Their season
2023
their best year
2023 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 73%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10
- 0 category wins
- average top 73%
PREACHERS BBQ
PREACHERS BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 13 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 5th of 17 at the Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) (2025). They are ranked #6077 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “PREACHER'S BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1430
peak 1430 · rated over 11 contests
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
Jun 3, 2016
latest Jul 19, 2025 · 9.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
15% of 13 contests
Avg finish
top 85%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
603.81
last 5 Master vs avg 603.80 (+0.01)
Walk rate
23%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.68
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 157.00 · weakest Pork (146.61)
Road miles
6,268
across 13 mapped stops · furthest 2,282 mi
Schedule strength
52%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)
Purse competed for
$173K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
603.80 / 720
9 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
330.53 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #1481 (51 pts) | #1515 (51 pts) | #1572 (51 pts) | #1494 (51 pts) | #1487 (51 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1531 (53 pts) | #1570 (53 pts) | #1571 (58 pts) | #1536 (53 pts) | #1532 (53 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #891 (156 pts) | #884 (176 pts) | #974 (166 pts) | #942 (156 pts) | #879 (171 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1236 (60 pts) | #1286 (60 pts) | #1309 (60 pts) | #1262 (60 pts) | #1245 (60 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to PREACHERS BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
51 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6,076 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 7%
- Peak
- 1501
They've been 1501 at their best, 71 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#6,070 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1430
Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#6,075 of the rated field
- Contests
- 15
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1430
15 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careers#6,073 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1430
Level with PREACHERS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#6,071 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1430
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#6,078 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1504
They've been 1504 at their best, 74 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELITE BBQ SMOKERS | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN SKULLIES | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WHO CARES BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 170.8456 | 146.2628 | 157.00 | top 80% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 125.4856 | 156.21 | top 75% |
| Pork | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.3828 | 124.3428 | 146.61 | top 93% |
| Brisket | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.1316 | 134.7540 | 147.83 | top 91% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 56% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 97% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 95% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 3 | 427 | 0 | top 95% | Sep 27, 2023 |
| Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 40% | Jul 19, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
3 contests
Contests a season
2.2
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
NC
5 of 13 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
8
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
967
finished ahead 86 times, behind 1,603
Longest layoff
5 yrs
Sep 23, 2016 → Sep 16, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20253 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score345.1084 Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.2628 Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
20232 milestones
- First overall top-10 Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 10th tracked contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
20221 milestone
- First call Willamette Sportsman Show Cookoff 2022
20163 milestones
- First tracked contest Hog Happenin' BBQ & Bike Fest
- Peak power rating (1487) Hog Happenin' BBQ & Bike Fest
- Career-best overall score624.9712 Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.2 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jul 19, 2025 |
| +3.9 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jul 15, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.2 | Hog Happenin' BBQ & Bike Fest | Jun 3, 2016 |
| -11 | Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic | Sep 16, 2016 |
| -9.9 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | Sep 29, 2022 |
| -9.7 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST | Sep 16, 2021 |
| -9.3 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival | Aug 30, 2024 |
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 65% | 95.9% | 91.1% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 82.1% | 82.1% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 73% | 87.8% | 86.6% |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 93% | 86.3% | 82.7% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 91% | 84% | 84% |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 86.8% | 83.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2025 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 5 / 17 (345.1084) | 6 (170.8456) | 6 (174.2628) | — | — |
| Feb 28, 2025 | Mission Farms - King of the Farm 🏅 Iron Station, NC | 26 / 26 (622.1032) | 26 (155.3944) | 26 (158.8344) | 26 (152.5028) | 26 (155.3716) |
| Aug 30, 2024 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival 🏅 King, NC | 28 / 28 (591.2580) | 28 (153.0744) | 24 (149.6572) | 27 (150.2744) | 28 (138.2520) |
| Sep 27, 2023 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 464 / 487 (614.6860) | 464 (149.6572) | 384 (160.5256) | 436 (155.4288) | 456 (149.0744) |
| Sep 27, 2023 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 15, 2023 | Dowagiac BBQ Competition and Summer Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Dowagiac, MI | 8 / 16 (315.9544) | 14 (146.2628) | 4 (169.6916) | — | — |
| Oct 1, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 29, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 495 / 505 (569.4172) | 445 (156.5260) | 484 (149.6456) | 499 (128.4916) | 494 (134.7540) |
| Jan 8, 2022 | Willamette Sportsman Show Cookoff 2022 🏅 Albany, OR | 14 / 16 (621.6004) | 10 (161.6916) | 12 (159.3828) | 14 (143.3944) | 11 (157.1316) |
| Sep 16, 2021 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 427 / 467 (605.0632) | 332 (160.5600) | 406 (153.7028) | 439 (145.7028) | 435 (145.0976) |
| Sep 23, 2016 | Butts and Beans BBQ Challenge Newton, NC | 28 / 31 (624.9712) | 29 (154.2284) | 28 (154.2628) | 28 (163.3828) | 27 (153.0972) |
| Sep 16, 2016 | Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic Salisbury, NC | 64 / 68 (593.4172) | 44 (162.2516) | 67 (125.4856) | 56 (156) | 57 (149.6800) |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Hog Happenin' BBQ & Bike Fest Lincolnton, NC | 25 / 26 (591.6912) | 22 (156.5484) | 15 (162.8228) | 26 (124.3428) | 24 (147.9772) |