9%
2025	1	0	1	0	100%	top 40%	92.1%	92.1%
2024	1	0	1	1	100%	top 12%	95.9%	95.9%
2023	1	1	1	1	100%	top 7%	97.6%	97.6%
2017	1	0	0	0	0%	top 93%	91.3%	91.3%
2016	1	0	0	0	0%	top 89%	89.8%	89.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 20, 2025	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA	8 / 20 (331.3828)	6 (171.4400)	9 (159.9428)	—	—
Jun 21, 2024	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA	2 / 17 (345.1200)	1 (175.4172)	5 (169.7028)	—	—
Jun 23, 2023	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA	1 / 15 (351.4288)	1 (177.7144)	2 (173.7144)	—	—
Jun 30, 2017	Back to Mayberry Rodney, IA	27 / 29 (657.1200)	19 (166.8572)	25 (161.1428)	19 (165.7372)	24 (163.3828)
Jul 1, 2016	Back to Mayberry BBQ Whiting, IA	31 / 35 (646.2856)	23 (166.8800)	34 (155.9656)	28 (163.4628)	29 (159.9772)
—	Camp High Hopes Rib Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Sioux City, IA	2 / 14 (330.8460)	8 (151.9888)	1 (178.8572)	—	—

Hillbilly Smoke BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

Master avg

Backyard avg

Storylines (7 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Against the odds

Signature meat

Happy hunting ground

A strong matchup

The comeback

Announced themselves early

Teams like this (closest power rating)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

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)