A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
RUBY CREEK BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
RUBY CREEK BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
FLASH'S BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1499
peak 1508 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Best runs
3
straight top-10s
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2022-05-13
latest 2024-06-14
Best ToY finish
#365
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 56%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
319.69
last 4 Backyard vs avg 319.69 (+0.00)
Walk rate
43%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±12.59
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 158.50 · weakest Pork (152.53)
Road miles
257
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 68 mi
Schedule strength
12%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1518)
Purse competed for
$23K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
604.95 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
319.69 / 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 (3 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.
Looking over their shoulder
2×
one call behind them
Sermerstout BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
A June team
Top 42%
average finish in June
Something about June: average finish in the top 42% across 3 contests, versus top 56% the rest of the year.
- 3 June contests
- top 56% the rest of the year
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.
125 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3236 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#3261 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1499
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 6 contests, alongside a 17% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-head#3232 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1499
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 3 years before FLASH'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3245 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2017, 5 years before FLASH'S BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#3234 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1499
No shared contest yet.
Level with FLASH'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3266 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 164.0572 | 154.2860 | 158.39 | top 59% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 173.1428 | 144.4916 | 158.50 | top 70% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 152.5256 | 152.5256 | 152.53 | top 94% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 153.1200 | 153.1200 | 153.12 | top 92% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN | 4 | 0 | top 55% |
| MI | 1 | 0 | top 56% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 42% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 64% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 4 | 0 | top 42% | 2024-06-14 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.1 yrs
2022-05-13 → 2024-06-14
Busiest season
2022
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IN
6 of 7 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
7 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 158.50 · weakest Pork (152.53)
Walk rate
43%
a top-10 call in 3 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
43%
3 of 7 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight contests
Master average
604.95
out of 720 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Backyard average
319.69
out of 360 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
91
42–68 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
257
7 mapped stops · furthest 68 mi
Schedule strength
1518
average field rating faced — tougher than 12% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$23,125
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 2 state-championship entries
Power rating
1499
peak 1508 · #3246 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2022
- First tracked contest 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (One Meat Ribs)
- Career-best overall score604.9484 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1)
- First call Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score324.5484 Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 2023
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.1428 Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1508) Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 2025
- Most recent contest 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.7 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-06-16 |
| +8.9 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2022-06-17 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.4 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1) | 2022-05-13 |
| -7.8 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-06-14 |
| -1.6 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-07-15 |
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)
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% | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 75% | 84.3% | 84.3% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 40% | 93.7% | 90.4% |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 62% | 90.2% | 87.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-16 | 11th Annual Rockin' BBQ (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 Warsaw, IN | — | — | 25 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2024-06-14 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Logansport, IN | 21 / 28 (303.3488) | 18 (158.2172) | 26 (145.1316) | — | — |
| 2023-07-15 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 9 / 16 (313.6460) | 9 (154.2860) | 10 (159.3600) | — | — |
| 2023-06-16 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Logansport, IN | 5 / 21 (337.2000) | 7 (164.0572) | 2 (173.1428) | — | — |
| 2022-06-17 | Squeal on the Eel Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Logansport, IN | 4 / 14 (324.5484) | 6 (160.5600) | 6 (163.9884) | — | — |
| 2022-05-13 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1) 🏅 Warsaw, IN | 34 / 36 (604.9484) | 35 (154.8112) | 35 (144.4916) | 34 (152.5256) | 33 (153.1200) |
| 2022-05-13 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (One Meat Ribs) Warsaw, IN | — | — | 29 (160.5716) | — | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | — | #1555 (54 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #365 (73 pts) | #347 (88 pts) | #431 (53 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #171 (277 pts) | #157 (362 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #214 (154 pts) | #229 (154 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1309 (60 pts) | #1341 (60 pts) | #1174 (115 pts) | #1348 (60 pts) | #1333 (60 pts) |