Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.
- Pork ×1
Smokey Bandits
Smokey Bandits is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 6th of 13 at the South Florida's Fired Up Kosher BBQ Battle and Festival (KOSHER SERIES) (2018). They are ranked #3893 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1485
peak 1506 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Oct 8, 2016
latest Jun 13, 2025 · 8.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
2
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
20% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 66%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Walk rate
60%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±25.19
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 162.84 · weakest Pork Ribs (146.25)
Road miles
5,996
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 4,587 mi
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Purse competed for
$5,000
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
627.22 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 | #1440 (55 pts) | #1476 (55 pts) | #1535 (55 pts) | #1451 (55 pts) | #1453 (55 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Smokey Bandits, each with one reason worth a look.
159 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,883 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1502
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Smokey Bandits)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Smokey Bandits has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,879 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,922 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
They turned up 8 years after Smokey Bandits did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Compare careers#3,878 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1486
Level with Smokey Bandits on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,921 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,896 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1485
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 176 | 143.3828 | 162.63 | top 44% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151.3944 | 139.9772 | 146.25 | top 94% |
| Pork | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 180 🔥 | 139.9544 | 162.84 | top 49% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 165.0972 | 154.2628 | 158.37 | top 62% |
“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 46% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 78% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 63% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2018
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
1 of 5 contests · 3 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
120
finished ahead 56 times, behind 109
Longest layoff
6.5 yrs
Dec 31, 2018 → Jun 13, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest 11th Annual K of C BBQ Smoke Off 4-Life
20181 milestone
- First overall top-10 South Florida's Fired Up Kosher BBQ Battle and Festival (KOSHER SERIES)
20167 milestones
- First tracked contest 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- First call 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- First category win (Pork) 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- First perfect 180 (Pork) 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.0744 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- Career-best overall score661.0744 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
- Peak power rating (1506) 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +6.4 | 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off | Oct 8, 2016 |
| +2.9 | South Florida's Fired Up Kosher BBQ Battle and Festival (KOSHER SERIES) | Dec 31, 2018 |
| +0.5 | Meat The East | Apr 14, 2018 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.4 | 5th Annual BBQ Society Cook-Off | Oct 7, 2017 |
| -12.3 | 11th Annual K of C BBQ Smoke Off 4-Life | Jun 13, 2025 |
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 100% | 81.5% | 81.5% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 51% | 89.6% | 87.9% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 86.5% | 86.5% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 35% | 91.8% | 91.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2025 | 11th Annual K of C BBQ Smoke Off 4-Life 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 30 / 30 (586.6968) | 30 (143.3828) | 30 (146.2512) | 30 (139.9544) | 25 (157.1084) |
| Dec 31, 2018 | South Florida's Fired Up Kosher BBQ Battle and Festival (KOSHER SERIES) Boca Raton, FL | 6 / 13 (620.4568) | 1 (168.5944) | — | — | 5 (157.1312) |
| Apr 14, 2018 | Meat The East Hengelo | 19 / 34 (645.0632) | 5 (171.4400) | 30 (147.3832) | 6 (171.9772) | 30 (154.2628) |
| Oct 7, 2017 | 5th Annual BBQ Society Cook-Off Hoofddorp | 43 / 47 (622.7888) | 44 (153.7144) | 42 (151.3944) | 35 (159.4400) | 29 (158.2400) |
| Oct 8, 2016 | 4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off Hoofddorp. Netherlands, NL | 16 / 46 (661.0744) | 2 (176) | 46 (139.9772) | 1 (180) | 18 (165.0972) |