Hot Thang BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1206

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1585

peak 1585 · rated over 21 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2024-09-27

latest 2026-08-21

Best ToY finish

#41

Backyard 2026

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

9 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 28 contests

Avg finish

top 45%

overall standings

Best overall

354.2744 / 360

Backyard · York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

342.00 ▲

last 5 Backyard vs avg 331.85 (+10.15)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

and counting

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Chicken · York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)

Consistency

±12.72

std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.16 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.59)

Road miles

1,632

mi across 28 mapped stops · furthest 240 mi

Schedule strength

75%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1596)

Purse competed for

$90K

listed at 22 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

GCs in 19 state-championship entries

Backyard avg

331.85 / 360

21 Backyard contests · 1 GC

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

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (11 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.

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180s

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

On the rise

+58 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 58 points across 11 contests since 2025-09-26 — from 1527 up to 1585.

11 contests since 2025-09-26
now 1585

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 18 of 28 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 28 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

354.2744 career-best overall

98.4% of a perfect 360

Their best day on record: 354.2744 at York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) — 98.4% of a perfect 360.

Backyard
2026-06-12

State champions

1 state championships won

They've taken 1 state championship from 19 entries at contests carrying the title.

19 state-championship entries

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Brewski's BBQ Competition Team has finished one call ahead of Hot Thang BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

18–3 behind in the head-to-head

FIRE & SHINE BBQ ahead in 86% of their meetings

FIRE & SHINE BBQ has come out ahead in 18 of their 21 shared contests.

A strong matchup

10–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BLUE EYED BBQ in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

18 of 25 shared chicken entries lost

FIRE & SHINE BBQ ahead 72% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, FIRE & SHINE BBQ has out-cooked them in 18 of 25 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An April team

Top 33% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 33% across 3 contests, versus top 45% the rest of the year.

3 April contests
top 45% the rest of the year

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.

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

MR.GOODTIME'S BBQ CLUB

#1207 of the rated field

1585 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 41%
Peak: 1598

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Hot Thang BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 22 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Sermerstout BBQ

#1208 of the rated field

1585 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 3
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1585

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 24 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 24 contests
last seen 2026-08-28
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Shootin' Smoke

#1209 of the rated field

1585 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1602

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 27 contests to 28, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2021-06-25

⚔ Head-to-head

EASTERN BEAST BBQ TEAM

#1203 of the rated field

1586 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1586

No shared contest yet.

15 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 40% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 15 contests
last seen 2018-08-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Sugba Smokehouse

#1204 of the rated field

1585 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 67%
Peak: 1585

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

TASTE OF GRACE

#1205 of the rated field

1585 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1616

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2014, 10 years before Hot Thang BBQ's first contest.

rated over 40 contests
last seen 2024-04-26

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
FIRE & SHINE BBQ	21	3	18	14%	⚔ compare
Leaning Jowler BBQ	19	5	14	26%	⚔ compare
Capt. Blue BBQ	18	5	13	28%	⚔ compare
Rough Cut Q	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
Piggy & Swine BBQ	15	6	8	40%	⚔ compare
Castleton Q	14	6	8	43%	⚔ compare
Oink N' Doink BBQ	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
Clean Smoke BBQ Team	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
All About the Wood	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
MRC_Barbecue	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
B'S QUE	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	25	14	1	3	180.0000 🔥	154.2628	168.16	top 44%
Pork Ribs	23	13	0	6	175.4172	139.8856	164.59	top 44%
Pork	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—
Brisket	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—

“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
PA	8	1	top 60%
VA	6	0	top 41%
NJ	4	0	top 26%
DE	3	0	top 40%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	0	top 61%
Medium (20–39)	14	1	top 41%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 43%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	4	1	1	top 56%	2026-06-13
New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2)	4	7	0	top 26%	2026-04-18
BBQ Gives Back (Day 2)	4	15	0	top 45%	2026-03-28
First State BBQ Bash (SUNDAY BACKYARD ONLY)	2	5	0	top 32%	2025-09-28
Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2	15	0	top 69%	2025-07-26

The story so far (20 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 1.9 yrs 2024-09-27 → 2026-08-21

Busiest season 2025 15 contests

Contests a season 9.3 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in VA 9 of 28 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 10 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 25 entries · 1 win · 14 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 168.16 · weakest Pork Ribs (164.59)

Walk rate 64% a top-10 call in 18 of 28 contests

Overall top-10 rate 39% 11 of 28 contests

Wins it all 4% 1 Grand Championship · 0 reserve

First title 2026-06-12 York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)

Best top-10 run 3 straight contests — and still running

Backyard average 331.85 out of 360 · 21 contests · 1 GC

Perfect 180s 1 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 244 494–429 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 1,632 28 mapped stops · furthest 240 mi

Schedule strength 1596 average field rating faced — tougher than 75% of rated contests

Purse competed for $89,940 listed at 22 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 1 from 19 state-championship entries

Power rating 1585 peak 1585 · #1206 of 6,413 rated

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

2024
Sep 27 First tracked contest "The First State" BBQ Bash
2025
Mar 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score340.5256 BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)
May 2 First call New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)
May 2 First overall top-10 New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)
Jul 12 10th tracked contest K.S. Que (BACKYARD ONLY)
2026
May 15 25th tracked contest Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)
Jun 12 First category win (Chicken) York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 12 First overall podium York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 12 First Grand Championship York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 12 First state championship York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 12 First perfect 180 (Chicken) York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Jun 12 Career-best overall score354.2744 York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)
Aug 21 Peak power rating (1585) Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff
Aug 21 Most recent contest Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.5	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1)	2026-06-12
+11.4	Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff	2026-08-21
+10.6	First State BBQ Bash (SUNDAY BACKYARD ONLY)	2025-09-28
+9.8	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)	2025-05-02
+8.8	First State BBQ Bash	2025-09-26

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2025-07-26
-7.8	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1)	2026-05-15
-3.4	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2)	2025-06-28
-1.9	"The First State" BBQ Bash	2024-09-27
-1.3	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)	2025-03-21

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	12	1	6	1	75%	top 37%	98.4%	93.8%
2025	15	0	5	0	60%	top 51%	94.6%	91.8%
2024	1	0	0	0	0%	top 58%	81.7%	81.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-08-21	Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Edinburg, VA	6 / 26 (346.2400)	15 (170.8228)	2 (175.4172)	—	—
2026-06-13	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA	6 / 13 (345.0972)	3 (175.4056)	11 (169.6916)	—	—
2026-06-12	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	1 / 25 (354.2744)	1 (180.0000)	3 (174.2744)	—	—
2026-05-15	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA	18 / 25 (324.4340)	8 (171.9656)	21 (152.4684)	—	—
2026-04-24	Revolutionary BBQ Brawl 🏅 Williamsburg, VA	8 / 20 (339.9772)	6 (171.4172)	9 (168.5600)	—	—
2026-04-18	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	8 / 26 (338.7884)	8 (170.2628)	6 (168.5256)	—	—
2026-04-17	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Blairstown, NJ	—	5 (171.4172)	—	—	—
2026-04-17	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	7 / 26 (333.6684)	5 (169.7028)	10 (163.9656)	—	—
2026-03-28	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	18 / 36 (323.9316)	16 (162.8228)	18 (161.1088)	—	—
2026-03-27	BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Urbanna, VA	—	22 (165.1428)	—	—	—
2026-03-27	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	15 / 40 (331.9544)	16 (166.8344)	13 (165.1200)	—	—
2026-03-27	BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT RIBS) Urbanna, VA	—	—	9 (170.2972)	—	—
2025-09-28	First State BBQ Bash (SUNDAY BACKYARD ONLY) Milford, DE	5 / 14 (339.9772)	10 (166.8228)	2 (173.1544)	—	—
2025-09-26	First State BBQ Bash (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Milford, DE	—	11 (166.8456)	—	—	—
2025-09-26	First State BBQ Bash 🏅 Milford, DE	7 / 25 (337.6916)	10 (163.9772)	2 (173.7144)	—	—
2025-09-26	First State BBQ Bash (ONE MEAT RIBS) Milford, DE	—	—	3 (172.0000)	—	—
2025-07-26	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	24 / 27 (317.5656)	21 (163.9428)	25 (153.6228)	—	—
2025-07-25	Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA	15 / 30 (339.4060)	18 (168.5372)	10 (170.8688)	—	—
2025-07-12	K.S. Que (BACKYARD ONLY) Kennett Square, PA	5 / 12 (334.8000)	8 (163.9656)	2 (170.8344)	—	—
2025-06-28	York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA	12 / 10 (333.6340)	5 (172.5484)	16 (161.0856)	—	—
2025-06-27	York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA	14 / 26 (330.7772)	11 (170.8228)	15 (159.9544)	—	—
2025-05-03	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	8 / 34 (321.6456)	6 (166.8228)	7 (154.8228)	—	—
2025-05-02	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Blairstown, NJ	—	3 (174.8688)	—	—	—
2025-05-02	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	7 / 33 (323.8856)	7 (166.2400)	8 (157.6456)	—	—
2025-03-22	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	16 / 43 (340.5256)	17 (169.1084)	11 (171.4172)	—	—
2025-03-21	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	25 / 45 (316.4456)	25 (159.3600)	25 (157.0856)	—	—
2025-03-21	BBQ Gives Back (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Urbanna, VA	—	—	—	—	—
2024-09-27	"The First State" BBQ Bash 🏅 Milford, DE	15 / 26 (294.1484)	14 (154.2628)	16 (139.8856)	—	—

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
2026 ↗	Backyard	#41 (893 pts)	#21 (1061 pts)	#44 (894 pts)	—	—
2026 ↗	Master	—	#638 (227 pts)	#829 (136 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Backyard	#70 (745 pts)	#64 (816 pts)	#31 (1069 pts)	—	—
2025 ↗	Master	—	#580 (332 pts)	#789 (212 pts)	—	—