Popping Smoke Barbecue MT
Rating
1489
peak 1503
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
2019-08-16
latest 2024-08-23
Best ToY finish
#570
Master 2024
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 59%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
651.08
last 5 vs career avg 651.13 (-0.04)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.40
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 165.48 · weakest Brisket (160.60)
Road miles
597
mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 216 mi
Storylines
👀 Looking over their shoulder
BIG BOYZ BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
Bearded Boar BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Kick Back BBQ in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
Teams like this (closest power rating, MT first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 172.5828 | 159.4056 | 165.48 | top 52% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 171.9772 | 150.2744 | 162.63 | top 59% |
| Pork | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 175.4744 | 153.1200 | 162.42 | top 59% |
| Brisket | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 154.2400 | 160.60 | top 58% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MT | 7 | 0 | top 58% |
| WY | 1 | 0 | top 67% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 68% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 56% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 59% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2024 (3 contests)
- Cooks mostly in MT (7 of 8 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (8 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 651.13
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 664.4800 | 646.54 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 658.7424 | 657.90 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 673.1316 | 673.13 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 646.3204 | 646.32 |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 634.1484 | 634.15 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-23 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 25 / 39 (664.4800) | 32 (161.0856) | 29 (165.1200) | 6 (175.4744) | 29 (162.8000) |
| 2024-08-09 | East Helena Smoke Show East Helena, MT | 13 / 18 (638.6628) | 13 (160.5144) | 9 (165.1428) | 17 (155.9428) | 13 (157.0628) |
| 2024-07-27 | Blowin' Smoke Barbecue Cook Off Dillon, MT | 7 / 11 (636.4688) | 4 (166.8344) | 6 (162.2744) | 9 (153.1200) | 7 (154.2400) |
| 2023-08-25 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 26 / 44 (657.0628) | 10 (172.5828) | 28 (161.7144) | 32 (159.3828) | 27 (163.3828) |
| 2023-08-05 | East Helena Smoke Show East Helena, MT | 15 / 24 (658.7424) | 19 (159.4056) | 8 (171.9772) | 21 (155.3940) | 6 (171.9656) |
| 2022-08-26 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 17 / 37 (673.1316) | 11 (171.9888) | 16 (169.1200) | 15 (169.7256) | 23 (162.2972) |
| 2021-08-27 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 12 / 31 (646.3204) | 10 (170.8572) | 26 (150.2744) | 11 (166.9144) | 16 (158.2744) |
| 2019-08-16 | Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival Worland, WY | 20 / 30 (634.1484) | 18 (160.5828) | 21 (155.3944) | 14 (163.4056) | 17 (154.7656) |
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 ↗ | Master | #570 (304 pts) | #558 (349 pts) | #614 (339 pts) | #527 (379 pts) | #603 (304 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #833 (159 pts) | #760 (214 pts) | #856 (204 pts) | #957 (129 pts) | #738 (224 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1145 (100 pts) | #1017 (130 pts) | #1227 (105 pts) | #1147 (110 pts) | #1291 (70 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #912 (121 pts) | #937 (131 pts) | #1577 (56 pts) | #938 (126 pts) | #1090 (101 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1816 (80 pts) | #1858 (90 pts) | #1933 (75 pts) | #1735 (110 pts) | #1778 (95 pts) |