ALWAYS SAUCED

ALWAYS SAUCED is a competition barbecue team with 26 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 13 at the Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) (2021). They are ranked #6172 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,172

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1423

peak 1423 · rated over 20 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 8, 2017

latest Jun 12, 2026 · 8.8 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#214

Backyard 2025 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

8% of 26 contests

Avg finish

top 76%

overall standings

Best overall

665.0748 / 720

Master · Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest

Perfect 180s

Current form

608.62 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 625.69 (-17.07)

Walk rate

38%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5600

Pork Ribs · Rhythm & Ribs - One Meat Rib Contest

Consistency

±43.57

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.89 · weakest Brisket (156.53)

Road miles

782

across 26 mapped stops · furthest 104 mi

Schedule strength

55%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1570)

Purse competed for

$129K

listed at 13 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 13 state-championship entries

Master avg

625.69 / 720

16 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

331.54 / 360

4 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.

High-water mark

665.0748 career-best overall

92.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 665.0748 at Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest — 92.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 10, 2022

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

HOLLOW Q has finished one call ahead of ALWAYS SAUCED 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

Three Hog Night Smokers ahead in 100% of their meetings

Three Hog Night Smokers has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.4 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.36 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 29%.

Brisket avg 156.53
Chicken avg 163.89
1 call in 15 entries

Chicken nemesis

10 of 10 shared chicken entries lost

Three Hog Night Smokers ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Three Hog Night Smokers has out-cooked them in 10 of 10 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Jolly Roger has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 67% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 67% across 8 contests, versus top 76% the rest of the year.

8 June contests
top 76% 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	#272 (108 pts)	#306 (83 pts)	#253 (138 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Backyard	#214 (198 pts)	#299 (123 pts)	#235 (198 pts)	—	—
2024 ↗	Backyard	#329 (99 pts)	#253 (164 pts)	#342 (94 pts)	—	—
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#1242 (60 pts)	#1317 (60 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	—
2023 ↗	Master	#694 (221 pts)	#711 (241 pts)	#832 (216 pts)	#727 (216 pts)	#672 (256 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#775 (200 pts)	#671 (285 pts)	#763 (252 pts)	#945 (155 pts)	#776 (215 pts)
2021 ↗	Backyard	—	#134 (213 pts)	#148 (163 pts)	—	—
2021 ↗	Master	#855 (144 pts)	#440 (448 pts)	#431 (486 pts)	#891 (144 pts)	#820 (174 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1188 (193 pts)	#1240 (198 pts)	#1092 (253 pts)	#1275 (188 pts)	#1214 (203 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1245 (187 pts)	#1363 (177 pts)	#1238 (222 pts)	#1314 (187 pts)	#1208 (227 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1617 (144 pts)	#1584 (169 pts)	#1473 (189 pts)	#1689 (139 pts)	#1923 (119 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to ALWAYS SAUCED, each with one reason worth a look.

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

SMOKIN OKIES

#6,177 of the rated field

1422 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1422

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Apr 15, 2022

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Smoke Wagon BBQ

#6,174 of the rated field

1423 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1423

Fewer contests behind them than ALWAYS SAUCED has cooked, 16 to 26, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Sep 26, 2025

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HICKORY FLAT BBQ CO.

#6,169 of the rated field

1423 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Aug 15, 2025

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THE LICKS

#6,180 of the rated field

1422 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1422

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

rated over 15 contests
last seen Jun 27, 2025

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JUST FOR FUN

#6,178 of the rated field

1422 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1422

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

rated over 14 contests

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SULTANS OF SWINE, NC

#6,171 of the rated field

1423 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1423

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Jun 3, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BEER DART BBQ	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
MUNNY'S STOVE	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
POP'S HOBO BBQ	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
BARREL BOYS BBQ	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
Three Hog Night Smokers	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
IMAT BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
Sixkiller BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
Smokin Carr BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
HOLLOW Q	8	1	6	13%	⚔ compare
Smoked & Furious	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
MAN MEAT BBQ	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
BUTCHER BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Royal Schmidt's BBQ competition team	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
BURNIN' SANDS BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
Petie's Smokin Pits BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	21	6	0	2	173.7028	147.3828	163.89	top 66%
Pork Ribs	23	5	1	1	176.5600	141.6000	159.67	top 72%
Pork	16	0	0	0	163.9428	148.4916	156.96	top 88%
Brisket	15	1	0	0	169.6800	131.3712	156.53	top 78%

“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)	5	top 78%
Medium (20–39)	13	top 72%
Large (40+)	2	top 98%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
KS	18	0	top 76%
OK	2	0	top 75%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	4	16	top 75%	Jun 9, 2023
Harper County Bullseye BBQ	3	15	top 92%	Oct 15, 2021
Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest	2	4	top 56%	Jun 13, 2025
Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off	2	21	top 75%	Sep 20, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2021 6 contests

Contests a season 2.4 across 11 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 24 of 26 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 13 4 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 23 entries · 1 win · 5 calls

Opponents faced 316 finished ahead 162 times, behind 514

Longest layoff 1.5 yrs Oct 18, 2019 → Apr 9, 2021

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

20261 milestone

Jun 12 Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest

20251 milestone

Jun 13 25th tracked contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest

20221 milestone

Jun 10 Career-best overall score665.0748 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest

20215 milestones

Apr 9 First overall top-10 Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
Apr 9 First overall podium Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
Apr 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score326.3428 Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)
Sep 17 First category win (Pork Ribs) Rhythm & Ribs - One Meat Rib Contest
Sep 17 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5600 Rhythm & Ribs - One Meat Rib Contest

20191 milestone

Oct 18 10th tracked contest Harper County Bullseye BBQ

20172 milestones

Sep 8 First call Derby BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)
Sep 8 Peak power rating (1498) Derby BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)

20151 milestone

Sep 11 First tracked contest Derby BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+19	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest	Jun 13, 2025
+12.9	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY)	Apr 9, 2021
+9.6	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest	Jun 12, 2026

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.2	Jammin In JC Blues & BBQ Festival	Sep 22, 2017
-11.6	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	Jun 11, 2021
-11.2	Derby BBQ Festival	Jun 8, 2018
-10.8	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin BBQ Competition	Apr 21, 2023
-9.5	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest	Jun 7, 2024

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	1	0	0	100%	top 33%	93.8%	93.8%
2025	1	1	0	100%	top 11%	94.7%	94.7%
2024	2	0	0	50%	top 96%	89.2%	77.3%
2023	3	0	0	0%	top 92%	90.8%	88.3%
2022	3	0	0	67%	top 68%	92.4%	91.2%
2021	6	1	1	67%	top 71%	92.1%	91%
2019	3	0	0	0%	top 80%	89%	88.1%
2018	3	0	0	0%	top 87%	87.5%	86.1%
2017	2	0	0	50%	top 81%	89.3%	86.3%
2016	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2015	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 12, 2026	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	12 / 36 (337.6916)	17 (164.5716)	8 (173.1200)	—	—
Jun 13, 2025	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	4 / 36 (341.0972)	10 (168.5372)	4 (172.5600)	—	—
Jun 7, 2024	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	43 / 43 (470.6632)	40 (161.6456)	36 (159.9660)	43 (149.0516)	—
May 17, 2024	RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) Derby, KS	13 / 14 (321.0400)	5 (173.7028)	14 (147.3372)	—	—
Oct 6, 2023	Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 1 🏅 Harper, KS	11 / 11 (621.4284)	11 (162.8228)	11 (141.6000)	11 (155.3484)	11 (161.6572)
Jun 9, 2023	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	24 / 32 (653.5200)	25 (166.2516)	29 (157.6456)	26 (163.9428)	17 (165.6800)
Apr 21, 2023	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin BBQ Competition 🏅 Derby, KS	28 / 28 (632.4004)	20 (169.1200)	26 (157.6916)	27 (159.9428)	28 (145.6460)
Jun 10, 2022	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	16 / 29 (665.0748)	9 (173.1316)	24 (162.2516)	24 (162.8344)	12 (166.8572)
Apr 29, 2022	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin 🏅 Derby, KS	13 / 16 (647.8172)	7 (171.9656)	11 (165.6916)	14 (153.0744)	14 (157.0856)
Apr 29, 2022	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin - One Meat Ribs Derby, KS	—	—	17 (143.8856)	—	—
Oct 15, 2021	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	15 / 16 (662.7664)	11 (168.5488)	15 (166.2632)	15 (158.2744)	10 (169.6800)
Sep 17, 2021	Rhythm & Ribs - One Meat Chicken Contest Wichita, KS	—	2 (170.8228)	—	—	—
Sep 17, 2021	Rhythm & Ribs - One Meat Rib Contest Wichita, KS	—	—	1 (176.5600)	—	—
Jun 11, 2021	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	27 / 28 (650.7660)	14 (172.5600)	26 (161.6572)	27 (155.4172)	24 (161.1316)
Jun 11, 2021	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest - One Meat Contest - Ribs Derby, KS	—	—	16 (145.1088)	—	—
Apr 9, 2021	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Airfield Flyin Cook Off (BACKYARD ONLY) Derby, KS	3 / 13 (326.3428)	3 (162.3200)	5 (164.0228)	—	—
Oct 18, 2019	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	23 / 25 (630.7776)	22 (160.5256)	21 (157.7260)	22 (159.4172)	24 (153.1088)
Sep 20, 2019	Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Ponca City, OK	21 / 28 (631.2568)	21 (155.9656)	11 (164)	26 (149.6456)	18 (161.6456)
Jun 7, 2019	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	28 / 39 (640.5032)	32 (157.6916)	25 (160.0116)	23 (163.4400)	27 (159.3600)
Oct 19, 2018	Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	30 / 33 (630.1716)	33 (147.3828)	32 (150.8116)	22 (163.4172)	14 (168.5600)
Sep 21, 2018	Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off Ponca City, OK	22 / 29 (612.4344)	24 (155.9884)	15 (163.4516)	28 (148.4916)	27 (144.5028)
Jun 8, 2018	Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	38 / 40 (618.1256)	36 (156.5600)	33 (154.8460)	40 (153.0740)	35 (153.6456)
Sep 22, 2017	Jammin In JC Blues & BBQ Festival Junction City, KS	34 / 35 (600.4456)	32 (153.6684)	27 (160.0116)	33 (155.3944)	34 (131.3712)
Sep 8, 2017	Derby BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS	19 / 29 (642.8572)	14 (167.9884)	10 (166.2972)	20 (160.5600)	24 (148.0116)
Sep 9, 2016	Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 11, 2015	Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	—	—	—	—	—

ALWAYS SAUCED

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)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

Chicken nemesis

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)