The Art of Que

The Art of Que is a competition barbecue team with 21 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2024. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out (2021). They are ranked #1450 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,450

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1568

peak 1568 · rated over 17 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Aug 9, 2019

latest Sep 13, 2024 · 5.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#404

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve · wins it all 5% of the time

Category wins

12 podiums

Overall top-10s

33% of 21 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 46%

overall standings

Best overall

705.1200 / 720

Master · Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

Perfect 180s

2 🔥

Current form

680.03 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 677.04 (+2.99)

Walk rate

67%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork · 35th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

Consistency

±15.29

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 170.69 · weakest Brisket (167.38)

Road miles

853

across 21 mapped stops · furthest 128 mi

Schedule strength

84%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1613)

Purse competed for

$240K

listed at 16 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

won from 16 state-championship entries

Master avg

677.04 / 720

17 Master contests · 1 GC

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (13 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

2 perfect 180s

2 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork.

Pork ×2

Against the odds

20-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 80 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out (Sep 17, 2021) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 20-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, SMOOTH SMOKE.

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championship here

Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 1st
average top 11%

A multi-meat day

1 contest with 2+ category wins

They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out (Sep 17, 2021).

Chicken 1st
Brisket 1st

They almost always walk

67% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 14 of 21 contests

A top-10 category call in 67% of their 21 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

705.1200 career-best overall

97.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 705.1200 at Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out — 97.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 17, 2021

State champions

1 state championship won

They've taken 1 state championship from 16 entries at contests carrying the title.

16 state-championship entries

Show 6 more storylines

A tough matchup

11–0 behind in the head-to-head

MAN MEAT BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

MAN MEAT BBQ has come out ahead in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

The drought

11 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out on Sep 17, 2021 — 11 contests and 5 years ago.

last GC Sep 17, 2021
5 years ago

A strong matchup

7–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 70% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Ambition Que in 7 of their 10 shared contests.

They cook the hard rooms

1613 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 84% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1613 power rating — a tougher draw than 84% of every rated contest in the data.

17 rated contests

A September team

Top 24% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 24% across 6 contests, versus top 46% the rest of the year.

6 September contests
top 46% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.01% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.01% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 94.0% of a perfect score
21 contests

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
2023 ↗	Master	#682 (226 pts)	#717 (236 pts)	#875 (196 pts)	#398 (536 pts)	#894 (156 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#624 (296 pts)	#615 (326 pts)	#432 (584 pts)	#634 (311 pts)	#606 (331 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#404 (464 pts)	#276 (749 pts)	#492 (409 pts)	#381 (524 pts)	#411 (489 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to The Art of Que, each with one reason worth a look.

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

CAMMO'S BBQ

#1,449 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1568

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 19 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Nov 10, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

CROSSCUT BBQ2

#1,448 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1568

Fewer contests behind them than The Art of Que has cooked, 14 to 21, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 14 contests
last seen May 1, 2026

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PORK PULLIN PLOWBOYS

#1,456 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1588

25 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 16% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Sep 27, 2023

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CHARCOAL MONKEY

#1,443 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1588

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before The Art of Que's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 11 contests

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SMOKIN YANKEES

#1,451 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1572

They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before The Art of Que's first contest.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Oct 29, 2016

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BIKER BBQ

#1,447 of the rated field

1568 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1585

Level with The Art of Que on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 27 contests
last seen Sep 22, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
ALL FORKED UP FOR Q	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
AMERICAN FIRE BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
Sons of a Brisket	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
MAN MEAT BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
Ambition Que	10	7	3	70%	⚔ compare
Bears Backyard Q	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
KEEP CALM & SAUCE ON	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
WEEKEND BUM BBQ	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
GRILLAS	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare
S&S BBQ	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
LOVE 2 Q	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
PORKY MCBEEF AND THE CLUCKERS	8	7	1	88%	⚔ compare
PARTS 'R' SMOKIN	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
Wabash BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	19	7	2	4	179.4400	159.3828	170.63	top 45%
Pork Ribs	22	9	0	4	178.2972	157.6800	168.79	top 49%
Pork	19	8	2	3	180 🔥	157.0744	170.69	top 41%
Brisket	19	3	1	1	177.7028	154.8000	167.38	top 51%

“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)	1	1	top 6%
Medium (20–39)	11	0	top 46%
Large (40+)	7	0	top 52%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MO	15	1	top 40%
KS	4	0	top 68%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ & Fly-In on the River	3	8	0	top 43%	Aug 18, 2023
Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	2	1	1	top 11%	Sep 17, 2021
Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES)	2	20	0	top 56%	Jun 9, 2023
Smoke in the Spring	2	43	0	top 62%	Apr 8, 2022

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 7 contests

Contests a season 3.5 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in MO 17 of 21 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 14 4 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 22 entries · 0 wins · 9 calls

First title Sep 17, 2021 Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

Opponents faced 342 finished ahead 411 times, behind 379

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

20241 milestone

Sep 13 Most recent contest Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES)

20231 milestone

Sep 15 Peak power rating (1568) 35th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

20221 milestone

Jun 10 First perfect 180 (Pork) Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES)

20216 milestones

Sep 17 First overall podium Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 17 First Grand Championship Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 17 First state championship Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 17 First multi-meat day Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 17 10th tracked contest Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 17 Career-best overall score705.1200 Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

20201 milestone

Jun 26 First category win (Chicken) Grillin and Chillin

20194 milestones

Aug 9 First tracked contest Smokin Trackside BBQ Bash
Aug 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.3828 Smokin Trackside BBQ Bash
Sep 20 First call Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out
Sep 20 First overall top-10 Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16	BBQ & Fly in on the River	Aug 14, 2020
+15.4	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	Sep 17, 2021
+14.6	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	Sep 20, 2019
+10.9	West Bottoms Cameron BBQ Contest	Sep 26, 2020
+10.5	35th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out	Sep 15, 2023

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-6.4	BBQ & Fly in on the River - Day 2	Aug 21, 2021
-5.7	Smoke in the Spring	Oct 30, 2020
-4.7	Big Blue BBQ Championship	Jun 4, 2021
-4.7	Bernard BBQ Battle (Formerly Brew,Blues & Bar-B-Q)	May 13, 2022
-0.2	BBQ & Fly-In on the River	Aug 19, 2022

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)
2024	1	0	1	0	100%	top 24%	94.6%	94.6%
2023	3	0	1	1	100%	top 45%	96.5%	94.4%
2022	7	0	0	1	43%	top 57%	94.5%	93.5%
2021	4	1	1	2	75%	top 56%	97.9%	93.8%
2020	4	0	3	1	75%	top 34%	96.2%	94.8%
2019	2	0	1	0	50%	top 36%	95.6%	93.6%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 13, 2024	Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Weston, MO	9 / 38 (681.0976)	23 (169.6916)	4 (174.2972)	23 (168.5600)	13 (168.5488)
Sep 15, 2023	35th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out 🏅 Kearney, MO	6 / 26 (694.8116)	5 (173.7028)	9 (172.5716)	1 (180)	16 (168.5372)
Aug 18, 2023	BBQ & Fly-In on the River 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO	31 / 57 (670.1600)	38 (165.0972)	25 (171.9656)	2 (178.2972)	44 (154.8000)
Jun 9, 2023	Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES) unrated Kansas City, MO	25 / 44 (674.7888)	38 (162.8688)	36 (165.6800)	5 (176.5600)	10 (169.6800)
Oct 28, 2022	Boo-B-Que BBQ Championship (One Meat Ribs) Oak Grove, MO	—	—	27 (166.8112)	—	—
Sep 16, 2022	34th Annual Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out 🏅 Kearney, MO	17 / 33 (679.3372)	23 (163.9428)	10 (172.5600)	19 (168.5600)	12 (174.2744)
Aug 19, 2022	BBQ & Fly-In on the River 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO	33 / 54 (675.3484)	40 (165.6684)	32 (168)	20 (173.7028)	33 (167.9772)
Jun 17, 2022	Clay County Juneteenth BBQ Contest (One Meat Ribs) Liberty, MO	—	—	3 (173.1544)	—	—
Jun 10, 2022	Made for KC BBQ Championship (COMPETITORS SERIES) Kansas City, MO	20 / 36 (680.4800)	35 (159.3828)	19 (170.2744)	1 (180)	21 (170.8228)
May 13, 2022	Bernard BBQ Battle (Formerly Brew,Blues & Bar-B-Q) 🏅 Lansing, KS	20 / 28 (652.4340)	16 (169.1428)	24 (160.5256)	20 (162.2284)	18 (160.5372)
Apr 8, 2022	Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS	43 / 94 (677.1088)	17 (174.8800)	59 (166.8344)	70 (164.5372)	32 (170.8572)
Sep 17, 2021	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out 🏅 Kearney, MO	1 / 16 (705.1200)	1 (177.1428)	2 (178.2972)	5 (171.9772)	1 (177.7028)
Aug 21, 2021	BBQ & Fly in on the River - Day 2 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO	25 / 30 (660.9596)	20 (171.9884)	28 (160.5144)	11 (171.9656)	27 (156.4912)
Aug 20, 2021	BBQ & Fly in on the River - Day 1 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO	22 / 40 (681.6456)	3 (178.8572)	34 (157.6800)	6 (176.5600)	19 (168.5484)
Jun 4, 2021	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	22 / 28 (654.7544)	6 (173.7144)	27 (157.6916)	24 (159.3828)	20 (163.9656)
Oct 30, 2020	Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS	72 / 93 (657.0288)	74 (164.5600)	51 (167.3944)	83 (157.0744)	45 (168)
Sep 26, 2020	West Bottoms Cameron BBQ Contest 🏅 Cameron, MO	9 / 36 (691.3832)	4 (178.8572)	8 (174.8572)	7 (175.4172)	29 (162.2516)
Aug 14, 2020	BBQ & Fly in on the River 🏅 Excelsior Springs, MO	8 / 55 (692.5028)	33 (169.6684)	2 (178.2972)	5 (178.8572)	33 (165.6800)
Jun 26, 2020	Grillin and Chillin 🏅 Chillicothe, MO	7 / 34 (688.5944)	1 (179.4400)	17 (168.5600)	12 (172.5600)	16 (168.0344)
Sep 20, 2019	Jesse James Barbeque Cook Out 🏅 Kearney, MO	5 / 31 (688.5600)	3 (174.2856)	9 (169.1544)	15 (167.9772)	4 (177.1428)
Aug 9, 2019	Smokin Trackside BBQ Bash 🏅 Winston, MO	17 / 30 (659.3828)	11 (169.1428)	17 (165.1200)	24 (158.8228)	15 (166.2972)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

The Art of Que

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

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

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

Against the odds

Happy hunting ground

A multi-meat day

They almost always walk

High-water mark

State champions

A tough matchup

The drought

A strong matchup

They cook the hard rooms

A September team

The metronome

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 — 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)