A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
309 BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
309 BBQ has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Sugar Creek BBQ
Sugar Creek BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 10 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 6th of 36 at the Up In Smoke on the Square (2019). They are ranked #3668 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1490
peak 1502 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
10
in the data
First seen
Jul 21, 2017
latest Aug 23, 2024 · 7.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
10% of 10 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±6.09
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 158.26 · weakest Brisket (137.05)
Road miles
158
across 10 mapped stops · furthest 32 mi
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1545)
Purse competed for
$25K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
591.77 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
313.09 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Sugar Creek BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
167 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,687 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1504
Fewer contests behind them than Sugar Creek BBQ has cooked, 5 to 10, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#3,673 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Sugar Creek BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,652 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1490
Level with Sugar Creek BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,681 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1490
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Sugar Creek BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,654 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1490
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before Sugar Creek BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,648 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1490
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before Sugar Creek 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 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 169.1200 | 148.4912 | 158.26 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 166.2744 | 143.3944 | 154.72 | top 51% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 142.2056 | 142.2056 | 142.21 | top 96% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 137.0512 | 137.0512 | 137.05 | top 94% |
“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) | 4 | 0 | top 51% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 94% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 6 | 0 | top 54% | Aug 23, 2024 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.1
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IL
10 of 10 contests
Contests visited
3
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
148
finished ahead 74 times, behind 111
Longest layoff
3.1 yrs
May 31, 2019 → Jul 15, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20242 milestones
- 10th tracked contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY)
20221 milestone
- Peak power rating (1502) Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown
20191 milestone
- First overall top-10 Up In Smoke on the Square
20173 milestones
- First call Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)
- Career-best overall score591.7712 Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)169.1200 Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)
20141 milestone
- First tracked contest Up In Smoke On The Square
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12.4 | Up In Smoke on the Square | May 31, 2019 |
| +1.5 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown | Jul 15, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) | Jul 21, 2017 |
| -8.9 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 25, 2023 |
| -3.1 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 23, 2024 |
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 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 64% | 89.5% | 89.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 81% | 87% | 87% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 44% | 84.8% | 84.8% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 17% | 86.6% | 86.6% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 94% | 82.2% | 82.2% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 2024 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 18 / 28 (322.2632) | 22 (155.9888) | 15 (166.2744) | — | — |
| Aug 25, 2023 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 21 / 26 (313.0284) | 24 (148.4912) | 10 (164.5372) | — | — |
| Jul 15, 2022 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Eureka, IL | 11 / 25 (305.1544) | 10 (155.4288) | 12 (149.7256) | — | — |
| May 31, 2019 | Up In Smoke on the Square 🏅 Lincoln, IL | 6 / 36 (311.9316) | 3 (162.2628) | 7 (149.6688) | — | — |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Up In smoke on the Square ( WAIT LIST ONLY FOR JUDGES) Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 21, 2017 | Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Peoria, IL | 45 / 48 (591.7712) | 6 (169.1200) | 45 (143.3944) | 46 (142.2056) | 45 (137.0512) |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 3, 2016 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 5, 2015 | Up In Smoke On The Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2014 | Up In Smoke On The Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |