ALPINE SMOKE WORKS

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1585

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1559

peak 1559 · rated over 18 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2024-03-01

latest 2026-07-17

Best ToY finish

#143

Master 2026

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 23 contests

Avg finish

top 53%

overall standings

Best overall

707.4056 / 720

Master · Big BBQ Bash

Perfect 180s

4 🔥

Current form

691.25 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 673.52 (+17.73)

Walk rate

61%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

and counting

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Brisket · Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship

Consistency

±39.35

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 172.44 · weakest Brisket (168.80)

Road miles

4,273

mi across 23 mapped stops · furthest 488 mi

Schedule strength

83%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1609)

Purse competed for

$190K

listed at 18 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

GCs in 18 state-championship entries

Master avg

673.52 / 720

20 Master contests · 1 GC

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (11 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.

Perfect scores on the board

4 perfect 180s

4 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 2 different meats.

Pork Ribs ×2
Brisket ×2

Against the odds

8-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 92 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Big BBQ Bash (2025-06-20) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 8-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN.

On the rise

+65 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 65 points across 10 contests since 2025-07-25 — from 1494 up to 1559.

10 contests since 2025-07-25
now 1559

They almost always walk

61% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 14 of 23 contests

A top-10 category call in 61% of their 23 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

707.4056 career-best overall

98.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 707.4056 at Big BBQ Bash — 98.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
2025-06-20

State champions

1 state championships won

They've taken 1 state championship from 18 entries at contests carrying the title.

18 state-championship entries

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BAD ROOSTER BBQ has finished one call ahead of ALPINE SMOKE WORKS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

12–4 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN SKULLIES ahead in 75% of their meetings

SMOKIN SKULLIES has come out ahead in 12 of their 16 shared contests.

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Big Alz BBQ in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

They cook the hard rooms

1609 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 83% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1609 power rating — a tougher draw than 83% of every rated contest in the data.

18 rated contests

The long haul

4,273 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,273 miles across 23 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 488 miles to Bear-B-Q.

23 mapped stops
furthest 488 mi

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.

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

88 BBQ

#1580 of the rated field

1559 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 65%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2026-07-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Rack Shack bbq

#1581 of the rated field

1559 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1576

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 20 contests to 23, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2026-05-08

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE EM UP BBQ

#1578 of the rated field

1559 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before ALPINE SMOKE WORKS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 20 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

HOME COOKIN' BBQ

#1584 of the rated field

1559 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 67%
Peak: 1577

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 27 contests, alongside a 67% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 27 contests
last seen 2026-05-30

⚔ Head-to-head

Vitamin Q

#1579 of the rated field

1559 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1559

No shared contest yet.

Level with ALPINE SMOKE WORKS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

BBQmyway

#1586 of the rated field

1559 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1560

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-01-22

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN SKULLIES	16	4	12	25%	⚔ compare
MAYA JANE BBQ CO.	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
BAD ROOSTER BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
HalaQyah BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
ELITE BBQ SMOKERS	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
ZIPS BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Casual Smokers SC	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
FRED VEGAS SMOKERS	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
Glamping Grillers	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
SWIG-N-PIG	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
JL Smokers	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	22	9	1	4	178.8572	162.8000	172.44	top 41%
Pork Ribs	20	6	1	4	180.0000 🔥	159.3600	171.09	top 41%
Pork	20	4	0	0	177.7144	156.5028	169.91	top 51%
Brisket	20	5	0	3	180.0000 🔥	155.3600	168.80	top 54%

“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
NC	6	0	top 58%
TN	5	1	top 48%
VA	3	0	top 61%
GA	3	0	top 58%
SC	2	0	top 41%
WV	1	0	top 24%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	12	1	top 47%
Large (40+)	8	0	top 61%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the Mountain	2	26	0	top 81%	2025-07-25
Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	2	38	0	top 76%	2025-03-07

The story so far (20 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2.4 yrs 2024-03-01 → 2026-07-17

Busiest season 2026 10 contests

Contests a season 7.7 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in TN 8 of 23 contests · 6 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 18 2 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 22 entries · 1 win · 9 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 172.44 · weakest Brisket (168.80)

Walk rate 61% a top-10 call in 14 of 23 contests

Overall top-10 rate 22% 5 of 23 contests

Wins it all 4% 1 Grand Championship · 1 reserve

First title 2025-06-20 Big BBQ Bash

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests — and still running

Master average 673.52 out of 720 · 20 contests · 1 GC

Perfect 180s 4 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 516 465–703 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,273 23 mapped stops · furthest 488 mi

Schedule strength 1609 average field rating faced — tougher than 83% of rated contests

Purse competed for $189,930 listed at 18 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 1 from 18 state-championship entries

Power rating 1559 peak 1559 · #1585 of 6,413 rated

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

2024
Mar 1 First tracked contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
Mar 1 First overall past 90% of a perfect score672.9940 Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
Sep 20 First call Pigmaster BBQ Challenge
2025
May 16 First category win (Chicken) Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival
Jun 20 First overall top-10 Big BBQ Bash
Jun 20 First overall podium Big BBQ Bash
Jun 20 First Grand Championship Big BBQ Bash
Jun 20 First state championship Big BBQ Bash
Jun 20 First perfect 180 (Brisket) Big BBQ Bash
Jun 20 Career-best overall score707.4056 Big BBQ Bash
Sep 5 10th tracked contest Uniquely Union Festival
2026
May 1 First Reserve Championship Bear-B-Q
Jul 17 Peak power rating (1559) Chillin & Grillin in the Glades
Jul 17 Most recent contest Chillin & Grillin in the Glades

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+20.5	Big BBQ Bash	2025-06-20
+17.2	Bear-B-Q	2026-05-01
+13.2	Chillin & Grillin in the Glades	2026-07-17
+11.8	Atlanta BBQ Store Classic	2025-11-14
+10.5	Mission Farms - King of the Farm	2026-02-27

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown	2025-10-24
-9.5	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	2025-03-07
-7.6	Smoke on the Mountain	2024-07-26
-6.6	Smoke on the Mountain	2025-07-25
-6.1	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	2024-03-01

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	10	0	3	1	60%	top 37%	97.6%	95.9%
2025	10	1	2	1	70%	top 57%	98.3%	92.1%
2024	3	0	0	0	33%	top 74%	93.8%	92.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-07-17	Chillin & Grillin in the Glades 🏅 Wise, VA	7 / 35 (692.4800)	10 (174.2744)	15 (169.6916)	9 (173.1084)	4 (175.4056)
2026-06-19	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 Buckhannon, WV	7 / 29 (690.2172)	14 (171.4172)	4 (175.4172)	6 (175.4056)	22 (167.9772)
2026-05-24	8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026) unrated Lebanon, TN	64 / 82 (686.2056)	24 (176.5600)	20 (176.5600)	51 (171.9772)	79 (161.1084)
2026-05-23	8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Wells Cup, Cocktail Ancillary, Dessert Ancillary (Saturday, May 23, 2026) unrated Lebanon, TN	59 / 117 (684.5028)	71 (171.9656)	74 (170.2628)	14 (177.7144)	104 (164.5600)
2026-05-22	8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: World Chicken Finals (Friday, May 22, 2026) unrated Lebanon, TN	—	42 (171.9656)	—	—	—
2026-05-01	Bear-B-Q 🏅 New Bern, NC	2 / 26 (702.8460)	3 (177.7028)	2 (176.5716)	12 (171.4172)	4 (177.1544)
2026-03-20	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	51 / 125 (687.8740)	69 (170.8228)	84 (167.3828)	79 (169.6684)	2 (180.0000)
2026-03-20	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Lebanon, TN	—	51 (167.3712)	—	—	—
2026-03-20	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN	—	—	1 (180.0000)	—	—
2026-02-27	Mission Farms - King of the Farm 🏅 Iron Station, NC	12 / 33 (690.7772)	3 (177.7144)	22 (167.3828)	4 (175.4172)	21 (170.2628)
2025-11-14	Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA	12 / 56 (696.4912)	34 (170.8228)	2 (180.0000)	27 (171.9656)	17 (173.7028)
2025-10-24	Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Rocky Mount, NC	45 / 45 (511.3484)	7 (174.2628)	—	28 (167.3828)	16 (169.7028)
2025-09-19	Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge 🏅 Rutherford College, NC	21 / 36 (673.5772)	8 (172.5716)	14 (169.6800)	28 (165.0856)	24 (166.2400)
2025-09-05	Uniquely Union Festival 🏅 Union, SC	9 / 25 (685.0400)	16 (168.5372)	5 (173.1200)	12 (169.6800)	3 (173.7028)
2025-07-25	Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA	30 / 37 (670.1256)	33 (162.8000)	21 (167.3828)	18 (169.1200)	17 (170.8228)
2025-07-10	South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC	30 / 66 (683.9084)	19 (173.1200)	14 (175.4400)	54 (163.3828)	27 (171.9656)
2025-06-20	Big BBQ Bash 🏅 Maryville, TN	1 / 26 (707.4056)	3 (177.7028)	3 (176.5600)	8 (173.1428)	2 (180.0000)
2025-05-16	Bloomin' BBQ Music & Food Festival 🏅 Sevierville, TN	22 / 33 (668.9944)	1 (178.8572)	19 (168.5372)	24 (166.2400)	28 (155.3600)
2025-03-28	Smokin' in the Pines 🏅 Carthage, NC	16 / 22 (672.4112)	10 (170.8344)	20 (163.9428)	12 (170.8112)	14 (166.8228)
2025-03-07	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	39 / 45 (660.9484)	35 (167.3828)	42 (159.3600)	28 (169.6800)	37 (164.5256)
2024-09-20	Pigmaster BBQ Challenge 🏅 Rutherford College, NC	25 / 33 (675.2684)	4 (176.5600)	18 (167.3944)	16 (170.8228)	31 (160.4912)
2024-07-26	Smoke on the Mountain 🏅 Galax, VA	26 / 32 (657.0060)	18 (169.1200)	19 (165.6916)	31 (156.5028)	23 (165.6916)
2024-03-01	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	38 / 59 (672.9940)	26 (171.4172)	18 (171.4172)	27 (169.6684)	52 (160.4912)

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

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
2026 ↗	Master	#143 (1008 pts)	#135 (1073 pts)	#83 (1393 pts)	#153 (938 pts)	#130 (1043 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#247 (896 pts)	#168 (1256 pts)	#274 (931 pts)	#301 (771 pts)	#216 (1026 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#773 (175 pts)	#547 (360 pts)	#683 (275 pts)	#731 (220 pts)	#786 (185 pts)