BLUE COLLAR BBQ

BLUE COLLAR BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 29 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 8th of 33 at the Smoke on the Water (2015). They are ranked #6134 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#6,134

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1427

peak 1502 · rated over 29 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 2, 2013

latest Sep 20, 2024 · 11.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#2158

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podium

Overall top-10s

7% of 29 contests

Avg finish

top 72%

overall standings

Best overall

686.2284 / 720

Master · Southaven Springfest

Perfect 180s

Current form

616.52 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 612.17 (+4.35)

Walk rate

31%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1772

Chicken · Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest

Consistency

±81.06

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 158.82 · weakest Brisket (155.24)

Road miles

6,059

across 29 mapped stops · furthest 1,269 mi

Schedule strength

54%

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

Purse competed for

$133K

listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 12 state-championship entries

Master avg

612.17 / 720

27 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

278.78 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs

Backyard (3-meat) avg

332.50 / 540

1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 (9 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

686.2284 career-best overall

95.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 686.2284 at Southaven Springfest — 95.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 29, 2021

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BACK FROM THE DEAD has finished one call ahead of BLUE COLLAR BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2021 their best year

2021 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 45%.

5 contests
1 overall top-10
0 category wins
average top 45%

A tough matchup

13–0 behind in the head-to-head

Boxer Q BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

Boxer Q BBQ has come out ahead in 13 of their 13 shared contests.

A strong matchup

8–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 89% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SILVER FOX BBQ in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

12 of 13 shared chicken entries lost

777 BBQ ahead 92% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, 777 BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 13 shared chicken entries.

Boom or bust

±11.74% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±11.74% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 84.0% of a perfect score
best 95.3%

Show 2 more storylines

An October team

Top 50% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 50% across 5 contests, versus top 72% the rest of the year.

5 October contests
top 72% the rest of the year

The long haul

6,059 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,059 miles across 29 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,269 miles to Turf & Surf BBQ Championship.

29 mapped stops
furthest 1,269 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
2015 ↗	Master	#2158 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2225 (60 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BLUE COLLAR BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

PAPPO'S BBQ

#6,136 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 21
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1427

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 21 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 21 contests
last seen Apr 10, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Splitlog Smokers

#6,133 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1427

Fewer contests behind them than BLUE COLLAR BBQ has cooked, 18 to 29, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Second Helping BBQ -PA

#6,132 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 49
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 2%
Peak: 1427

49 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 2% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 49 contests
last seen Jul 11, 2026

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BACKDRAFT BBQ SC

#6,141 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1427

Level with BLUE COLLAR BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jul 9, 2026

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SMOKE-N-ASHES

#6,137 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1427

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Aug 19, 2022

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Why Not Smoke

#6,130 of the rated field

1427 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

They've been 1501 at their best, 74 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Sep 26, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
777 BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Boxer Q BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
INDIGO PIG	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
BLACK EYE BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
BLUE BUCKET BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
RICH AND STU'S VOODOO BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
SILVER FOX BBQ	9	8	1	89%	⚔ compare
Showtime	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
ROCK N BLUES BBQ	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
913 BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
RAZORRACKS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
FRONT DOOR GANG	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
B & C SMOKERS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
KC SMOKE DAWGS	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN WILLE'S BARBECUE	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	3	0	177.1772	106	158.82	top 62%
Pork Ribs	29	4	1	171.4172	128.4800	157.26	top 65%
Pork	26	3	0	172.5600	141.8288	157.54	top 72%
Brisket	26	3	0	176	137.1200	155.24	top 67%

“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)	18	0	top 69%
Large (40+)	11	0	top 76%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	16	top 73%
OK	4	top 96%
MS	4	top 37%
MN	1	top 55%
AL	1	top 91%
IL	1	top 74%
TN	1	top 53%
CA	1	top 100%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off	3	24	top 95%	Sep 20, 2024
Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	3	38	top 83%	Jul 10, 2020
Smoke in the Spring	3	37	top 72%	Apr 8, 2016
Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest	2	27	top 92%	Aug 5, 2016
Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest	2	12	top 73%	Aug 1, 2014

More numbers

Busiest season 2021 5 contests

Contests a season 2.4 across 12 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KS 16 of 29 contests · 8 states in all

Contests visited 21 5 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 29 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls

Opponents faced 710 finished ahead 350 times, behind 919

Longest layoff 1 yrs Sep 15, 2023 → Sep 20, 2024

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

20241 milestone

Sep 20 Most recent contest Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off

20221 milestone

Apr 22 25th tracked contest Southaven Springfest

20211 milestone

Oct 29 Career-best overall score686.2284 Southaven Springfest

20171 milestone

Jul 14 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1772 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest

20161 milestone

Apr 8 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Spring

20152 milestones

Oct 9 First overall top-10 Smoke on the Water
Oct 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score665.0284 Smoke on the Water

20133 milestones

Aug 2 First tracked contest Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest
Aug 2 First call Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest
Aug 2 Peak power rating (1502) Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.5	Southaven Springfest	Oct 29, 2021
+11.5	DeSoto Shrine Club 13th Annual BBQ Cook-Off	Jun 18, 2021
+11	Smoke on the Water	Oct 9, 2015
+8.8	Hog Wild BBQ Cook off, Kids Que and Family Festival	May 1, 2021
+6.1	Covington TN's World's Oldest BBQ Cooking Contest	Jun 4, 2021

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.8	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest	Aug 1, 2014
-11.2	Turf & Surf BBQ Championship	Aug 17, 2018
-10	Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off	Sep 20, 2019
-10	Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off	Sep 20, 2024
-9.6	Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off	Sep 15, 2023

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	1	0	0%	top 92%	82.8%	82.8%
2023	1	0	0%	top 100%	73.7%	73.7%
2022	4	0	0%	top 72%	93.9%	78.9%
2021	5	1	80%	top 45%	95.3%	93.4%
2020	1	0	0%	top 95%	85.3%	85.3%
2019	1	0	0%	top 100%	40.9%	40.9%
2018	3	0	0%	top 87%	88.9%	78.3%
2017	2	0	100%	top 69%	90.4%	90.4%
2016	2	0	0%	top 88%	85.2%	84.4%
2015	3	1	33%	top 66%	92.4%	88.2%
2014	4	0	0%	top 72%	89.4%	86.7%
2013	2	0	100%	top 58%	87.9%	86.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 20, 2024	Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off 🏅 Ponca City, OK	24 / 26 (595.8172)	22 (154.8228)	22 (151.3944)	23 (150.2628)	24 (139.3372)
Sep 15, 2023	Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off 🏅 Ponca City, OK	26 / 26 (530.3888)	26 (106)	25 (139.3488)	26 (145.0972)	26 (139.9428)
Sep 16, 2022	Cherokee Strip BBQ & Chili Cook-Off 🏅 Ponca City, OK	36 / 39 (593.7600)	37 (150.2972)	39 (143.4516)	34 (155.4056)	36 (144.6056)
Jun 3, 2022	Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) 🏅 Owatonna, MN	18 / 33 (278.7772)	16 (150.2972)	18 (128.4800)	—	—
Apr 22, 2022	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	18 / 36 (676.4228)	22 (170.8228)	21 (166.2516)	13 (169.6684)	12 (169.6800)
Apr 22, 2022	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) Florence, AL	31 / 34 (332.5028)	16 (167.9656)	21 (164.5372)	—	—
Oct 29, 2021	Southaven Springfest 🏅 Southaven, MS	10 / 36 (686.2284)	17 (169.1200)	15 (169.1200)	13 (171.9884)	6 (176)
Sep 24, 2021	Praise the Lard Murphysboro BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Murphysboro, IL	29 / 39 (654.6856)	16 (170.2628)	28 (162.2516)	35 (157.6456)	25 (164.5256)
Jun 18, 2021	DeSoto Shrine Club 13th Annual BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Nesbit, MS	15 / 48 (685.6684)	7 (176)	22 (169.6800)	13 (172.5600)	27 (167.4284)
Jun 4, 2021	Covington TN's World's Oldest BBQ Cooking Contest 🏅 Covington, TN	18 / 34 (666.7544)	26 (162.8228)	10 (171.4172)	10 (170.8344)	24 (161.6800)
May 1, 2021	Hog Wild BBQ Cook off, Kids Que and Family Festival 🏅 Brookhaven, MS	15 / 38 (667.8628)	12 (169.1200)	9 (169.6800)	32 (158.2400)	10 (170.8228)
Jul 10, 2020	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest 🏅 Mayetta, KS	58 / 61 (614.1256)	55 (157.7144)	60 (149.1200)	54 (159.9312)	57 (147.3600)
Sep 20, 2019	Cherokee Strip BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Ponca City, OK	28 / 28 (294.2972)	—	27 (150.3200)	—	28 (143.9772)
Oct 6, 2018	Rib's and Bibs Topeka, KS	30 / 37 (633.0172)	29 (161.7028)	25 (162.2860)	30 (155.3828)	30 (153.6456)
Aug 17, 2018	Turf & Surf BBQ Championship Del Mar, CA	51 / 51 (419.3600)	50 (122.2628)	45 (146.2744)	47 (150.8228)	—
Jul 13, 2018	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	38 / 48 (639.9316)	29 (165.7028)	38 (159.4288)	31 (164.5828)	44 (150.2172)
Jul 14, 2017	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	43 / 58 (650.2288)	4 (177.1772)	54 (154.8344)	55 (154.8228)	32 (163.3944)
Jun 10, 2017	Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout Tonganoxie, KS	18 / 28 (650.8232)	20 (163.4516)	19 (161.1316)	24 (159.3828)	6 (166.8572)
Aug 5, 2016	Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	27 / 29 (602.8000)	22 (158.2744)	28 (143.4172)	29 (145.1428)	24 (155.9656)
Apr 8, 2016	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	90 / 109 (613.0972)	71 (160.5828)	30 (167.4400)	104 (142.8344)	100 (142.2400)
Oct 9, 2015	Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS	8 / 33 (665.0284)	19 (160.5144)	3 (169.1428)	6 (169.6684)	13 (165.7028)
Jul 31, 2015	Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	42 / 46 (616.5716)	28 (162.8688)	45 (144)	43 (149.7372)	28 (159.9656)
Apr 10, 2015	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	79 / 97 (623.8972)	61 (161.1428)	61 (160.5600)	87 (152.5028)	78 (149.6916)
Oct 10, 2014	Smoke on the Water at Lake Shawnee Topeka, KS	19 / 37 (628.4684)	11 (166.2628)	33 (149.6800)	13 (162.2628)	21 (150.2628)
Aug 1, 2014	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	36 / 37 (607.8972)	36 (148.5600)	29 (153.0856)	29 (157.7372)	34 (148.5144)
Jul 18, 2014	10th Annual WildBlue BBQ Burlington, KS	36 / 41 (617.6344)	30 (158.2744)	27 (158.8688)	27 (163.3712)	41 (137.1200)
Apr 11, 2014	Smoke In The Spring Osage City, KS	37 / 73 (643.9884)	46 (157.1772)	13 (169.7028)	60 (151.9656)	15 (165.1428)
Oct 11, 2013	Smoke on the Water Topeka, KS	29 / 43 (616.6520)	27 (155.9884)	9 (165.7260)	41 (141.8288)	27 (153.1088)
Aug 2, 2013	Rossville Tall Corn BBQ Contest Rossville, KS	12 / 25 (633.1772)	10 (161.7144)	12 (160)	9 (162.3428)	14 (149.1200)

BLUE COLLAR BBQ

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

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (9 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Boom or bust

An October team

The long haul

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)

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)