They almost always walk
70%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 7 of 10 contests
A top-10 category call in 70% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Ztop BBQ
Ztop BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 18 at the Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY) (2025). They are ranked #1720 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Z Top BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1551
peak 1551 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Apr 6, 2018
latest Aug 9, 2025 · 7.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
20% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 34%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
70%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±19.37
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 170.26 · weakest Chicken (167.60)
Road miles
258
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 147 mi
Schedule strength
68%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1587)
Purse competed for
$7,950
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
674.08 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
347.39 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #938 (120 pts) | #1219 (85 pts) | #791 (239 pts) | #695 (235 pts) | #1194 (85 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #509 (340 pts) | #720 (225 pts) | #359 (572 pts) | #557 (320 pts) | #539 (345 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | — | — | #868 (78 pts) | — | — |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1382 (155 pts) | #1432 (160 pts) | #1298 (195 pts) | #1509 (140 pts) | #1481 (150 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Ztop BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
66 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,726 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 83%
- Peak
- 1551
Fewer contests behind them than Ztop BBQ has cooked, 6 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#1,719 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 67%
- Peak
- 1551
Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 6 contests, alongside a 67% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#1,713 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1553
Level with Ztop BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,715 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1551
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 10 years before Ztop BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,723 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1551
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2018.
⚔ Compare careers#1,730 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1551
Fewer contests behind them than Ztop BBQ has cooked, 5 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 173.7256 | 152.5372 | 167.60 | top 52% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 174.2744 | 157.6456 | 168.89 | top 40% |
| Pork | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 176.5600 | 158.7884 | 169.12 | top 38% |
| Brisket | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 179.4400 | 167.3828 | 170.26 | top 41% |
“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 17% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 24% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 47% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2021
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IN
10 of 10 contests
Contests visited
6
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 6 calls
Opponents faced
146
finished ahead 147 times, behind 83
Longest layoff
2.1 yrs
Aug 17, 2018 → Sep 11, 2020
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20254 milestones
- First overall podium Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 10th tracked contest Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1551) Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY)
20214 milestones
- First category win (Brisket) Rockin' BBQ - Day 2
- First overall top-10 Rockin' BBQ - Day 2
- Career-best overall score691.9772 Rockin' BBQ - Day 2
- Career-best single call (Brisket)179.4400 Rockin' BBQ - Day 2
20183 milestones
- First tracked contest CCS Fest
- First call Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score680.4456 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.9 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 2 | May 15, 2021 |
| +11.9 | Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 9, 2025 |
| +11.8 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 1 | May 14, 2021 |
| +9.3 | Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival | Aug 17, 2018 |
| +7.4 | Rocking BBQ Warsaw | May 19, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.1 | CCS Fest | Apr 6, 2018 |
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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 17% | 96.5% | 96.5% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 37% | 94.4% | 94.4% |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 19% | 96.1% | 95.4% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 57% | 94.5% | 91.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2025 | Smokin Downtown (BACKYARD ONLY) Warsaw, IN | 3 / 18 (347.3944) | 7 (173.1200) | 5 (174.2744) | — | — |
| May 16, 2025 | 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 Warsaw, IN | — | — | 24 (163.4172) | — | — |
| May 19, 2023 | Rocking BBQ Warsaw 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 13 / 35 (679.8968) | 20 (170.2628) | 21 (166.2628) | 3 (175.4056) | 20 (167.9656) |
| May 19, 2023 | Rocking BBQ Warsaw (ONE MEAT RIBS) Warsaw, IN | — | — | 7 (171.4172) | — | — |
| May 15, 2021 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 2 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 4 / 39 (691.9772) | 29 (165.1200) | 6 (170.8572) | 2 (176.5600) | 1 (179.4400) |
| May 14, 2021 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 1 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 11 / 41 (681.7028) | 7 (173.7256) | 3 (174.2628) | 25 (166.2972) | 25 (167.4172) |
| May 14, 2021 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 1 - One Meat Rib Contest Warsaw, IN | — | — | 7 (173.7144) | — | — |
| Sep 11, 2020 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ - One Meat Companion Contest Warsaw, IN | — | — | 21 (165.0972) | — | — |
| Aug 17, 2018 | Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN | 18 / 54 (680.4456) | 17 (170.8344) | 10 (171.9772) | 21 (168.5256) | 23 (169.1084) |
| Apr 6, 2018 | CCS Fest Indianapolis, IN | 40 / 49 (636.3540) | 45 (152.5372) | 37 (157.6456) | 37 (158.7884) | 21 (167.3828) |