Giant slayer
63
teams beaten in one weekend
Took the Grand Championship over a 63-team field at Boo-B-Que.
- 2019-10-18
Rocket BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1533
peak 1533 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2019-06-07
latest 2025-03-29
Best ToY finish
#200
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 31%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
319.96
last 5 Backyard vs avg 319.96 (+0.00)
Walk rate
83%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±8.21
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 161.57 · weakest Pork Ribs (158.55)
Road miles
1,018
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 927 mi
Schedule strength
63%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1579)
Purse competed for
$39K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
GCs in 5 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
319.96 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 1 GC
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (4 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.
State champions
1
state championships won
They've taken 1 state championship from 5 entries at contests carrying the title.
- 5 state-championship entries
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
3.5 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 3.5 years, then back at Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) (2025-03-28).
- last seen 2021-10-15
- back 2025-03-28
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.
75 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2124 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1533
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2116 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1533
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 10 years before Rocket BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2103 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 67%
- Peak
- 1534
No shared contest yet.
Level with Rocket BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2125 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1533
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before Rocket BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#2110 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1538
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before Rocket BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2101 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 71%
- Peak
- 1534
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, 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 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 169.1544 | 145.0856 | 161.57 | top 24% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 162.8916 | 146.7772 | 158.55 | top 43% |
| Pork | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| Brisket | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 2 | 0 | top 38% |
| DE | 2 | 1 | top 12% |
| MD | 1 | 0 | top 52% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 38% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 1 | top 2% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 38% | 2025-03-29 |
The story so far (20 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
5.8 yrs
2019-06-07 → 2025-03-29
Busiest season
2025
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MO
3 of 6 contests · 3 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 161.57 · weakest Pork Ribs (158.55)
Walk rate
83%
a top-10 call in 5 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
50%
3 of 6 contests
Wins it all
17%
1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve
First title
2019-10-18
Boo-B-Que
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests
Backyard average
319.96
out of 360 · 5 contests · 1 GC
Opponents faced
197
181–74 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
1,018
6 mapped stops · furthest 927 mi
Schedule strength
1579
average field rating faced — tougher than 63% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$39,400
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1
from 5 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
3.5 yrs
2021-10-15 → 2025-03-28
Power rating
1533
peak 1533 · #2108 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- First call Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 Separation Colonial BBQ Competition
- First overall podium Boo-B-Que
- First Grand Championship Boo-B-Que
- First state championship Boo-B-Que
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.0972 Boo-B-Que
- Biggest field won (63 teams) Boo-B-Que
- Career-best overall score329.0972 Boo-B-Que
- 2021
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.1544 Maryland State BBQ Bash
- 2025
- Peak power rating (1533) Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2)
- Most recent contest Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.9 | Boo-B-Que | 2019-10-18 |
| +7.9 | Separation Colonial BBQ Competition | 2019-06-07 |
| +3.5 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2021-10-15 |
| +3.2 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) | 2025-03-29 |
| +2 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) | 2025-03-28 |
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 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 38% | 90.1% | 88.5% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 52% | 90.5% | 90.5% |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 12% | 91.4% | 88.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-29 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 2) 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 9 / 25 (324.4912) | 9 (161.6456) | 8 (162.8456) | — | — |
| 2025-03-29 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Robert, MO | — | — | 14 (159.3600) | — | — |
| 2025-03-28 | Kickin' It Route 66 Barbecue Challenge (Day 1) 🏅 St. Robert, MO | 11 / 27 (312.4684) | 9 (165.6912) | 12 (146.7772) | — | — |
| 2021-10-15 | Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD | 13 / 25 (325.7488) | 5 (169.1544) | 18 (156.5944) | — | — |
| 2019-10-18 | Boo-B-Que 🏅 Rehoboth Beach, DE | 1 / 63 (329.0972) | 2 (166.2744) | 5 (162.8228) | — | — |
| 2019-06-07 | Separation Colonial BBQ Competition 🏅 New Castle, DE | 8 / 36 (307.9772) | 9 (145.0856) | 3 (162.8916) | — | — |
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 ↗ | Backyard | #200 (226 pts) | #197 (241 pts) | #171 (326 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | — | #1186 (95 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #148 (185 pts) | #232 (95 pts) | — | — |