High-water mark
685.7256
career-best overall
95.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 685.7256 at The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship — 95.2% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Jun 23, 2023
Grilluminati
Grilluminati is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 13 at the Bar-B-QC (Backyard) (2022). They are ranked #4828 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Grill Uminati”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1467
peak 1511 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Jun 24, 2022
latest Jun 26, 2026 · 4 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
13% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
630.14 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 639.89 (-9.75)
Walk rate
25%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.00
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.19 · weakest Brisket (152.78)
Road miles
1,357
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 283 mi
Schedule strength
31%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1541)
Purse competed for
$89K
listed at 7 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 7 state-championship entries
Master avg
639.89 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
506.79 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #1065 (60 pts) | #1141 (60 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #1111 (60 pts) | #1102 (60 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #875 (120 pts) | #960 (120 pts) | #1020 (120 pts) | #935 (120 pts) | #920 (120 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #878 (120 pts) | #977 (120 pts) | #1021 (120 pts) | #938 (120 pts) | #922 (120 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Grilluminati, each with one reason worth a look.
136 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,809 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1467
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,821 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1467
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Grilluminati's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,832 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1466
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,841 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Grilluminati's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,839 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
Level with Grilluminati on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,826 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1467
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B&D BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Jonesy's Smoke Rangers | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SLOW EXPECTATIONS BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Too Hot to Handle | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| All Fired Up | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| J Adams Rib | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| KC Rib doctor | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Meaty Bone BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| No Clue BBQ | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Slow Cookin' Cats | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin Engineers | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Hogs Breath BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Men of Erin | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Most Wanted BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| Nice Rack | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 158.2400 | 167.19 | top 48% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.4400 | 157.6916 | 164.62 | top 56% |
| Pork | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.8800 | 142.8116 | 157.76 | top 76% |
| Brisket | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.4056 | 142.2628 | 152.78 | top 80% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 62% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 72% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | 4 | 13 | 0 | top 61% | Jun 26, 2026 |
| Iowa State BBQ Championship | 2 | 41 | 0 | top 97% | Apr 4, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
2 contests
Contests a season
1.6
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
5 of 8 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
446
finished ahead 332 times, behind 665
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
20233 milestones
- Career-best overall score685.7256 The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176 The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
- Peak power rating (1511) The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
20224 milestones
- First tracked contest The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship
- First call Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- First overall top-10 Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score506.7884 Bar-B-QC (Backyard)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +14.5 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | Jun 23, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Apr 4, 2025 |
| -10.5 | Iowa State BBQ Championship | Mar 29, 2024 |
| -10.4 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | Jun 27, 2025 |
| -8.7 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | Jun 21, 2024 |
| -3.8 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship | Jun 26, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 69% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 87% | 87% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 89% | 88.2% | 87.3% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 8% | 95.2% | 95.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 62% | 93.8% | 91.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 109 / 157 (640.4344) | 53 (167.9656) | 84 (164.5716) | 134 (155.3600) | 125 (152.5372) |
| Jun 27, 2025 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 139 / 159 (626.7316) | 37 (171.4056) | 78 (166.2744) | 158 (142.8116) | 145 (146.2400) |
| Apr 4, 2025 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 47 / 49 (626.7200) | 43 (160.5484) | 38 (161.1316) | 48 (149.6800) | 46 (155.3600) |
| Jun 21, 2024 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 138 / 172 (622.1256) | 121 (158.2400) | 50 (168.5256) | 155 (153.0972) | 162 (142.2628) |
| Mar 29, 2024 | Iowa State BBQ Championship 🏅 Altoona, IA | 41 / 42 (634.6972) | 25 (170.2512) | 37 (157.6916) | 41 (156.5144) | 40 (150.2400) |
| Jun 23, 2023 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 13 / 167 (685.7256) | 7 (176) | 29 (171.4400) | 11 (174.8800) | 71 (163.4056) |
| Sep 9, 2022 | Bar-B-QC (Backyard) Davenport, IA | 8 / 13 (506.7884) | 7 (170.2628) | 12 (161.6684) | 6 (174.8572) | — |
| Jun 24, 2022 | The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS | 102 / 164 (642.8000) | 81 (162.8572) | 63 (165.6912) | 135 (154.8572) | 100 (159.3944) |