Rusty's BBQ KS
Rating
1563
peak 1582
Contests
18
in the data
First seen
2019-08-17
latest 2024-10-30
Best ToY finish
#436
Master 2018
Grand champs
1
1 reserve
Category wins
3
8 podiums
Overall top-10s
7
of 18 contests
Avg finish
top 38%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
673.97 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 645.43 (+28.54)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
best run (overall)
Consistency
±121.94
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 170.16 · weakest Brisket (167.79)
Road miles
12379
mi across 18 mapped stops · furthest 1553 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SMELLAQUE has finished one call ahead of Rusty's BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A tough matchup
GETTIN' BASTED has come out ahead in 6 of their 7 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of MOTLEY QUE in 6 of their 7 shared contests.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 4.1144 points of the Grand Championship at BBQ on the Bow (2019-08-31).
📅 A August team
Something about August: average finish in the top 16% across 5 contests, versus top 38% the rest of the year.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 4 of 27 at their very first tracked contest, 3rd Annual Hudson Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff (2019-08-17).
Teams like this (closest power rating, KS first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 15 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 162.8228 | 168.71 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 178.8572 | 162.2400 | 170.16 | top 42% |
| Pork | 15 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 180.0000 🔥 | 157.6572 | 170.11 | top 37% |
| Brisket | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 178.8800 | 156.0116 | 167.79 | top 43% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| KS | 4 | 0 | top 62% |
| TN | 4 | 0 | top 40% |
| WA | 3 | 1 | top 20% |
| OR | 2 | 0 | top 46% |
| AB | 1 | 0 | top 25% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 23% |
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 1 | top 24% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 0 | top 57% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2024 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in KS (6 of 18 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (15 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: 5th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff (2022-08-20)
- Wins it all in 6% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 645.43
- 2 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 685.0744 | 675.73 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 690.8688 | 674.77 |
| 2022 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 703.4288 | 682.44 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 175.4056 | 175.41 |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 691.9772 | 675.06 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 155 / 169 (667.8628) | 120 (169.1200) | 133 (167.9772) | 163 (158.8000) | 77 (171.9656) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 231 / 444 (674.7312) | 295 (165.6800) | 203 (170.2512) | 170 (170.8228) | 196 (167.9772) |
| 2024-10-11 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 71 / 87 (660.5484) | 70 (164.5828) | 61 (167.9884) | 26 (171.9656) | 79 (156.0116) |
| 2024-08-24 | 7th Annual DuPont BBQ Competition DuPont, WA | 11 / 27 (681.6340) | 22 (166.8340) | 4 (175.4400) | 9 (175.4056) | 19 (163.9544) |
| 2024-07-27 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 7 / 28 (685.0744) | 14 (167.9772) | 1 (178.2972) | 6 (171.9772) | 16 (166.8228) |
| 2024-05-25 | BBQ, Blues & Brews on the Bay North Bend, OR | 10 / 27 (684.5140) | 20 (168.0000) | 14 (166.2628) | 8 (175.4056) | 3 (174.8456) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 57 / 487 (690.8688) | 263 (167.9772) | 27 (177.1544) | 268 (166.8572) | 8 (178.8800) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 196 / 211 (658.6740) | 189 (165.0856) | 181 (165.6800) | 131 (169.6684) | 196 (158.2400) |
| 2022-10-14 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 44 / 83 (674.2856) | 70 (162.8228) | 56 (168.0000) | 32 (170.8800) | 20 (172.5828) |
| 2022-08-20 | 5th Annual Hudson's Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff DuPont, WA | 1 / 29 (703.4288) | 1 (180.0000) | 14 (172.0116) | 1 (180.0000) | 10 (171.4172) |
| 2022-07-02 | Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 Sweet Home, OR | 19 / 34 (669.6112) | 19 (169.1428) | 24 (162.2400) | 16 (169.1084) | 15 (169.1200) |
| 2021-08-27 | World Championship Hot wing Contest and Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) Memphis, TN | 4 / 30 (175.4056) | — | — | — | — |
| 2019-10-25 | 31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) Lynchburg, TN | 13 / 97 (691.9772) | 32 (172.5828) | 6 (178.8572) | 17 (173.7028) | 50 (166.8344) |
| 2019-09-01 | Prairie Dog on the Bow Alberta, T2P 2M2 | 3 / 13 (666.1944) | 3 (172.5600) | 4 (165.7144) | 8 (157.6572) | 3 (170.2628) |
| 2019-08-31 | BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T3B 0H7 | 2 / 37 (666.1828) | 9 (166.8228) | 2 (171.4172) | 6 (167.4172) | 8 (160.5256) |
| 2019-08-17 | 3rd Annual Hudson Bay Heritage Days BBQ Cookoff DuPont, WA | 4 / 27 (675.8740) | 4 (171.4056) | 11 (165.0856) | 3 (171.9656) | 8 (167.4172) |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #470 (407 pts) | #689 (252 pts) | #413 (587 pts) | #454 (452 pts) | #507 (407 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #938 (120 pts) | #1011 (120 pts) | #1118 (120 pts) | #989 (120 pts) | #757 (215 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #489 (675 pts) | #614 (560 pts) | #612 (570 pts) | #634 (535 pts) | #661 (515 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #436 (815 pts) | #467 (780 pts) | #546 (690 pts) | #507 (720 pts) | #493 (755 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #1096 (285 pts) | #1251 (250 pts) | #886 (440 pts) | #1200 (270 pts) | #1583 (165 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #796 (457 pts) | #1129 (297 pts) | #985 (372 pts) | #857 (457 pts) | #991 (352 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #830 (405 pts) | #841 (430 pts) | #777 (475 pts) | #616 (630 pts) | #1022 (320 pts) |