Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
97.1% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 698.8340 at University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest — 97.1% of a perfect 720.
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN ahead in 100% of their meetings
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.53 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 22% of the time against 13%.
Off the trail for 2.2 years, then back at Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard (2023-09-21).
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN ahead 83% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared chicken entries.
A tougher draw than 83% of rated fields
The fields they enter average a 1610 power rating — a tougher draw than 83% of every rated contest in the data.
Something about September: average finish in the top 65% across 3 contests, versus top 77% the rest of the year.
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.
144 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SmokeMasters BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 7 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBoth teams' first contest in the data came in 2020.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before SmokeMasters BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with SmokeMasters BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before SmokeMasters BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 176.0228 | 150.7656 | 167.39 | top 66% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.9888 | 152.5372 | 164.09 | top 73% |
| Pork | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 177.7028 | 153.6456 | 163.84 | top 76% |
| Brisket | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 177.7144 | 137.0516 | 161.86 | top 66% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA | 3 | 0 | top 97% |
| GA | 2 | 0 | top 96% |
| IL | 2 | 0 | top 52% |
| AR | 1 | 0 | top 14% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 94% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 81% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 65% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) | 2 | 32 | 0 | top 96% | 2024-10-17 |
| Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 2 | 14 | 0 | top 52% | 2024-09-20 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.7 | University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest | 2025-03-14 |
| +14.7 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 2024-09-20 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.3 | The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q | 2020-10-29 |
| -9.7 | Zom-B-Q | 2020-10-30 |
| -9.1 | TN River BBQ Battle & Music Fest | 2020-09-25 |
| -8.8 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship | 2021-07-23 |
| -3.8 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 2023-09-21 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 14% | 97.1% | 97.1% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 62% | 96.4% | 96.4% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 86% | 90.4% | 90.4% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 88.1% | 87.3% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-14 | University of Arkansas Animal Science Boots, Brews, and BBQ Contest 🏅 Fayetteville, AR | 4 / 28 (698.8340) | 6 (176.0228) | 14 (171.9656) | 5 (177.7028) | 5 (173.1428) |
| 2024-10-17 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA | 33 / 33 (508.4800) | — | 27 (168.5256) | 23 (170.2628) | 15 (169.6916) |
| 2024-09-20 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard 🏅 Murphysboro, IL | 14 / 58 (694.2404) | 30 (173.1200) | 19 (171.9888) | 29 (171.4172) | 3 (177.7144) |
| 2023-10-20 | Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) unrated Roswell, GA | 32 / 35 (671.8284) | 27 (168.5140) | 26 (168.5372) | 29 (169.6800) | 31 (165.0972) |
| 2023-09-21 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard 🏅 Murphysboro, IL | 40 / 50 (650.7088) | 24 (170.2744) | 37 (163.9544) | 46 (153.6456) | 34 (162.8344) |
| 2021-07-23 | Smoke on the Mountain BBQ Championship 🏅 Galax, VA | 16 / 17 (638.0688) | 15 (163.9312) | 15 (158.8116) | 15 (157.1088) | 14 (158.2172) |
| 2020-10-30 | Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 32 / 33 (616.9604) | 17 (170.2628) | 33 (152.5372) | 33 (157.1088) | 32 (137.0516) |
| 2020-10-29 | The Nightmare Before Zom-B-Q 🏅 Wytheville, VA | 33 / 33 (633.4744) | 29 (166.2512) | 31 (154.2172) | 33 (155.9316) | 31 (157.0744) |
| 2020-09-25 | TN River BBQ Battle & Music Fest 🏅 Savannah, TN | 43 / 47 (634.6172) | 47 (150.7656) | 31 (166.2400) | 40 (161.6800) | 43 (155.9316) |