THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE

THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE is a competition barbecue team with 33 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 46 at the Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) (2017). They are ranked #1173 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “The Republic of Que”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,173

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1589

peak 1589 · rated over 28 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Apr 1, 2016

latest Sep 30, 2026 · 10.5 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#297

Master 2020 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

6% of 33 contests

Avg finish

top 45%

overall standings

Best overall

690.8112 / 720

Master · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

684.61 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.06 (+23.54)

Walk rate

33%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 2

Consistency

±34.65

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.39 · weakest Brisket (165.59)

Road miles

6,995

across 33 mapped stops · furthest 595 mi

Schedule strength

48%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1562)

Purse competed for

$563K

listed at 21 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 18 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.06 / 720

30 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

Happy hunting ground

Top 11% average finish here

Humble BBQ Cook Off is their spot: an average finish in the top 11% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 12th
average top 11%

High-water mark

690.8112 career-best overall

95.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 690.8112 at American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest — 95.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 30, 2024

Their season

2026 their best year

2026 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 34%.

4 contests
0 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 34%

A tough matchup

19–7 behind in the head-to-head

LA PASADITA ahead in 73% of their meetings

LA PASADITA has come out ahead in 19 of their 26 shared contests.

A strong matchup

9–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of PAPPO'S BBQ in 9 of their 9 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

15 of 24 shared pork entries lost

LA PASADITA ahead 63% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, LA PASADITA has out-cooked them in 15 of 24 shared pork entries.

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BLIND HOG BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An April team

Top 30% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 30% across 5 contests, versus top 45% the rest of the year.

5 April contests
top 45% the rest of the year

The long haul

6,995 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,995 miles across 33 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 595 miles to American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides.

33 mapped stops
furthest 595 mi

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	#599 (250 pts)	#685 (235 pts)	#797 (190 pts)	#734 (180 pts)	#672 (220 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#642 (250 pts)	#614 (305 pts)	#695 (265 pts)	#738 (215 pts)	#747 (210 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#938 (120 pts)	#1011 (120 pts)	#1118 (120 pts)	#989 (120 pts)	#989 (120 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#1227 (80 pts)	#1017 (130 pts)	#1404 (60 pts)	#1312 (70 pts)	#986 (130 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#621 (250 pts)	#824 (175 pts)	#658 (260 pts)	#666 (240 pts)	#692 (235 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#297 (380 pts)	#211 (585 pts)	#355 (355 pts)	#216 (580 pts)	#394 (300 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1182 (195 pts)	#1295 (180 pts)	#1285 (180 pts)	#1196 (215 pts)	#1044 (270 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#796 (410 pts)	#1013 (300 pts)	#807 (440 pts)	#703 (520 pts)	#583 (625 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1292 (205 pts)	#1802 (120 pts)	#1822 (120 pts)	#1296 (235 pts)	#1016 (345 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Smoking OCD

#1,170 of the rated field

1589 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1589

3–4 in 7 shared contests (43% to THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE)

These two have cooked 7 of the same contests — Smoking OCD ahead 4–3 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Dec 6, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

The King and His Q

#1,176 of the rated field

1588 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 4
Top-10s: 70%
Peak: 1597

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE)

Fewer contests behind them than THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE has cooked, 20 to 33, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 17 contests
last seen May 24, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

HOG EAT HOG BBQ

#1,179 of the rated field

1588 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 73%
Peak: 1590

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Sep 15, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

SEA SIDE SMOKERS

#1,178 of the rated field

1588 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1606

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 30 contests

⚔ Compare careers

ETOWAH SMOKE

#1,168 of the rated field

1589 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 52%
Peak: 1596

31 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 52% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 31 contests
last seen Nov 15, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

Shootin' Smoke

#1,171 of the rated field

1589 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1606

Level with THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Jun 25, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
LA PASADITA	26	7	19	27%	⚔ compare
TINY E BBQ	19	2	17	11%	⚔ compare
FAT BOYS BBQ - TEMPLE, TX	18	2	16	11%	⚔ compare
Rio Valley Meat BBQ	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
Rollin' Smoke BBQ Texas	16	8	8	50%	⚔ compare
TEXAS WARPIG BBQ	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare
LC BBQ	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
CHICKEN FRIED BBQ	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' BASTED	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
BOOMERANG BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
BULLHORN BBQ	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
FIRE DANCER BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
HONKY-TONK SMOKERS	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
BUCKSHOT BBQ - TX	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	29	4	0	1	180 🔥	154.2284	166.27	top 46%
Pork Ribs	30	2	0	0	175.4056	155.3828	166.36	top 48%
Pork	28	5	0	1	177.1772	138.2628	168.39	top 34%
Brisket	30	4	1	3	176.5600	146.7888	165.59	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 field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	1	0	top 66%
Large (40+)	29	0	top 44%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
TX	20	top 39%
KS	6	top 45%
OK	4	top 70%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off	4	10	top 29%	Apr 1, 2022
Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff	3	11	top 33%	Mar 28, 2025
Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	3	9	top 51%	Aug 30, 2019
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	2	111	top 44%	Sep 30, 2026
Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff	2	42	top 65%	Sep 13, 2024
Humble BBQ Cook Off	2	12	top 11%	Jan 29, 2021
Humble Rodeo and BBQ	2	28	top 55%	Feb 1, 2019
39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2	116	top 54%	Sep 15, 2018

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 6 contests

Contests a season 3 across 11 seasons in the data

Most contests held in TX 20 of 33 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 18 8 of them more than once

Opponents faced 1,964 finished ahead 2,224 times, behind 1,599

Longest layoff 1.5 yrs Mar 28, 2025 → Sep 11, 2026

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

20262 milestones

Sep 30 Peak power rating (1589) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
Sep 30 Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides

20242 milestones

Apr 5 25th tracked contest Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
Oct 30 Career-best overall score690.8112 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest

20201 milestone

Oct 24 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 2

20191 milestone

Feb 1 10th tracked contest Humble Rodeo and BBQ

20173 milestones

Sep 2 First category win (Brisket) Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)
Sep 2 First overall top-10 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)
Sep 2 First overall past 90% of a perfect score664.5372 Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)

20162 milestones

Apr 1 First tracked contest Cedar Fest BBQ
Apr 1 First call Cedar Fest BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.3	Humble BBQ Cook off	Jan 31, 2020
+12	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	Oct 30, 2024
+11.7	Humble BBQ Cook Off	Jan 29, 2021
+10	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)	Sep 2, 2017
+9.8	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off	Apr 6, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.8	Humble Rodeo and BBQ	Feb 2, 2018
-7.7	Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff	Sep 8, 2023
-6.8	The Oklahoma Grand BBQ Championship Day 1	Sep 18, 2020
-5.6	Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff	Sep 13, 2024
-4.3	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	Aug 31, 2018

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	4	0	0	0%	top 34%	95.5%	95.2%
2025	1	0	0	100%	top 38%	93.9%	93.9%
2024	4	0	0	25%	top 35%	95.9%	94%
2023	4	0	0	0%	top 54%	93.8%	92.2%
2022	1	0	0	0%	top 38%	93.9%	93.9%
2021	2	1	0	100%	top 17%	94.3%	93.2%
2020	5	0	0	60%	top 58%	95%	93.2%
2019	3	0	0	0%	top 41%	91.4%	91.3%
2018	6	0	0	33%	top 58%	93.7%	87.8%
2017	2	1	1	50%	top 34%	92.3%	90.3%
2016	1	0	0	100%	top 28%	88.9%	88.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 30, 2026	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 30, 2026	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS	87 / 158 (684.4572)	63 (173.1200)	61 (173.1200)	41 (174.2860)	138 (163.9312)
Sep 30, 2026	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS	111 / 360 (687.9316)	58 (175.4172)	94 (174.2744)	140 (171.9772)	223 (166.2628)
Sep 11, 2026	Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX	11 / 75 (683.9772)	14 (173.1544)	23 (171.4172)	32 (169.7028)	17 (169.7028)
Mar 28, 2025	Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	18 / 48 (675.8512)	4 (175.4056)	18 (169.6800)	8 (174.2628)	31 (156.5028)
Oct 30, 2024	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 30, 2024	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	72 / 444 (690.8112)	156 (172)	70 (175.4056)	140 (171.4400)	104 (171.9656)
Sep 13, 2024	Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX	42 / 67 (661.5996)	39 (166.8456)	56 (161.0856)	37 (166.8456)	27 (166.8228)
Apr 5, 2024	Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	11 / 40 (678.1484)	5 (171.9656)	9 (174.2628)	18 (167.3828)	19 (164.5372)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	283 / 487 (667.3368)	398 (159.9656)	209 (170.2628)	106 (173.1316)	311 (163.9768)
Sep 8, 2023	Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX	67 / 99 (649.1084)	75 (158.2856)	56 (165.7144)	43 (168.5600)	69 (156.5484)
Mar 31, 2023	Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	20 / 57 (675.2912)	19 (169.1200)	18 (171.9656)	26 (166.2400)	19 (167.9656)
Apr 1, 2022	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	21 / 56 (675.8512)	11 (173.1200)	29 (165.0856)	23 (166.8228)	11 (170.8228)
Jun 4, 2021	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	10 / 48 (679.3028)	14 (169.6800)	14 (169.6800)	12 (170.8344)	6 (169.1084)
Jan 29, 2021	Humble BBQ Cook Off Humble, TX	14 / 113 (663.3828)	27 (163.9428)	9 (171.4628)	14 (169.7028)	40 (158.2744)
Oct 24, 2020	Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 2 🏅 Shawnee, OK	43 / 58 (673.0512)	2 (180)	50 (164.5256)	—	43 (165.1200)
Oct 23, 2020	Firelake BBQ Cook Off-Day 1 🏅 Shawnee, OK	49 / 64 (667.9428)	56 (165.1428)	34 (168.5372)	—	51 (161.1200)
Sep 19, 2020	The Oklahoma Grand BBQ Championship Day 2 🏅 Shawnee, OK	22 / 56 (683.9084)	33 (171.9772)	40 (166.8228)	3 (176)	31 (169.1084)
Sep 18, 2020	The Oklahoma Grand BBQ Championship Day 1 🏅 Shawnee, OK	50 / 56 (661.0396)	41 (165.7028)	55 (157.6684)	36 (168.5600)	32 (169.1084)
Jan 31, 2020	Humble BBQ Cook off 🏅 Humble, TX	12 / 117 (669.6456)	9 (172)	14 (169.7256)	7 (173.1200)	55 (154.8000)
Aug 30, 2019	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival 🏅 Bedford, TX	38 / 58 (656.5484)	46 (160)	39 (164.5600)	33 (166.8228)	31 (165.1656)
Apr 5, 2019	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX	22 / 61 (657.0628)	28 (163.4284)	31 (162.8228)	24 (165.6800)	21 (165.1316)
Feb 1, 2019	Humble Rodeo and BBQ 🏅 Humble, TX	28 / 126 (658.2168)	57 (159.9312)	75 (155.9884)	19 (169.7372)	11 (172.5600)
Sep 15, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	172 / 467 (669.7260)	234 (166.2972)	338 (160.5372)	19 (177.1772)	191 (165.7144)
Sep 14, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS	116 / 164 (674.8112)	152 (161.6684)	136 (163.4400)	33 (174.8456)	41 (174.8572)
Aug 31, 2018	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	51 / 74 (648.4800)	28 (166.8572)	44 (161.1200)	8 (172.5828)	68 (147.9200)
Apr 6, 2018	Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off Cedar Park, TX	15 / 69 (670.7656)	45 (157.6800)	17 (169.7028)	23 (166.8228)	2 (176.5600)
Feb 16, 2018	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	25 / 38 (635.8512)	35 (154.2284)	17 (169.6684)	20 (165.1656)	34 (146.7888)
Feb 2, 2018	Humble Rodeo and BBQ Humble, TX	126 / 145 (491.3368)	—	86 (155.3828)	50 (164.5368)	12 (171.4172)
Sep 2, 2017	Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Bedford, TX	9 / 46 (664.5372)	29 (157.6800)	27 (161.1316)	6 (169.7028)	1 (176.0228)
Feb 3, 2017	Humble Rodeo & BBQ ( WFC Qualifier) Humble, TX	65 / 136 (635.8968)	81 (154.8228)	65 (162.2628)	83 (154.8456)	46 (163.9656)
Apr 1, 2016	Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX	19 / 67 (640.0460)	16 (162.3200)	20 (163.4288)	64 (138.2628)	3 (176.0344)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

THE REPUBLIC OF 'QUE

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

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

Happy hunting ground

High-water mark

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Pork nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

An April team

The long haul

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)