High-water mark
662.7660
career-best overall
92.1% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 662.7660 at Smokin' in the Valley — 92.1% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Nov 2, 2024
Firestarter
Firestarter is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 4th of 14 at the Smokin' in the Valley (2024). They are ranked #2453 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1522
peak 1522 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Dec 3, 2021
latest Nov 2, 2024 · 2.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
6 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
80% of 5 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 41%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
80%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.55
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 171.99 · weakest Pork Ribs (159.86)
Road miles
18,783
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 9,379 mi
Schedule strength
15%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1521)
Purse competed for
$8,000
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
657.62 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Firestarter, 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.
#2,442 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 78%
- Peak
- 1535
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to Firestarter)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Firestarter has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,451 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 12%
- Peak
- 1535
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Firestarter)
26 contests to 5: their number has had years to settle where Firestarter's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,457 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1522
Level with Firestarter on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,460 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1522
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,440 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1522
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before Firestarter's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,465 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1532
They were already cooking in 2014, 7 years before Firestarter's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 172.5484 | 155.9656 | 162.25 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 167.9772 | 152.5028 | 159.86 | top 62% |
| Pork | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 167.4056 | 157.6800 | 163.51 | top 50% |
| Brisket | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 175.4172 | 167.3944 | 171.99 | top 26% |
“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 27% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 81% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2022
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
CA
1 of 5 contests
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Opponents faced
78
finished ahead 54 times, behind 55
Longest layoff
1.4 yrs
Jun 2, 2023 → Nov 2, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20243 milestones
- Career-best overall score662.7660 Smokin' in the Valley
- Peak power rating (1522) Smokin' in the Valley
- Most recent contest Smokin' in the Valley
20221 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7540 Spit In The Hills
20214 milestones
- First tracked contest Brew N Que Perth 2021
- First call Brew N Que Perth 2021
- First overall top-10 Brew N Que Perth 2021
- Career-best single call (Brisket)175.4172 Brew N Que Perth 2021
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +9.8 | Spit In The Hills | Apr 30, 2022 |
| +8.6 | Brew N Que - LITE EDITION | Oct 21, 2022 |
| +8.3 | Smokin' in the Valley | Nov 2, 2024 |
| +3.3 | Brew N Que Perth 2021 | Dec 3, 2021 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.9 | Horse Town Brew n Que 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 29% | 92.1% | 92.1% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 91.9% | 91.9% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 26% | 92% | 91.7% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2024 | Smokin' in the Valley Perth, Western Australia | 4 / 14 (662.7660) | 6 (160.5144) | 8 (162.8460) | 3 (167.4056) | 3 (172) |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Horse Town Brew n Que Festival 🏅 Norco, CA | 35 / 43 (661.5660) | 40 (159.3716) | 21 (167.9772) | 34 (166.8228) | 24 (167.3944) |
| Oct 21, 2022 | Brew N Que - LITE EDITION Brigadoon | 4 / 15 (662.2404) | 10 (162.8688) | 9 (162.2744) | 6 (163.9428) | 3 (173.1544) |
| Apr 30, 2022 | Spit In The Hills Chidlow, Western | 4 / 16 (658.7540) | 2 (172.5484) | 13 (152.5028) | 8 (161.7028) | 3 (172) |
| Dec 3, 2021 | Brew N Que Perth 2021 Claremont | 10 / 23 (642.7660) | 17 (155.9656) | 15 (153.7032) | 14 (157.6800) | 3 (175.4172) |