The heartbreaker
3.4516
points from the title
Came within 3.4516 points of the Grand Championship at Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES) (2026-08-16).
Bootleg BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1459
peak 1459 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
2013-09-13
latest 2026-08-16
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 73%
overall standings
Best overall
673.7028
Competitor Series · Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
631.88 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 626.48 (+5.40)
Walk rate
30%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±30.38
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.96 · weakest Brisket (151.20)
Road miles
6,986
mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 1984 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$33K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
626.48 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (8 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.
Their season
2026
their best year
2026 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 44%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10s
- 0 category wins
- average top 44%
A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
Q-JITSU ahead in 100% of their meetings
Q-JITSU has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The weak link
−10.8
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 10.76 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
- Brisket avg 151.20
- Pork Ribs avg 161.96
- 0 calls in 6 entries
The comeback
8.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 8.8 years, then back at All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) (2024-08-02).
- last seen 2015-10-02
- back 2024-08-02
Pork Ribs nemesis
4 of 4
shared pork ribs entries lost
Bleacher Bums BBQ ahead 100% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, Bleacher Bums BBQ has out-cooked them in 4 of 4 shared pork ribs entries.
An August team
Top 59%
average finish in August
Something about August: average finish in the top 59% across 3 contests, versus top 73% the rest of the year.
- 3 August contests
- top 73% the rest of the year
The long haul
6,986
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,986 miles across 10 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,984 miles to 1st Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship.
- 10 mapped stops
- furthest 1,984 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.
120 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5157 of the rated field
- Contests
- 32
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1518
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Bootleg BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Bootleg BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#5136 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than Bootleg BBQ has cooked, 6 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#5143 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1508
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1508 at their best, 49 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#5148 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Bootleg BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#5150 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1459
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-head#5138 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
No shared contest yet.
Level with Bootleg BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 178.8572 | 149.1428 | 161.95 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8344 | 149.7372 | 161.96 | top 64% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2856 | 131.3828 | 154.83 | top 77% |
| Brisket | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159.9656 | 137.6344 | 151.20 | top 86% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 3 | 0 | top 52% |
| ND | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
| CA | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| MN | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| VA | 1 | 0 | top 81% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 49% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 83% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All American BBQ Throwdown | 2 | 27 | 0 | top 69% | 2026-07-31 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
12.9 yrs
2013-09-13 → 2026-08-16
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MI
5 of 10 contests · 6 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 161.96 · weakest Brisket (151.20)
Walk rate
30%
a top-10 call in 3 of 10 contests
Overall top-10 rate
10%
1 of 10 contests
Master average
626.48
out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
207
49–185 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
6,986
10 mapped stops · furthest 1,984 mi
Schedule strength
1561
average field rating faced — tougher than 47% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$33,045
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 3 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
8.8 yrs
2015-10-02 → 2024-08-02
Power rating
1459
peak 1459 · #5153 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Black Dog Music and Que Festival
- Peak power rating (1492) Black Dog Music and Que Festival
- 2014
- First call I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series)
- 2024
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.2912 All American BBQ Throwdown
- 2026
- Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 All American BBQ Throwdown
- First overall top-10 Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- First overall podium Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- First Reserve Championship Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- 10th tracked contest Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- Career-best overall score673.7028 Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- Most recent contest Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.1 | Med City BBQ & Musicfest | 2014-08-08 |
| -11.7 | 1st Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship | 2015-10-02 |
| -9 | ND BBQ Championship | 2024-09-27 |
| -8.2 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival | 2013-09-13 |
| -0.5 | All American BBQ Throwdown | 2026-07-31 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 44% | 93% | 93% |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 79% | 92.1% | 89.7% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 84.1% | 84.1% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 93% | 82.3% | 82.3% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 83.3% | 83.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-16 | Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Lapeer, MI | 2 / 12 (673.7028) | — | — | — | — |
| 2026-07-31 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 32 / 45 (669.5772) | 2 (178.8572) | 25 (170.8228) | 38 (160.5256) | 42 (159.3716) |
| 2026-07-31 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 24 (165.7144) | — | — |
| 2024-09-27 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 43 / 47 (628.4572) | 40 (161.7144) | 42 (157.6800) | 40 (157.1200) | 42 (151.9428) |
| 2024-08-02 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 27 / 40 (663.2912) | 35 (161.6572) | 18 (167.3828) | 7 (174.2856) | 32 (159.9656) |
| 2024-08-02 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 11 (170.8344) | — | — |
| 2015-10-02 | 1st Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship Oroville, CA | 38 / 41 (605.6228) | 26 (161.7028) | 26 (160.5600) | 41 (131.3828) | 28 (151.9772) |
| 2014-10-18 | I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series) New Hope, AL | — | 4 (169.7256) | 11 (162.3084) | — | — |
| 2014-08-08 | Med City BBQ & Musicfest Rochester, MN | 37 / 40 (592.4572) | 36 (150.8572) | 32 (152.5716) | 38 (151.3940) | 40 (137.6344) |
| 2013-09-13 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival Floyd, VA | 13 / 16 (599.4516) | 12 (149.1428) | 12 (149.7372) | 13 (154.2628) | 14 (146.3088) |