Lucky Smoke

Lucky Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 35 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 18 at the Western Legends Roundup BBQ Cook Off (2019). They are ranked #879 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#879

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1619

peak 1619 · rated over 34 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 19, 2015

latest Aug 16, 2024 · 9.2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#309

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

29% of 35 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s, still running

Avg finish

top 44%

overall standings

Best overall

693.6916 / 720

Master · Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

687.59 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 667.16 (+20.43)

Walk rate

77%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork · Miles City Cowtown Cook Off

Consistency

±20.02

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork Ribs

avg 168.51 · weakest Chicken (165.67)

Road miles

13,078

across 35 mapped stops · furthest 632 mi

Schedule strength

54%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1569)

Purse competed for

$265K

listed at 15 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 17 state-championship entries

Master avg

667.16 / 720

35 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (11 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

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

Pork ×1

On the rise

+25 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 25 points across 4 contests since Aug 18, 2023 — from 1594 up to 1619.

4 contests since Aug 18, 2023
now 1619

They almost always walk

77% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 27 of 35 contests

A top-10 category call in 77% of their 35 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

693.6916 career-best overall

96.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 693.6916 at Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships — 96.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Aug 16, 2024

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BRACKEN RACKS BBQ has finished one call ahead of Lucky Smoke 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 their best year

2019 was the year it came together: 7 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 27%.

7 contests
4 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 27%

A tough matchup

15–3 behind in the head-to-head

PARROTHEAD SMOKERS ahead in 83% of their meetings

PARROTHEAD SMOKERS has come out ahead in 15 of their 18 shared contests.

Show 4 more storylines

A strong matchup

8–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 89% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of 12 BAR BLUES CUE in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

The comeback

2.8 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.8 years, then back at Central Plains Ribfest (Jun 17, 2022).

last seen Sep 13, 2019
back Jun 17, 2022

Pork Ribs nemesis

11 of 15 shared pork ribs entries lost

Backdraft BBQ ahead 73% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Backdraft BBQ has out-cooked them in 11 of 15 shared pork ribs entries.

The long haul

13,078 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 13,078 miles across 35 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 632 miles to BBQ in the Badlands.

35 mapped stops
furthest 632 mi

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
2024 ↗	Master	#720 (204 pts)	#819 (179 pts)	#1268 (74 pts)	#888 (139 pts)	#762 (204 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#649 (240 pts)	#625 (295 pts)	#773 (245 pts)	#770 (195 pts)	#610 (285 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#516 (395 pts)	#503 (440 pts)	#600 (375 pts)	#416 (550 pts)	#492 (460 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#309 (997 pts)	#541 (642 pts)	#179 (1,347 pts)	#299 (1,022 pts)	#528 (637 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#399 (869 pts)	#445 (819 pts)	#368 (954 pts)	#376 (929 pts)	#249 (1,234 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#596 (662 pts)	#832 (472 pts)	#414 (937 pts)	#550 (717 pts)	#524 (752 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Lucky Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.

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

BULLHORN BBQ

#880 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1619

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to Lucky Smoke)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Lucky Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 21 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Pigtamer BBQ

#881 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 67
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1648

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to Lucky Smoke)

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 67 contests to 35.

rated over 65 contests
last seen Jul 14, 2023

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' LEFTY'S BBQ

#878 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 91
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1695

3–0 in 3 shared contests (100% to Lucky Smoke)

They've been 1695 at their best, 76 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 87 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

VIKING BBQ

#877 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 41
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 46%
Peak: 1652

Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 41 contests, alongside a 46% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 39 contests
last seen Sep 17, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

Broken Bottle BBQ

#875 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 45
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1632

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2015.

rated over 45 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

With a 180

#876 of the rated field

1619 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1619

Level with Lucky Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS	18	3	15	17%	⚔ compare
BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	15	8	7	53%	⚔ compare
Backdraft BBQ	15	2	13	13%	⚔ compare
B-S BBQ OUTLAWS	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
WILD HOGS BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
Grate Expectations	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
Big Daddy's Backyard BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
GRILLIN' BEAVERS	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN TIMBERS BBQ	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
PAPA'S PIT CREW	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
Lost Weekend Grill	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
BURNIN BOBS BUTTS N BONES	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Camp House BBQ	10	7	3	70%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	35	8	0	0	176.0116	139.9084	165.67	top 56%
Pork Ribs	35	13	1	6	178.2972	139.9544	168.51	top 38%
Pork	35	14	2	3	180 🔥	147.9888	166.50	top 46%
Brisket	35	14	2	2	177.1428	151.4056	166.47	top 40%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 29%
Medium (20–39)	23	top 50%
Large (40+)	10	top 36%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
CO	10	top 55%
MT	9	top 42%
WY	6	top 57%
KS	4	top 28%
TX	3	top 21%
NE	1	top 55%
UT	1	top 17%
SD	1	top 44%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Wild West BBQ Cook-Off	3	4	top 39%	May 10, 2024
San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ	3	16	top 48%	Aug 2, 2019
Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships	2	6	top 21%	Aug 16, 2024
Miles City Cowtown Cook Off	2	10	top 52%	Jun 14, 2019
Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival	2	11	top 38%	Aug 17, 2018
Griller's Cup	2	21	top 82%	Jul 15, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 8 contests

Contests a season 4.4 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in CO 10 of 35 contests · 8 states in all

Contests visited 27 6 of them more than once

Opponents faced 936 finished ahead 1,076 times, behind 671

Longest layoff 2.8 yrs Sep 13, 2019 → Jun 17, 2022

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

20243 milestones

Aug 16 Career-best overall score693.6916 Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
Aug 16 Peak power rating (1619) Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships
Aug 16 Most recent contest Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships

20193 milestones

Jun 14 First perfect 180 (Pork) Miles City Cowtown Cook Off
Aug 16 First overall podium Western Legends Roundup BBQ Cook Off
Aug 16 25th tracked contest Western Legends Roundup BBQ Cook Off

20181 milestone

May 11 First category win (Brisket) Wild West BBQ Cook Off

20172 milestones

Jun 16 First overall top-10 Miles City Cowtown Cookoff
Sep 29 10th tracked contest BBQ in the Badlands

20161 milestone

Jul 15 First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.2684 Griller's Cup

20152 milestones

Jun 19 First tracked contest Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off
Jul 17 First call Griller's Cup

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15	Miles City Cowtown Cook Off	Jun 15, 2018
+13.3	Western Legends Roundup BBQ Cook Off	Aug 16, 2019
+12.7	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff	Jun 16, 2017
+11.6	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	Jul 12, 2019
+11.6	Wild West BBQ Cook-Off	May 10, 2024

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.3	Griller's Cup	Jul 17, 2015
-8.2	Smoke & Soul Fest	Sep 14, 2018
-7.2	Boats, Bands, & BBQ	Jun 10, 2016
-6	San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ	Aug 3, 2018
-4.8	Beat the Heat BBQ & Brews	Aug 5, 2022

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	2	2	0	100%	top 14%	96.3%	95.8%
2023	3	0	0	33%	top 31%	95.8%	95.3%
2022	4	0	1	100%	top 49%	94.5%	93.7%
2019	7	4	2	86%	top 27%	95.3%	93.8%
2018	8	2	2	75%	top 51%	94.8%	91.8%
2017	5	2	0	100%	top 36%	95.5%	94.1%
2016	4	0	0	50%	top 75%	90.5%	89.2%
2015	2	0	0	50%	top 78%	86.5%	86.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 16, 2024	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX	6 / 41 (693.6916)	15 (170.2744)	4 (175.4172)	8 (173.1428)	6 (174.8572)
May 10, 2024	Wild West BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Lamar, CO	4 / 29 (686.1712)	5 (175.4056)	21 (164.5372)	9 (170.8228)	4 (175.4056)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS	69 / 211 (687.3828)	153 (168)	22 (176.5600)	87 (172.5600)	107 (170.2628)
Sep 27, 2023	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	163 / 487 (681.0628)	311 (165.6800)	200 (170.2972)	211 (169.6800)	44 (175.4056)
Aug 18, 2023	Raider Red Meats BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX	13 / 48 (689.6344)	6 (174.2628)	15 (171.9888)	22 (167.9656)	7 (175.4172)
Aug 19, 2022	Raider Red Meat BBQ & Ribeye Championships 🏅 Lubbock, TX	13 / 59 (680.4800)	7 (176.0116)	29 (166.8228)	18 (168.5256)	11 (169.1200)
Aug 5, 2022	Beat the Heat BBQ & Brews 🏅 Alamosa, CO	23 / 35 (663.3028)	32 (159.3944)	21 (165.6684)	23 (163.3828)	5 (174.8572)
Jun 24, 2022	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff 🏅 Miles City, MT	14 / 26 (679.9544)	7 (174.8800)	12 (169.7144)	14 (170.2628)	17 (165.0972)
Jun 17, 2022	Central Plains Ribfest 🏅 Holdrege, NE	16 / 29 (673.6000)	24 (165.6800)	12 (169.6916)	1 (177.1428)	25 (161.0856)
Sep 13, 2019	Smoke & Soul Fest 🏅 Casper, WY	5 / 28 (668.4456)	16 (164.5256)	2 (173.1544)	9 (169.1200)	11 (161.6456)
Aug 16, 2019	Western Legends Roundup BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Kanab, UT	3 / 18 (686.2284)	13 (167.3828)	1 (178.2972)	5 (174.2972)	12 (166.2512)
Aug 2, 2019	San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ 🏅 Alamosa, CO	17 / 54 (676.5600)	24 (169.7028)	5 (174.8572)	30 (164.5600)	19 (167.4400)
Jul 26, 2019	Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition 🏅 Dodge City, KS	9 / 39 (683.3484)	22 (167.9772)	2 (177.1428)	15 (170.8228)	21 (167.4056)
Jul 12, 2019	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest 🏅 Mayetta, KS	14 / 59 (683.3716)	32 (167.9772)	8 (175.4172)	9 (174.2972)	28 (165.6800)
Jun 14, 2019	Miles City Cowtown Cook Off 🏅 Miles City, MT	10 / 28 (675.8856)	10 (166.8344)	15 (167.4056)	1 (180)	16 (161.6456)
May 10, 2019	Wild West BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Lamar, CO	12 / 28 (653.6340)	13 (164.5484)	11 (165.7256)	11 (165.7028)	20 (157.6572)
Sep 14, 2018	Smoke & Soul Fest Casper, WY	23 / 28 (630.6512)	22 (158.8228)	17 (161.6456)	17 (157.6572)	23 (152.5256)
Aug 24, 2018	Hill City Wine Brew & BBQ Hill City, SD	12 / 27 (670.2856)	23 (161.1656)	15 (165.7028)	18 (166.2744)	1 (177.1428)
Aug 17, 2018	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	11 / 30 (675.9200)	17 (163.3944)	11 (169.1200)	2 (176)	11 (167.4056)
Aug 3, 2018	San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ Alamosa, CO	31 / 41 (651.2572)	23 (168.5600)	24 (162.8000)	37 (149.0516)	7 (170.8456)
Jun 23, 2018	Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT	8 / 26 (676.4800)	6 (173.1200)	10 (170.8572)	5 (172.5600)	16 (159.9428)
Jun 15, 2018	Miles City Cowtown Cook Off Miles City, MT	4 / 27 (682.2284)	5 (173.1428)	3 (174.2856)	8 (165.6800)	7 (169.1200)
May 11, 2018	Wild West BBQ Cook Off Lamar, CO	16 / 26 (652.4800)	14 (165.0972)	12 (165.6912)	26 (147.9888)	1 (173.7028)
Apr 28, 2018	LuLu's Brew & Que Brighton, CO	25 / 40 (649.0972)	22 (164.5828)	17 (165.6800)	29 (158.8116)	22 (160.0228)
Oct 14, 2017	Nile Beer-B-Q Billings, MT	7 / 17 (687.9084)	11 (169.6800)	2 (177.7144)	10 (170.8456)	7 (169.6684)
Sep 29, 2017	BBQ in the Badlands Glendive, MT	11 / 26 (678.8460)	24 (158.8456)	9 (172.5716)	7 (174.2744)	6 (173.1544)
Aug 18, 2017	Pepsi WY State Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY	11 / 28 (662.1600)	15 (162.2400)	16 (159.9772)	6 (171.9772)	4 (167.9656)
Aug 4, 2017	San Luis Valley Beat the Heat BBQ Alamosa, CO	16 / 44 (675.9312)	22 (167.9656)	2 (176.0228)	11 (170.2628)	25 (161.6800)
Jun 16, 2017	Miles City Cowtown Cookoff Miles City, MT	6 / 26 (681.1200)	10 (166.8572)	4 (174.8572)	8 (170.2972)	5 (169.1084)
Jul 29, 2016	SanLuis Valley Beat The Heat Brew BBQ & Chili Challenge Alamosa, CO	21 / 27 (649.5996)	26 (160.5712)	18 (163.9772)	24 (158.2056)	6 (166.8456)
Jul 15, 2016	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	21 / 27 (651.2684)	20 (161.1084)	18 (163.3828)	20 (159.3600)	8 (167.4172)
Jun 17, 2016	Custer County Community Table/Miles City Cowtown Cook-off Miles City, MT	17 / 26 (637.5996)	21 (158.2400)	13 (164.0344)	24 (151.3368)	15 (163.9884)
Jun 10, 2016	Boats, Bands, & BBQ Pueblo, CO	24 / 30 (631.8856)	12 (166.8228)	30 (139.9544)	15 (163.9656)	17 (161.1428)
Jul 17, 2015	Griller's Cup Laramie, WY	25 / 29 (620.3996)	29 (139.9084)	7 (169.7372)	19 (159.3484)	24 (151.4056)
Jun 19, 2015	Miles City Cowtown Cook-Off Miles City, MT	18 / 26 (622.8340)	15 (159.9312)	18 (157.1772)	20 (151.4284)	16 (154.2972)

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

Lucky Smoke

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 (11 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

On the rise

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork Ribs nemesis

The long haul

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, averaged over 5 contests — 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)