High-water mark
338.8800
career-best overall
94.1% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 338.8800 at Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) — 94.1% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- Jul 26, 2024
Purple Panda
Purple Panda is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 35 at the Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) (2024). They are ranked #3359 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1496
peak 1511 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Jul 28, 2023
latest Jul 25, 2026 · 3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 55%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
322.61 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 319.30 (+3.32)
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.33
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 164.91 · weakest Pork Ribs (156.16)
Road miles
0
across 6 mapped stops
Schedule strength
69%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1588)
Purse competed for
$37K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
319.30 / 360
6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Purple Panda, each with one reason worth a look.
117 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,362 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Purple Panda's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,363 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,350 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1497
They were already cooking in 2015, 8 years before Purple Panda's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,352 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1497
Level with Purple Panda on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,374 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2013, 13 years before Purple Panda's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,370 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1505
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 BOXERS Q | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Castleton Q | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| COAL CRACKER BBQ | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| SWEET BELLY'S BBQ | 6 | 2 | 3 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Capt. Blue BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE & SHINE BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| HotMess BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Leaning Jowler BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Oink N' Doink BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| 3 EYZ BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| UP IN SMOKERS | 5 | 3 | 1 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 158.8572 | 164.91 | top 47% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8800 | 143.8516 | 156.16 | top 55% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 49% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 61% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) | 4 | 8 | 0 | top 56% | Jul 25, 2026 |
| Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 53% | Jul 29, 2023 |
More numbers
Contests a season
2
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PA
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
2
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
154
finished ahead 152 times, behind 258
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Jul 27, 2024 → Jul 24, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)
20245 milestones
- First call Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1)
- First overall top-10 Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1)
- Career-best overall score338.8800 Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)172 Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1)
- Peak power rating (1511) Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2)
20232 milestones
- First tracked contest Smoke on the Rail (Day 1)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score329.7144 Smoke on the Rail (Day 2)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) | Jul 26, 2024 |
| +2.9 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) | Jul 29, 2023 |
| +1.3 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) | Jul 27, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.9 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) | Jul 24, 2026 |
| -6.9 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) | Jul 25, 2026 |
| -5.1 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) | Jul 28, 2023 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 76% | 85.9% | 85.7% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 36% | 94.1% | 92.5% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 53% | 91.6% | 87.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2026 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 29 / 39 (307.9316) | — | 28 (153.6800) | — | — |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 33 / 43 (309.0972) | 31 (161.1316) | 34 (147.9656) | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2024 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 16 / 32 (327.4404) | 18 (162.8572) | 13 (164.5832) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2024 | Smoke on the Rail BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 8 / 35 (338.8800) | 6 (172) | 12 (166.8800) | — | — |
| Jul 29, 2023 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 17 / 40 (329.7144) | 11 (169.7028) | 18 (160.0116) | — | — |
| Jul 28, 2023 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 32 / 51 (302.7088) | 31 (158.8572) | 31 (143.8516) | — | — |