High-water mark
678.1716
career-best overall
94.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 678.1716 at The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival — 94.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Oct 6, 2023
2 Live Que
2 Live Que is a competition barbecue team with 14 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2025. Their best overall finish is 11th of 25 at the Plant City Pig Jam (2022). They are ranked #2710 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1513
peak 1513 · rated over 11 contests
Contests
14
in the data
First seen
Dec 2, 2016
latest Jan 24, 2025 · 8.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 14 contests
Avg finish
top 51%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
43%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.13
spread of their Backyard (4-meat) overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 164.79 · weakest Pork (145.80)
Road miles
1,852
across 14 mapped stops · furthest 617 mi
Schedule strength
28%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1538)
Purse competed for
$166K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 9 state-championship entries
Master avg
565.82 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
328.88 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (4-meat) avg
643.26 / 720
5 Backyard (4-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to 2 Live Que, each with one reason worth a look.
131 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,701 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1518
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to 2 Live Que)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 2 Live Que has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,727 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1538
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to 2 Live Que)
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before 2 Live Que's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,724 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1515
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to 2 Live Que)
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,723 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1525
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 14, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,717 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1518
Level with 2 Live Que on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,708 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1531
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 25% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K & E's Little Smokers | 8 | 7 | 0 | 88% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 8 | 6 | 1 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Porkganic BBQ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SWAMP BOYS | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin' Ain't EZ | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Double Barrel Smokers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Gourmet Rednecks | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Evans Ranch BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Sons of Hamarchy | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| HOT WACHULA'S | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| BAD AZZ MULE BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Cooters N Smoke | 6 | 1 | 4 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Barely Sober BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| The Rusty Pig | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 173.7144 | 159.3828 | 164.79 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 169.6800 | 20 | 151.08 | top 50% |
| Pork | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 20 | 145.80 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 175.4172 | 149.6344 | 158.24 | top 54% |
“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) | 5 | 0 | top 55% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 47% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 5 | 12 | 0 | top 40% | Jan 24, 2025 |
| Plant City Pig Jam | 3 | 11 | 0 | top 42% | Nov 17, 2023 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
3 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
12 of 14 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
441
finished ahead 433 times, behind 351
Longest layoff
2.8 yrs
Jan 24, 2020 → Nov 18, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20252 milestones
- Peak power rating (1513) Lakeland Pig Festival
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
20233 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- Career-best overall score678.1716 The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
- Career-best single call (Brisket)175.4172 The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival
20191 milestone
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
20171 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7428 Great American BBQ Festival
20161 milestone
- First tracked contest When Pigs Fly South
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.8 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 25, 2019 |
| +7.1 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 26, 2024 |
| +7 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 27, 2023 |
| +4 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 24, 2025 |
| +4 | Plant City Pig Jam | Nov 22, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -15.1 | When Pigs Fly South | Dec 2, 2016 |
| -5.8 | Great American BBQ Festival | Aug 25, 2017 |
| -3.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | Jan 24, 2020 |
| -0.2 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival | Oct 6, 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 48% | 92.8% | 92.8% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 34% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 46% | 94.2% | 91.7% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 44% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 62% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 27% | 90.7% | 89.1% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 78% | 91.5% | 91.5% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 50.1% | 50.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2025 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 19 / 40 (334.2172) | 22 (166.2516) | 20 (167.9656) | 48 (149.6684) | 42 (151.3600) |
| Jan 26, 2024 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 21 / 61 (330.7772) | 22 (163.9544) | 23 (166.8228) | 36 (159.9772) | 41 (153.0972) |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 12 / 25 (321.6344) | 14 (161.6688) | 13 (159.9656) | — | 8 (158.8000) |
| Oct 6, 2023 | The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Lyons, GA | 15 / 29 (678.1716) | 16 (168.5256) | 19 (164.5372) | 18 (169.6916) | 6 (175.4172) |
| Jan 27, 2023 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 19 / 51 (659.8856) | 3 (173.7144) | 26 (165.6684) | 39 (158.8112) | 28 (161.6916) |
| Nov 18, 2022 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 11 / 25 (643.8056) | 15 (159.3828) | 3 (169.6800) | 12 (159.9656) | 10 (154.7772) |
| Jan 24, 2020 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 33 / 53 (628.9720) | 24 (162.2632) | 23 (161.1316) | 35 (155.9428) | 30 (149.6344) |
| Nov 22, 2019 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 13 / 39 (630.6176) | 7 (163.9544) | 17 (157.0744) | 18 (158.8000) | 19 (150.7888) |
| Jan 25, 2019 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 12 / 58 (653.0052) | 31 (161.6456) | 23 (162.8112) | 27 (155.9884) | 3 (172.5600) |
| Nov 16, 2018 | Suncoast Credit Union Plant City Pig Jam Plant City, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jan 26, 2018 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2017 | Great American BBQ Festival Franklin, TN | 31 / 40 (658.7428) | 15 (170.8228) | 24 (166.2744) | 20 (169.1084) | 38 (152.5372) |
| Jan 27, 2017 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dec 2, 2016 | When Pigs Fly South Lakeland, FL | 36 / 36 (360.5372) | 26 (160.5372) | 36 (20) | 36 (20) | 23 (160) |