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) (Aug 16, 2026).
Bootleg BBQ
Bootleg BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 12 at the Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES) (2026), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #5193 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1459
peak 1459 · rated over 6 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Sep 13, 2013
latest Aug 16, 2026 · 12.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
10% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 73%
overall standings
Best overall
673.7028 / 720
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
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 161.96 · weakest Brisket (151.20)
Road miles
6,986
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 1,984 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1560)
Purse competed for
$33K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
626.48 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Bootleg BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
117 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,181 of the rated field
- Contests
- 32
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 6%
- Peak
- 1519
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#5,199 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,176 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
They turned up 6 years after Bootleg BBQ did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Compare careers#5,188 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1508
They've been 1508 at their best, 49 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#5,175 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1459
Level with Bootleg BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,203 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
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.
⚔ Compare careersBy 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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 49% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 83% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All American BBQ Throwdown | 2 | 27 | 0 | top 69% | Jul 31, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
3 contests
Contests a season
2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MI
5 of 10 contests · 6 states in all
Contests visited
6
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
207
finished ahead 49 times, behind 185
Longest layoff
8.8 yrs
Oct 2, 2015 → Aug 2, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20267 milestones
- 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)
20241 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score663.2912 All American BBQ Throwdown
20141 milestone
- First call I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series)
20132 milestones
- First tracked contest Black Dog Music and Que Festival
- Peak power rating (1492) Black Dog Music and Que Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.1 | Med City BBQ & Musicfest | Aug 8, 2014 |
| -11.7 | 1st Annual Hot Q's & Cold Brews BBQ Championship | Oct 2, 2015 |
| -9 | ND BBQ Championship | Sep 27, 2024 |
| -8.2 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival | Sep 13, 2013 |
| -0.5 | All American BBQ Throwdown | Jul 31, 2026 |
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)
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% | 93.6% | 93.3% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2026 | Great Lakes Smoke Showdown BBQ Cook Off (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Lapeer, MI | 2 / 12 (673.7028) | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 31, 2026 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 32 / 45 (669.5772) | 2 (178.8572) | 25 (170.8228) | 38 (160.5256) | 42 (159.3716) |
| Jul 31, 2026 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 24 (165.7144) | — | — |
| Sep 27, 2024 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 43 / 47 (628.4572) | 40 (161.7144) | 42 (157.6800) | 40 (157.1200) | 42 (151.9428) |
| Aug 2, 2024 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 27 / 40 (663.2912) | 35 (161.6572) | 18 (167.3828) | 7 (174.2856) | 32 (159.9656) |
| Aug 2, 2024 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 11 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Oct 2, 2015 | 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) |
| Oct 18, 2014 | I Grill Because I CARE (Competitor's Series) New Hope, AL | — | 4 (169.7256) | 11 (162.3084) | — | — |
| Aug 8, 2014 | Med City BBQ & Musicfest Rochester, MN | 37 / 40 (592.4572) | 36 (150.8572) | 32 (152.5716) | 38 (151.3940) | 40 (137.6344) |
| Sep 13, 2013 | Black Dog Music and Que Festival Floyd, VA | 13 / 16 (599.4516) | 12 (149.1428) | 12 (149.7372) | 13 (154.2628) | 14 (146.3088) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.