High-water mark
626.7772
career-best overall
174.1% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 626.7772 at Lakeland Pig Festival — 174.1% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- 2023-01-27
Joe Bears BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1472
peak 1472 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2019-01-25
latest 2025-01-24
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 72%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
491.17 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 512.53 (-21.36)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±132.35
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 159.01 · weakest Brisket (145.76)
Road miles
2
mi across 6 mapped stops
Schedule strength
36%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)
Purse competed for
$125K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 6 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
512.53 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (7 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.
A tough matchup
6–0
behind in the head-to-head
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 100% of their meetings
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
The weak link
−13.3
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 13.26 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 145.76
- Chicken avg 159.01
- 0 calls in 6 entries
A strong matchup
5–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 83% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Porkganic BBQ in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
The comeback
2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2 years, then back at Lakeland Pig Festival (2022-01-28).
- last seen 2020-01-24
- back 2022-01-28
Looking over their shoulder
2×
one call behind them
SWAMP BOYS has landed one call behind them 2 times.
A standing appointment
4
years running at one contest
They've cooked Lakeland Pig Festival every year from 2022 to 2025 — the contest they never miss.
- 6 visits in all
- best finish 29th
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.
129 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4561 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
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#4551 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
Level with Joe Bears BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4524 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1472
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 4 years before Joe Bears BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4555 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 5 years before Joe Bears BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4563 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1471
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 7 years before Joe Bears BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4530 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1472
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 8 years before Joe Bears BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porkganic BBQ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN ACES BBQ - FL | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Burning Bush BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Gourmet Rednecks | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Accutech BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Team Smoke Showin' | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Sons of Hamarchy | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| 92 BB Crew | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Barely Sober BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| The Rusty Pig | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Guinea Pigs BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Double Barrel Smokers | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| SWAMP BOYS | 5 | 2 | 2 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| K & E's Little Smokers | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2744 | 146.2284 | 159.01 | top 62% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1428 | 140.4572 | 157.20 | top 65% |
| Pork | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9312 | 143.9656 | 152.90 | top 77% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1428 | 129.0860 | 145.76 | top 79% |
“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.
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland Pig Festival | 6 | 29 | 0 | top 72% | 2025-01-24 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
6 yrs
2019-01-25 → 2025-01-24
Busiest season
2025
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
FL
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
1
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 159.01 · weakest Brisket (145.76)
Walk rate
17%
a top-10 call in 1 of 6 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 6 contests
Backyard average
512.53
out of 360 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
347
180–442 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
2
6 mapped stops
Schedule strength
1548
average field rating faced — tougher than 36% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$124,960
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 6 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
2 yrs
2020-01-24 → 2022-01-28
Power rating
1472
peak 1472 · #4542 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2019
- First tracked contest Lakeland Pig Festival
- First call Lakeland Pig Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score619.3372 Lakeland Pig Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.1428 Lakeland Pig Festival
- Peak power rating (1497) Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2023
- Career-best overall score626.7772 Lakeland Pig Festival
- 2025
- Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.9 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2024-01-26 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.8 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2020-01-24 |
| -8.2 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2025-01-24 |
| -6.6 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2023-01-27 |
| -4.3 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2022-01-28 |
| -3.4 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2019-01-25 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 48% | 91.1% | 91.1% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 82% | 174.1% | 174.1% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 63% | 163.2% | 163.2% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 163.5% | 163.5% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 64% | 172% | 172% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-24 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 38 / 40 (325.0516) | 34 (162.2516) | 37 (162.8000) | 36 (159.9312) | 46 (146.7428) |
| 2024-01-26 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 29 / 61 (327.9200) | 35 (161.0972) | 24 (166.8228) | 46 (156.5028) | 45 (150.8116) |
| 2023-01-27 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 42 / 51 (626.7772) | 35 (161.0972) | 51 (149.7256) | 45 (154.8116) | 30 (161.1428) |
| 2022-01-28 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 38 / 60 (587.6912) | 40 (146.2284) | 41 (140.4572) | 35 (151.9084) | 31 (149.0972) |
| 2020-01-24 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 43 / 53 (588.4232) | 27 (161.1200) | 38 (154.2516) | 45 (143.9656) | 48 (129.0860) |
| 2019-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL | 37 / 58 (619.3372) | 26 (162.2744) | 9 (169.1428) | 39 (150.2628) | 48 (137.6572) |