Gustoso BBQ

Gustoso BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 4th of 31 at the Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) (2026). They are ranked #2546 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,546

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1518

peak 1518 · rated over 24 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 8, 2019

latest Jun 12, 2026 · 7.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#101

Backyard 2025 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

9% of 32 contests

Avg finish

top 60%

overall standings

Best overall

654.1368 / 720

Master · Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

339.85 ▲

last 5 Backyard vs avg 331.52 (+8.33)

Walk rate

22%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Chicken · Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)

Consistency

±10.03

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 167.97 · weakest Pork (162.26)

Road miles

1,258

across 32 mapped stops · furthest 95 mi

Schedule strength

39%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)

Purse competed for

$105K

listed at 20 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 6 state-championship entries

Master avg

654.14 / 720

1 Master contest · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

331.52 / 360

23 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.

Storylines (7 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Happy hunting ground

Top 16% average finish here

WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: an average finish in the top 16% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 4th
average top 16%

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Budget BBQ has finished one call ahead of Gustoso BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2024 their best year

2024 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 43%.

3 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 43%

A tough matchup

13–3 behind in the head-to-head

LEE LA Q ahead in 81% of their meetings

LEE LA Q has come out ahead in 13 of their 16 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 86% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Smoke'Em All in 6 of their 7 shared contests.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Last Place Chicken has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 40% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 40% across 3 contests, versus top 60% the rest of the year.

3 June contests
top 60% the rest of the year

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 ↗	Backyard	#132 (335 pts)	#117 (410 pts)	#176 (240 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Backyard	#101 (533 pts)	#112 (534 pts)	#123 (544 pts)	—	—
2024 ↗	Backyard	#166 (330 pts)	#158 (380 pts)	#179 (300 pts)	—	—
2023 ↗	Backyard	—	#221 (180 pts)	#191 (225 pts)	—	—
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#247 (131 pts)	#274 (111 pts)	—	—
2021 ↗	Backyard	—	#204 (111 pts)	#146 (166 pts)	—	—
2021 ↗	Master	#1236 (60 pts)	#1286 (60 pts)	#1309 (60 pts)	#1262 (60 pts)	#1245 (60 pts)
2020 ↗	Backyard	—	#101 (82 pts)	#86 (107 pts)	—	—

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Gustoso BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

81 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Porko Smoko

#2,560 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1518

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to Gustoso BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Gustoso BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 6 contests
last seen Jun 12, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

SLOWLY BUTT SMOKIN

#2,548 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1559

They've been 1559 at their best, 40 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 21 contests
last seen Oct 11, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

BIG MO FROM AHO

#2,549 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1521

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Gustoso BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 20 contests

⚔ Compare careers

ASTRO PIGS BBQ

#2,533 of the rated field

1519 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1563

Careers of much the same size, 30 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Jun 7, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

SAUCE BOSSES

#2,545 of the rated field

1518 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1525

19 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 21% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

SIPPIN ON SMOKE

#2,538 of the rated field

1519 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1536

Level with Gustoso BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jun 7, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LEE LA Q	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
Deviant Smoke	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
Hickory Hangover	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
NORALA BBQ TEAM	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
PUDDLEDUCK BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
Wee Daddy's BBQ	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
Smokey Bees BBQ - MS	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
BUTSY-Q	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
Bentley Que	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
HELL ON SQUEALS	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
Rollin Smoke BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
Bonnie Blue BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
HOLY SMOKIN!!!	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
Say My Name BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	24	4	1	178.8572	149.6796	165.93	top 60%
Pork Ribs	24	4	0	175.4744	153.0628	166.17	top 57%
Pork	2	0	0	163.9884	160.5368	162.26	top 77%
Brisket	1	0	0	167.9656	167.9656	167.97	top 51%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 124%
Medium (20–39)	17	top 59%
Large (40+)	5	top 40%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
AL	20	0	top 61%
TN	4	0	top 53%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)	3	4	top 40%	Jun 12, 2026
High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	3	16	top 57%	May 15, 2026
WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	2	4	top 16%	Oct 17, 2025
Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY)	2	15	top 66%	Sep 12, 2025
Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023	2	14	top 124%	Oct 27, 2023
Corums Building Center BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)	2	19	top 64%	Mar 6, 2020

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 6 contests

Contests a season 2.7 across 12 seasons in the data

Most contests held in AL 27 of 32 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 16 6 of them more than once

Opponents faced 521 finished ahead 523 times, behind 505

Longest layoff 1.4 yrs Mar 6, 2020 → Aug 13, 2021

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20263 milestones

Jun 12 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)
Jun 12 Peak power rating (1518) Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)
Jun 12 Most recent contest Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)

20251 milestone

May 16 25th tracked contest High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)

20211 milestone

Aug 13 Career-best overall score654.1368 Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ

20193 milestones

Mar 8 First overall past 90% of a perfect score325.6344 Corums Building Center BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
Apr 19 10th tracked contest High on the Hog Festival
May 3 First overall top-10 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ

20152 milestones

Jul 31 First tracked contest I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series)
Jul 31 First call I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.2	WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 17, 2025
+15.1	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)	Jun 12, 2026
+12.2	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ	May 3, 2019
+10.1	WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 18, 2024
+6.7	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 20, 2023

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11	Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)	Sep 5, 2025
-7.8	Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)	Oct 22, 2021
-7.7	High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)	May 15, 2026
-7.2	Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY)	Sep 12, 2025
-7	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1	May 2, 2025

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	3	1	33%	top 49%	97.5%	94.1%
2025	6	1	33%	top 62%	97.8%	93.5%
2024	3	0	33%	top 43%	94.9%	94.2%
2023	2	0	0%	top 71%	94%	93.4%
2022	1	0	100%	top 140%	91.1%	91.1%
2021	3	0	0%	top 73%	90.9%	89.2%
2020	1	0	0%	top 59%	89.5%	89.5%
2019	5	1	20%	top 46%	90.9%	89.6%
2018	2	0	0%	—	—	—
2017	2	0	0%	—	—	—
2016	3	0	0%	—	—	—
2015	1	0	100%	—	—	—

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 12, 2026	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	4 / 31 (350.8228)	3 (178.8572)	13 (171.9656)	—	—
May 15, 2026	High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN	23 / 29 (328.4912)	12 (171.9656)	24 (156.5256)	—	—
Mar 27, 2026	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL	24 / 43 (337.1204)	27 (169.1432)	24 (167.9772)	—	—
Oct 17, 2025	WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	4 / 39 (351.9772)	4 (177.7144)	9 (174.2628)	—	—
Sep 12, 2025	Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL	24 / 28 (330.8344)	22 (166.8800)	24 (163.9544)	—	—
Sep 5, 2025	Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL	28 / 29 (323.9084)	29 (159.9540)	23 (163.9544)	—	—
Jun 13, 2025	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	17 / 35 (339.3600)	11 (173.1200)	21 (166.2400)	—	—
May 16, 2025	High on the Hog Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Winchester, TN	16 / 32 (342.2400)	22 (168.5256)	8 (173.7144)	—	—
May 2, 2025	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL	23 / 28 (331.3940)	26 (162.8340)	15 (168.5600)	21 (163.9884)	—
Oct 18, 2024	WhistleStop BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	11 / 50 (341.6684)	12 (171.9656)	15 (169.7028)	—	—
Sep 13, 2024	Smoke on the Water Guntersville (BACKYARD ONLY) Guntersville, AL	15 / 33 (339.3484)	13 (170.8228)	14 (168.5256)	—	—
Sep 6, 2024	Bernard Blues and BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL	17 / 27 (336.0116)	9 (172.0344)	20 (163.9772)	—	—
Oct 27, 2023	Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 🏅 Madison, AL	15 / 14 (338.2744)	14 (168.5600)	11 (169.7144)	—	—
Oct 20, 2023	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	17 / 50 (334.2516)	24 (165.0972)	18 (169.1544)	—	—
Oct 28, 2022	Railyard BBQ Brawl 🏅 Madison, AL	14 / 10 (327.9544)	10 (166.2744)	14 (161.6800)	—	—
Oct 22, 2021	Railyard BBQ Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Madison, AL	24 / 30 (311.8512)	25 (158.7884)	26 (153.0628)	—	—
Oct 8, 2021	Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL	22 / 31 (323.9888)	28 (158.8572)	14 (165.1316)	—	—
Aug 13, 2021	Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL	34 / 49 (654.1368)	34 (162.8000)	34 (162.8344)	39 (160.5368)	25 (167.9656)
Mar 6, 2020	Corums Building Center BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Hartselle, AL	19 / 32 (322.2056)	20 (158.7884)	15 (163.4172)	—	—
Aug 23, 2019	Great Americana BBQ Festival 🏅 Franklin, TN	17 / 39 (322.2060)	—	—	—	—
Jun 7, 2019	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	15 / 25 (327.3372)	14 (163.9544)	16 (163.3828)	—	—
May 3, 2019	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL	10 / 54 (322.2396)	40 (149.6796)	4 (172.5600)	—	—
Apr 19, 2019	High on the Hog Festival 🏅 Winchester, TN	16 / 39 (315.9316)	19 (152.5372)	12 (163.3944)	—	—
Mar 8, 2019	Corums Building Center BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Harselle, AL	23 / 34 (325.6344)	14 (166.8228)	31 (158.8116)	—	—
Sep 14, 2018	Riverfest BBQ and Music Festival Decatur, AL	—	—	—	—	—
May 4, 2018	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL	—	—	—	—	—
Aug 25, 2017	Great American BBQ Festival Franklin, TN	—	—	—	—	—
May 5, 2017	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 9, 2016	Decatur Jaycee's 22nd Annual Riverfest Decatur, AL	—	—	—	—	—
Jul 29, 2016	Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-Off Hartselle, AL	—	—	—	—	—
May 6, 2016	The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL	—	—	—	—	—
Jul 31, 2015	I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series) New Hope, AL	—	23 (166.2628)	7 (175.4744)	—	—

Gustoso BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Storylines (7 found in their record)

Happy hunting ground

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Looking over their shoulder

A June team

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)