A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
GREAT PLAINS BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
GREAT PLAINS BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
POP'S HOBO BBQ
POP'S HOBO BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 14 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 8th of 43 at the Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest (2024). They are ranked #4772 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Pops Hobo BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1468
peak 1468 · rated over 14 contests
Contests
14
in the data
First seen
Sep 23, 2016
latest Jun 13, 2025 · 8.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
21% of 14 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 68%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
575.52 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 598.26 (-22.73)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±65.59
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 165.88 · weakest Brisket (133.60)
Road miles
872
across 14 mapped stops · furthest 138 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$59K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
598.26 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
326.06 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #200 (239 pts) | #160 (374 pts) | #233 (204 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #146 (192 pts) | #172 (137 pts) | — | — |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1344 (171 pts) | #1760 (114 pts) | #1353 (181 pts) | #1184 (236 pts) | #1420 (166 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1351 (189 pts) | #1278 (244 pts) | #1123 (304 pts) | #1193 (274 pts) | #1450 (189 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to POP'S HOBO BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
140 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,790 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to POP'S HOBO BBQ)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team POP'S HOBO BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,756 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1468
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,776 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
Careers of much the same size, 15 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,787 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
13 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#4,781 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
Level with POP'S HOBO BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,785 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1467
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALWAYS SAUCED | 10 | 5 | 5 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| BEER DART BBQ | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| MUNNY'S STOVE | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Lucky D's BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| BARREL BOYS BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| IMAT BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin Carr BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ELVISES | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Three Hog Night Smokers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| GREAT PLAINS BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| FINGER LEIKAM GOOD | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| BOB'S BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Compete BBQ Team | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WICHITA SWINEMEN | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 177.1428 | 153.6684 | 165.88 | top 48% |
| Pork Ribs | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 175.4172 | 149.1544 | 158.09 | top 63% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4172 | 157.1200 | 162.98 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5372 | 20 | 133.60 | top 90% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 77% |
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 0 | top 69% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 59% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 27% | Jun 13, 2025 |
| Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 31% | Jun 9, 2023 |
| Harper County Bullseye BBQ | 2 | 32 | 0 | top 77% | Oct 20, 2017 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2018
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
13 of 14 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
11
3 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
14 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls
Opponents faced
284
finished ahead 181 times, behind 322
Longest layoff
2.6 yrs
Sep 21, 2018 → Apr 9, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
20241 milestone
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1428 Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
20212 milestones
- First overall top-10 Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
20172 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7772 Harper County Bullseye BBQ
- Career-best overall score658.7772 Harper County Bullseye BBQ
20164 milestones
- First tracked contest Jammin' in JC BBQ Contest
- First call Jammin' in JC BBQ Contest
- First category win (Chicken) Jammin' in JC BBQ Contest
- Peak power rating (1493) Jammin' in JC BBQ Contest
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.3 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2024 |
| +9.6 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 11, 2021 |
| +6.5 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 13, 2025 |
| +5.2 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 9, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.4 | Jammin In JC Blues & BBQ Festival | Sep 22, 2017 |
| -10.5 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest | Jul 27, 2018 |
| -8 | Derby BBQ Festival | Jun 8, 2018 |
| -7.4 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) | May 17, 2024 |
| -7.2 | Harper County Bullseye BBQ | Oct 14, 2016 |
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 36% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 52% | 94.8% | 92.8% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 49% | 91.4% | 87.9% |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 87.8% | 79.2% |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 82% | 91.5% | 83.6% |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50% | top 83% | 89.3% | 88.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2025 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 13 / 36 (331.9200) | 13 (168.5256) | 15 (163.3944) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 8 / 43 (341.1200) | 2 (177.1428) | 13 (163.9772) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) Derby, KS | 12 / 14 (327.3256) | 8 (169.1084) | 12 (158.2172) | — | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 11 / 32 (322.7428) | 5 (171.9656) | 14 (150.7772) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 8 / 28 (329.1428) | 4 (169.1428) | 8 (160) | — | — |
| Apr 9, 2021 | Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Derby, KS | 9 / 13 (304.0916) | 7 (154.9372) | 11 (149.1544) | — | — |
| Sep 21, 2018 | Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off Ponca City, OK | 24 / 29 (610.5940) | 26 (153.6684) | 25 (152.5028) | 23 (158.2056) | 26 (146.2172) |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS | 26 / 27 (467.8628) | — | 25 (151.9428) | 13 (165.1312) | 25 (150.7888) |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 35 / 40 (631.8172) | 26 (161.6572) | 22 (165.1084) | 36 (157.1200) | 40 (147.9316) |
| Oct 20, 2017 | Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS | 33 / 47 (658.7772) | 43 (158.8456) | 6 (175.4172) | 32 (163.9772) | 36 (160.5372) |
| Sep 22, 2017 | Jammin In JC Blues & BBQ Festival Junction City, KS | 35 / 35 (508.5716) | 28 (160.5944) | 22 (162.2628) | 18 (165.7144) | 35 (20) |
| Sep 8, 2017 | Derby BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS | 22 / 29 (638.2060) | 11 (169.1428) | 26 (150.2400) | 12 (167.4172) | 22 (151.4060) |
| Oct 14, 2016 | Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS | 32 / 38 (642.7768) | 30 (165.7484) | 35 (158.2400) | 37 (161.1200) | 34 (157.6684) |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Jammin' in JC BBQ Contest Junction City, KS | 32 / 39 (627.4636) | 1 (176.0228) | 32 (152.0232) | 23 (165.1772) | 37 (134.2404) |