A tough matchup
4–0
behind in the head-to-head
Rudes BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Rudes BBQ has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
Hillbilly Deluxe
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1515
peak 1519 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2014-04-18
latest 2024-08-23
Best ToY finish
#171
Backyard 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 46%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
330.95
last 5 Backyard vs avg 330.95 (+0.00)
Walk rate
57%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.84
std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 167.39 · weakest Brisket (162.83)
Road miles
870
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 437 mi
Schedule strength
18%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1525)
Purse competed for
$30K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
649.01 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
330.95 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is 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 (3 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.
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of BS BBQ in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
The comeback
5.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.2 years, then back at Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 (2019-06-21).
- last seen 2014-04-18
- back 2019-06-21
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.
85 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2627 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1519
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Hillbilly Deluxe's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2629 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1521
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2632 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1517
No shared contest yet.
Level with Hillbilly Deluxe on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2641 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1518
No shared contest yet.
14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 29% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-head#2631 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 8 years after Hillbilly Deluxe did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Head-to-head#2637 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 60%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.8800 | 160.5600 | 163.89 | top 56% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 178.2972 | 149.6800 | 163.73 | top 39% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.3944 | 167.3944 | 167.39 | top 47% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.8344 | 162.8344 | 162.83 | top 68% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IL | 5 | 0 | top 40% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 76% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 53% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 59% | 2024-08-17 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
10.3 yrs
2014-04-18 → 2024-08-23
Busiest season
2024
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
6 of 7 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
5
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
7 entries · 1 win · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Pork
averages 167.39 · weakest Brisket (162.83)
Walk rate
57%
a top-10 call in 4 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
29%
2 of 7 contests
Master average
649.01
out of 720 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Backyard average
330.95
out of 360 · 5 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
176
115–102 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
870
7 mapped stops · furthest 437 mi
Schedule strength
1525
average field rating faced — tougher than 18% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$29,900
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
5.2 yrs
2014-04-18 → 2019-06-21
Power rating
1515
peak 1519 · #2635 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2014
- First tracked contest High on the Hog Festival
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.0060 High on the Hog Festival
- Career-best overall score649.0060 High on the Hog Festival
- 2019
- First call Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1
- 2023
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.2972 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- 2024
- Peak power rating (1519) Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.2 | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-09-16 |
| +7.6 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-06-14 |
| +7 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-08-19 |
| +5.6 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-08-23 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.6 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2024-08-17 |
| -6.6 | High on the Hog Festival | 2014-04-18 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 50% | 93.2% | 91.4% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 26% | 94.1% | 92.8% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-23 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 10 / 28 (335.3600) | 9 (166.8228) | 11 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2024-08-17 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 22 / 26 (316.5600) | 16 (166.8800) | 24 (149.6800) | — | — |
| 2024-06-14 | Morris Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 12 / 40 (334.8340) | 17 (165.1312) | 11 (169.7028) | — | — |
| 2023-09-16 | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 6 / 35 (338.8572) | 19 (160.5600) | 1 (178.2972) | — | — |
| 2023-08-19 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 11 / 32 (329.1204) | 21 (160.5716) | 3 (168.5488) | — | — |
| 2019-06-21 | Heritage Days BBQ Showdown Day 1 🏅 Belvidere, IL | — | — | 8 (155.9660) | — | — |
| 2014-04-18 | High on the Hog Festival Winchester, TN | 47 / 62 (649.0060) | 49 (163.3944) | 54 (155.3828) | 29 (167.3944) | 42 (162.8344) |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #171 (319 pts) | #166 (334 pts) | #175 (309 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #231 (167 pts) | #127 (517 pts) | — | — |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #2084 (75 pts) | #2167 (75 pts) | #2161 (75 pts) | #2172 (75 pts) | #2148 (75 pts) |