On the rise
+31
rating points in a year
Their power rating has climbed 31 points across 8 contests since Mar 22, 2024 — from 1505 up to 1536.
- 8 contests since Mar 22, 2024
- now 1536
South of the James BBQ
South of the James BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record in 2024. Their best overall finish is 4th of 25 at the Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1) (2024). They are ranked #2064 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1536
peak 1556 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
Mar 22, 2024
latest Oct 26, 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
27% of 11 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 44%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
336.75
last 5 Backyard vs avg 336.80 (-0.05)
Walk rate
73%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±4.24
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 169.11 · weakest Brisket (157.17)
Road miles
464
across 11 mapped stops · furthest 231 mi
Schedule strength
88%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1622)
Purse competed for
$69K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
336.80 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
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 South of the James BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
77 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,073 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1536
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,076 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1536
Fewer contests behind them than South of the James BBQ has cooked, 7 to 11, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,066 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1536
Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 10 years before South of the James BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,067 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1538
They were already cooking in 2014, 10 years before South of the James BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,074 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 30%
- Peak
- 1537
Level with South of the James BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,054 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1537
Fewer contests behind them than South of the James BBQ has cooked, 6 to 11, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dogpatch Q | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| Off The Rack BBQ | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Optimus Swine | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Mad Hatter BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 7 | 2 | 3 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Bourbon & Blues BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| REDNECK SCIENTIFIC | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Piggy & Swine BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| smokey anderson bbq | 6 | 4 | 1 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Menke Boys BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| MUTTLEY CREW BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKECRAFT - MD | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Dubby's Backyard BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4288 | 163.9544 | 169.11 | top 41% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 170.8344 | 162.2284 | 167.52 | top 47% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5600 | 153.7028 | 160.83 | top 58% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.1660 | 157.1660 | 157.17 | top 56% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 92% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 29% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 27% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 2) | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 32% | Apr 20, 2024 |
| BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | 2 | 12 | 0 | top 33% | Mar 23, 2024 |
More numbers
Most contests held in
VA
9 of 11 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
10 entries · 0 wins · 6 calls
Opponents faced
141
finished ahead 243 times, behind 148
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20249 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Ribs)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score330.7656 BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)
- First call BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)
- First overall top-10 Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score345.1204 Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)175.4288 Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1)
- Peak power rating (1556) Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2
- 10th tracked contest Nightmare before Zom-B-Q (Day 1)
- Most recent contest Zom-B-Q (Day 2)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.4 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1) | Apr 19, 2024 |
| +13.1 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 | May 3, 2024 |
| +10.7 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 | May 4, 2024 |
| +9.2 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) | Mar 23, 2024 |
| +5.2 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) | Mar 22, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.2 | Zom-B-Q (Day 2) | Oct 26, 2024 |
| -9.1 | Nightmare before Zom-B-Q (Day 1) | Oct 25, 2024 |
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)
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2024 | Zom-B-Q (Day 2) 🏅 Roseland, VA | 11 / 11 (333.6344) | 10 (168.5372) | 10 (165.0972) | — | — |
| Oct 25, 2024 | Nightmare before Zom-B-Q (Day 1) 🏅 Roseland, VA | 11 / 13 (337.6800) | 11 (166.8456) | 8 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Oct 25, 2024 | Zom-B-Q (ONE MEAT RIBS) Roseland, VA | — | — | 5 (168.5372) | — | — |
| May 4, 2024 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 8 / 35 (333.6572) | 13 (163.9544) | 3 (169.7028) | — | — |
| May 3, 2024 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 7 / 45 (339.4288) | 11 (169.1200) | 7 (170.3088) | — | — |
| Apr 20, 2024 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 2) 🏅 Williamsburg, VA | 12 / 25 (339.3484) | 5 (174.2628) | 16 (165.0856) | 17 (153.7028) | — |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Revolutionary BBQ Brawl (Day 1) 🏅 Williamsburg, VA | 4 / 25 (345.1204) | 2 (175.4288) | 8 (169.6916) | 27 (154.2284) | 14 (157.1660) |
| Mar 23, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 12 / 42 (334.7768) | 13 (167.3712) | 14 (167.4056) | 8 (168.5600) | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | 17 / 45 (330.7656) | 14 (168.5372) | 20 (162.2284) | 16 (166.8112) | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Chicken) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | — | 12 (167.9772) | — | — | — |
| Mar 22, 2024 | BBQ Gives Back (One Meat Ribs) 🏅 Urbanna, VA | — | — | 16 (166.2972) | — | — |