The heartbreaker
3.9656
points from the title
Came within 3.9656 points of the Grand Championship at Interstate BBQ Festival (Apr 19, 2019).
Small Batch BBQ - TN
Small Batch BBQ - TN is a competition barbecue team with 41 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) (2023), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #571 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Small Batch BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1663
peak 1663 · rated over 27 contests8 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
41
in the data
First seen
Apr 19, 2019
latest May 25, 2025 · 6.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
1 reserve · wins it all 2% of the time
Category wins
6
15 podiums
Overall top-10s
24
59% of 41 contests
Best top-10 run
8
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 29%
overall standings
Best overall
682.7772 / 720
Competitor Series · Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
Perfect 180s
3 🔥
Current form
347.27 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 339.89 (+7.39)
Walk rate
78%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±11.26
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 173.25 · weakest Pork Ribs (167.84)
Road miles
4,196
across 41 mapped stops · furthest 667 mi
Schedule strength
61%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1577)
Purse competed for
$207K
listed at 32 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
339.89 / 360
26 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
514.64 / 540
3 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 1 GC
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #86 (646 pts) | #76 (726 pts) | #96 (641 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | #850 (165 pts) | #1293 (60 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #36 (988 pts) | #18 (1,156 pts) | #63 (818 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | — | #788 (191 pts) | #1317 (60 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #70 (809 pts) | #53 (976 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | — | — | #628 (337 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #283 (98 pts) | #142 (268 pts) | — | — |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Small Batch BBQ - TN, each with one reason worth a look.
#570 of the rated field
- Contests
- 37
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 49%
- Peak
- 1670
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Small Batch BBQ - TN)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Small Batch BBQ - TN has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#573 of the rated field
- Contests
- 31
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 74%
- Peak
- 1680
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before Small Batch BBQ - TN's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#569 of the rated field
- Contests
- 30
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1667
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 30 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#572 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 59%
- Peak
- 1663
Fewer contests behind them than Small Batch BBQ - TN has cooked, 22 to 41, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#568 of the rated field
- Contests
- 39
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 46%
- Peak
- 1675
Their rating is built on 3 Grand Championships in 39 contests, alongside a 46% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#579 of the rated field
- Contests
- 25
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 64%
- Peak
- 1662
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Small Batch BBQ - TN)
They turned up 5 years after Small Batch BBQ - TN did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORALA BBQ TEAM | 24 | 8 | 16 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| LEE LA Q | 23 | 12 | 11 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| Deviant Smoke | 21 | 14 | 7 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 17 | 7 | 10 | 41% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | 17 | 3 | 14 | 18% | ⚔ compare |
| Bentley Que | 16 | 11 | 5 | 69% | ⚔ compare |
| Modest Meats | 15 | 13 | 2 | 87% | ⚔ compare |
| 2 Swine Crew | 15 | 9 | 6 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 15 | 8 | 7 | 53% | ⚔ compare |
| Pork Life | 14 | 12 | 2 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| Ghost Hill BBQ | 13 | 9 | 4 | 69% | ⚔ compare |
| 931 BBQ | 13 | 8 | 5 | 62% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Rocket Barbecue | 13 | 8 | 5 | 62% | ⚔ compare |
| Electro-Que-ted | 13 | 3 | 10 | 23% | ⚔ compare |
| Say My Name BBQ | 12 | 9 | 3 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 33 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 180 🔥 | 152.5488 | 173.25 | top 21% |
| Pork Ribs | 35 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 178.3200 | 146.7772 | 167.84 | top 40% |
| Pork | 11 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 180 🔥 | 153.6344 | 170.47 | top 32% |
“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) | 5 | 0 | top 51% |
| Medium (20–39) | 17 | 1 | top 32% |
| Large (40+) | 11 | 0 | top 13% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 32% | Sep 20, 2024 |
| O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 30% | May 3, 2025 |
| O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 33% | May 2, 2025 |
| Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 43% | Mar 21, 2025 |
| Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 54% | Sep 6, 2024 |
| The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 42% | May 17, 2024 |
| Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 44% | Apr 19, 2024 |
| Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 14% | Mar 15, 2024 |
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | 2 | 7 | 0 | top 11% | Mar 1, 2024 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
16 contests
Contests a season
6.8
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
18 of 41 contests · 7 states in all
Contests visited
24
9 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
35 entries · 1 win · 13 calls
First title
Aug 11, 2023
Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
Opponents faced
814
finished ahead 1,289 times, behind 375
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
Jul 26, 2019 → Jun 10, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Peak power rating (1663) O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2
- Most recent contest 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025)
20241 milestone
- 25th tracked contest Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20235 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- Career-best overall score682.7772 Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- First Grand Championship Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
- Biggest field won (35 teams) Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)
20222 milestones
- First call The Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES)
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Smokin' For Garrett
20194 milestones
- First overall top-10 Interstate BBQ Festival
- First overall podium Interstate BBQ Festival
- First Reserve Championship Interstate BBQ Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score331.4172 Interstate BBQ Festival
20181 milestone
- First tracked contest Interstate BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.7 | Interstate BBQ Festival | Apr 19, 2019 |
| +16.8 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 17, 2023 |
| +15.9 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | Aug 11, 2023 |
| +12.9 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 3, 2023 |
| +12.8 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Apr 26, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.7 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 22, 2024 |
| -7.3 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 8, 2023 |
| -5.4 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 19, 2023 |
| -5.3 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | Sep 20, 2024 |
| -2.7 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 | Sep 22, 2023 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 83% | top 22% | 97.3% | 96.6% |
| 2024 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 88% | top 31% | 98.1% | 95.1% |
| 2023 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 92% | top 33% | 97% | 94.3% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100% | top 28% | 94% | 93.4% |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | top 15% | 92.1% | 88.9% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2025 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational (Sunday, May 25, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | 11 / 70 (348.5372) | 9 (175.4172) | 20 (173.1200) | — | — |
| May 23, 2025 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Chicken (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | 7 (176.5600) | — | — | — |
| May 23, 2025 | 7th Annual KCBS World Invitational Ribs (Friday, May 23, 2025) unrated Lebanon, TN | — | — | 32 (169.6800) | — | — |
| May 3, 2025 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Oneonta, AL | 8 / 23 (349.6800) | 7 (177.7028) | 14 (171.9772) | 1 (180) | — |
| May 2, 2025 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL | 9 / 28 (342.7884) | 14 (169.6684) | 7 (173.1200) | 2 (176.5944) | — |
| Mar 21, 2025 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 3 / 43 (350.2744) | 8 (174.2744) | 3 (176) | — | — |
| Oct 4, 2024 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 16 / 59 (345.0856) | 9 (176.5600) | 31 (168.5256) | — | — |
| Sep 20, 2024 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 11 / 18 (335.9544) | 1 (180) | 17 (155.9544) | 8 (168.5256) | — |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL | 6 / 33 (346.2400) | 8 (173.1200) | 7 (173.1200) | — | — |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 9 / 27 (344.5372) | 7 (175.4056) | 17 (169.1316) | — | — |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cullman, AL | — | 4 (171.4056) | — | — | — |
| Jul 12, 2024 | The Art of the 'Cue (BACKYARD ONLY) Shelbyville, TN | 5 / 17 (347.3944) | 2 (178.8572) | 11 (168.5372) | 12 (165.0856) | — |
| May 25, 2024 | 6th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Lebanon, TN | 3 / 47 (353.1316) | 9 (176.5600) | 3 (176.5716) | — | — |
| May 17, 2024 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 6 / 39 (346.2516) | 5 (176.5716) | 15 (169.6800) | 4 (173.1200) | — |
| May 4, 2024 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Oneonta, AL | 5 / 20 (349.6916) | 4 (178.8572) | 11 (170.8344) | — | — |
| May 3, 2024 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL | 9 / 27 (340.5144) | 6 (174.2628) | 14 (166.2516) | — | — |
| Apr 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Florence, AL | 3 / 40 (351.9656) | 2 (177.7028) | 6 (174.2628) | — | — |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Murfreesboro, TN | 21 / 37 (503.3488) | 8 (171.9772) | 13 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 30 / 38 (329.0512) | 11 (171.9656) | 36 (157.0856) | — | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 22 / 93 (329.6456) | 8 (172.5600) | 37 (157.0856) | — | — |
| Mar 15, 2024 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 47 (163.9888) | — | — |
| Mar 1, 2024 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 7 / 59 (340.5256) | 5 (173.1084) | 11 (167.4172) | 11 (169.7028) | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 Oneonta, AL | 5 / 18 (341.6340) | 9 (170.8112) | 6 (170.8228) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 Oneonta, AL | 7 / 11 (335.3600) | 6 (166.2400) | 5 (169.1200) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (One Meat Ribs) Oneonta, AL | — | — | 2 (170.2744) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2023 | Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 14 / 19 (326.7544) | 7 (169.6916) | 17 (157.0628) | — | — |
| Aug 11, 2023 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 1 / 35 (523.9772) | 8 (171.9772) | 4 (173.1428) | 1 (178.8572) | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Springfield, TN | 8 / 30 (682.7772) | 3 (175.4172) | 7 (170.8228) | 19 (164.5372) | — |
| May 19, 2023 | The High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN | 23 / 34 (331.3716) | 4 (177.1428) | 30 (154.2288) | — | — |
| May 12, 2023 | Dr. George Smith BBQ Brawl (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Murfreesboro, TN | 10 / 32 (506.2172) | 1 (180) | 24 (158.8344) | — | — |
| Apr 7, 2023 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 9 / 39 (343.3944) | 7 (173.7028) | 13 (169.6916) | — | — |
| Mar 17, 2023 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 3 / 80 (347.3828) | 9 (173.1084) | 4 (174.2744) | — | — |
| Mar 17, 2023 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (One Meat Ribs) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 17 (170.2972) | — | — |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 7 / 65 (512.4912) | 15 (172.5484) | 16 (165.6684) | 1 (174.2744) | — |
| Sep 16, 2022 | Smokin' For Garrett 🏅 Mt. Carmel, IL | 8 / 27 (507.4400) | 14 (158.2628) | 1 (178.3200) | 8 (170.8572) | — |
| Jun 10, 2022 | The Robertson County Fair Assoc. Barbeque Throwdown (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Springfield, TN | 7 / 26 (667.8632) | 3 (173.1316) | 3 (171.9772) | 26 (153.6344) | — |
| Jul 26, 2019 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 13 / 53 (299.3260) | 11 (152.5488) | 13 (146.7772) | — | — |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition 🏅 Lanexa, VA | 5 / 32 (329.1772) | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 19, 2019 | Interstate BBQ Festival 🏅 Hagerstown, MD | 2 / 54 (331.4172) | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 17, 2018 | Smokin on The Dock of the Bay Crisfield, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 20, 2018 | Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD | — | — | — | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.