A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
Gold’s BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Gold’s BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Barba Q
Barba Q is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 17th of 19 at the Fo.G & Smoke 2024 (2024). They finished #1087 in the 2024 Master Series Team of the Year standings. Also listed in KCBS results as “BarbaQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1465
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 3
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Sep 21, 2024
latest Apr 11, 2026 · 1.6 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 93%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±16.02
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 165.11 · weakest Brisket (153.70)
Road miles
184
across 5 mapped stops
Schedule strength
28%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1538)
Master avg
630.93 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 Barba Q, each with one reason worth a look.
Barba Q has 3 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 132 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,871 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,876 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
They were already cooking in 2016, 8 years before Barba Q's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,884 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Barba Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,870 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Level with Barba Q on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,883 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1502
They've been 1502 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,890 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Barba Q's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4400 | 162.2168 | 165.11 | top 79% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5944 | 149.6572 | 156.44 | top 89% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.9428 | 154.2400 | 154.82 | top 95% |
| Brisket | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 165.1316 | 138.2744 | 153.70 | 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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 89% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.7
across 3 seasons in the data
Contests visited
3
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
5 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
56
finished ahead 5 times, behind 73
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest BBQ Expo Master's Challenge
20245 milestones
- First tracked contest "Smokin' Ribs Showdown" (ONE MEAT RIBS) #1
- First call Fo.G & Smoke 2024
- Career-best overall score646.7772 Fo.G & Smoke 2024
- Career-best single call (Chicken)167.4400 Fo.G & Smoke 2024
- Peak power rating (1490) Fo.G & Smoke 2024
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.4 | BBQ Expo Master's Challenge | Apr 11, 2026 |
| -12 | The War of Barbeque | Jun 14, 2025 |
| -10.4 | Fo.G & Smoke 2024 | Sep 21, 2024 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 84.6% | 84.6% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 88.5% | 88.5% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 2026 | BBQ Expo Master's Challenge Parma | 40 / 42 (608.9828) | 37 (162.2168) | 37 (154.2516) | 38 (154.2400) | 42 (138.2744) |
| Jun 14, 2025 | The War of Barbeque Peschiera del Garda | 19 / 20 (637.0284) | 18 (165.6684) | 19 (159.4172) | 20 (154.2628) | 18 (157.6800) |
| Jun 14, 2025 | The War of Barbeque (ONE MEAT RIBS) Peschiera del Garda | — | — | 28 (149.6572) | — | — |
| Sep 21, 2024 | Fo.G & Smoke 2024 Providence of MODENA (MO) | 17 / 19 (646.7772) | 11 (167.4400) | 18 (158.2628) | 18 (155.9428) | 10 (165.1316) |
| Apr 6, 2024 | "Smokin' Ribs Showdown" (ONE MEAT RIBS) #1 Brescia | — | — | 20 (160.5944) | — | — |