A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
BBQ MIKE ahead in 100% of their meetings
BBQ MIKE has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Buck-Wild BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1482
peak 1482 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2013-04-19
latest 2025-06-13
Best ToY finish
#1471
Master 2013
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 67%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
622.64
last 4 Master vs avg 622.64 (+0.00)
Walk rate
13%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.56
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 163.05 · weakest Brisket (152.54)
Road miles
1,474
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 809 mi
Schedule strength
44%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1558)
Purse competed for
$31K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
622.64 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
331.81 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (2 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The comeback
4.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4.9 years, then back at Iowa State BBQ Championship (2024-03-29).
- last seen 2019-04-26
- back 2024-03-29
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
114 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4052 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1482
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Buck-Wild BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Buck-Wild BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4034 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 12%
- Peak
- 1505
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Buck-Wild BBQ)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before Buck-Wild BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4027 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1509
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4051 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
Level with Buck-Wild BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4038 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1482
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#4031 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.2628 | 154.8116 | 163.05 | top 61% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.9772 | 125.0972 | 160.06 | top 54% |
| Pork | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172.0228 | 145.6456 | 155.18 | top 69% |
| Brisket | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.1430 | 135.9998 | 152.54 | top 70% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC | 3 | 0 | top 82% |
| IA | 2 | 0 | top 51% |
| WI | 1 | 0 | top 67% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 39% |
| KY | 1 | 0 | top 84% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 53% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 72% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 51% | 2025-04-04 |
| BBQ Capital Cook-Off | 2 | 42 | 0 | top 79% | 2015-04-24 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
12.2 yrs
2013-04-19 → 2025-06-13
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
NC
3 of 8 contests · 5 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
8 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 163.05 · weakest Brisket (152.54)
Walk rate
13%
a top-10 call in 1 of 8 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 8 contests
Master average
622.64
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
331.81
out of 360 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
381
186–339 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,474
8 mapped stops · furthest 809 mi
Schedule strength
1558
average field rating faced — tougher than 44% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$31,000
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 4 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
4.9 yrs
2019-04-26 → 2024-03-29
Power rating
1482
peak 1482 · #4045 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Kings Mountain Firehouse BBQ Cook-off
- Peak power rating (1488) Kings Mountain Firehouse BBQ Cook-off
- 2015
- First call Jim Beam BBQ Classic
- Career-best overall score646.1716 Jim Beam BBQ Classic
- Career-best single call (Pork)172.0228 Jim Beam BBQ Classic
- 2024
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.0856 Iowa State BBQ Championship
- 2025
- Most recent contest Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2025-04-04 |
| +4.1 | BBQ Boogie & Blues | 2019-04-26 |
| +1.3 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 2025-06-13 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.6 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off | 2015-04-24 |
| -11.8 | Kings Mountain Firehouse BBQ Cook-off | 2013-04-19 |
| -6.2 | Jim Beam BBQ Classic | 2015-10-02 |
| -2.1 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off | 2013-04-26 |
| -1.9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2024-03-29 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 48% | 95.1% | 94% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 39% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 91% | 89.7% | 86% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 73% | 88.3% | 86.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 24 / 36 (334.2744) | 30 (164.5600) | 13 (169.7144) | — | — |
| 2025-04-04 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 14 / 49 (342.2400) | 18 (170.2628) | 13 (171.9772) | — | — |
| 2024-03-29 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 31 / 42 (329.0856) | 20 (169.6684) | 37 (159.4172) | — | — |
| 2019-04-26 | BBQ Boogie & Blues 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 13 / 33 (321.6572) | 12 (160.5372) | 14 (161.1200) | 18 (153.0856) | — |
| 2015-10-02 | Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY | 38 / 45 (646.1716) | 44 (154.8116) | 22 (168.0116) | 10 (172.0228) | 41 (151.3256) |
| 2015-04-24 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off Lexington, NC | 59 / 60 (592.4000) | 36 (163.9772) | 60 (125.0972) | 59 (145.6456) | 43 (157.6800) |
| 2013-04-26 | BBQ Capital Cook-Off Lexington, NC | 42 / 71 (636.0002) | 42 (158.8572) | 19 (165.7144) | 66 (146.2856) | 14 (165.1430) |
| 2013-04-19 | Kings Mountain Firehouse BBQ Cook-off Kings Mountain, NC | 48 / 55 (615.9998) | 37 (161.7142) | 36 (159.4286) | 41 (158.8572) | 54 (135.9998) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2158 (60 pts) | #2209 (60 pts) | #2111 (75 pts) | #1695 (135 pts) | #2214 (60 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1471 (150 pts) | #1551 (150 pts) | #1437 (180 pts) | #1560 (150 pts) | #1307 (205 pts) |