They almost always walk
67%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 6 of 9 contests
A top-10 category call in 67% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Fireside Smokers
Fireside Smokers is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 8th of 40 at the Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest (2018). They are ranked #2376 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1524
peak 1530 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Apr 19, 2013
latest Mar 7, 2025 · 11.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
2
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
33% of 9 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 50%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
666.86 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 657.79 (+9.08)
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.47
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.79 · weakest Brisket (158.84)
Road miles
739
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 597 mi
Schedule strength
60%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1576)
Purse competed for
$28K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
657.79 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
328.54 / 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1887 (70 pts) | #2049 (60 pts) | #1697 (115 pts) | #2029 (60 pts) | #1805 (90 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1382 (155 pts) | #1452 (155 pts) | #1555 (130 pts) | #1431 (165 pts) | #1893 (80 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1639 (139 pts) | #2234 (69 pts) | #1629 (159 pts) | #2794 (59 pts) | #1314 (229 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #2085 (70 pts) | #1629 (150 pts) | #2785 (55 pts) | #1427 (205 pts) | #2783 (55 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1139 (240 pts) | #562 (580 pts) | #1345 (205 pts) | #1154 (255 pts) | #1586 (145 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Fireside Smokers, each with one reason worth a look.
93 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,368 of the rated field
- Contests
- 20
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1524
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Fireside Smokers)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Fireside Smokers has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,377 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1535
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,384 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1529
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 17% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#2,379 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1546
They turned up 9 years after Fireside Smokers did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careers#2,360 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1525
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,388 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1527
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before Fireside Smokers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| PITMASTERIQ BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 177.7142 | 160.5144 | 167.79 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 148 | 164.43 | top 46% |
| Pork | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170.8344 | 158.2860 | 166.14 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 172.5716 | 141.6916 | 158.84 | 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.
By field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 7 | 0 | top 57% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 28% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 3 | 9 | 0 | top 46% | May 5, 2017 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MO
6 of 9 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
7
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
214
finished ahead 158 times, behind 140
Longest layoff
4 yrs
Apr 26, 2019 → Apr 21, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20251 milestone
- Most recent contest Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
20191 milestone
- Peak power rating (1530) BBQ, Bikes and Blues
20181 milestone
- Career-best overall score675.8860 Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest
20136 milestones
- First tracked contest Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
- First call Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
- First category win (Chicken) Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7142 Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
- First overall top-10 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.4286 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.9 | Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest | Apr 20, 2018 |
| +11.8 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | May 5, 2017 |
| +6.6 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | May 3, 2013 |
| +5.1 | Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest | Apr 19, 2013 |
| +0.1 | BBQ, Bikes and Blues | Apr 26, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.2 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | May 15, 2015 |
| -2.7 | Southaven Springfest | Apr 21, 2023 |
| -1.7 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 7, 2025 |
| -1.7 | Covington World's Oldest Barbeque Festival | Jun 2, 2023 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 60% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 70% | 92.9% | 92.3% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 59% | 92.2% | 92.2% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 20% | 93.9% | 93.9% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 92.4% | 92.4% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 73% | 87.7% | 87.7% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 100% | top 35% | 91.6% | 90% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 2025 | Foley BBQ & Blues Cook-Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Foley, AL | 18 / 30 (328.5372) | 20 (161.1316) | 17 (167.4056) | 20 (165.0972) | — |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Covington World's Oldest Barbeque Festival 🏅 Covington, TN | 18 / 25 (660.4572) | 21 (161.6800) | 7 (173.1200) | 18 (165.6800) | 19 (159.9772) |
| Apr 21, 2023 | Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS | 23 / 34 (669.0176) | 22 (167.9888) | 15 (170.8344) | 17 (169.6800) | 28 (160.5144) |
| Apr 26, 2019 | BBQ, Bikes and Blues 🏅 Washington, MO | 23 / 39 (663.8744) | 28 (160.5144) | 14 (168.5372) | 25 (165.7028) | 19 (169.1200) |
| Apr 20, 2018 | Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest Washington, MO | 8 / 40 (675.8860) | 8 (170.8344) | 11 (169.6800) | 7 (170.8344) | 21 (164.5372) |
| May 5, 2017 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 9 / 29 (665.0860) | 22 (165.1084) | 7 (169.1200) | 24 (158.2860) | 3 (172.5716) |
| May 15, 2015 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 22 / 30 (631.4060) | 8 (171.4172) | 27 (148) | 4 (170.2972) | 28 (141.6916) |
| May 3, 2013 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 10 / 30 (659.4286) | 1 (173.7144) | 10 (164.0002) | 13 (164.5712) | 22 (157.1428) |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO | 18 / 50 (637.1428) | 1 (177.7142) | 38 (149.1428) | 12 (165.1428) | 44 (145.1430) |