The comeback
5.2 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.2 years, then back at 2024 Icebox Cookoff (Jul 6, 2024).
- last seen Apr 26, 2019
- back Jul 6, 2024
Big Mike's BBQ
Big Mike's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 4th of 26 at the Smokin For Garrett (2019). Also listed in KCBS results as “Big Mikes BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1480
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
May 29, 2015
latest Jul 18, 2026 · 11.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 72%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
17%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±35.60
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 160.66 · weakest Brisket (144.32)
Road miles
3,439
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 1,907 mi
Schedule strength
39%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)
Purse competed for
$40K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
621.55 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
482.24 / 540
1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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 Big Mike's BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Big Mike's BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 134 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,134 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,149 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1509
They turned up 7 years after Big Mike's BBQ did, first appearing in 2022.
⚔ Compare careers#4,120 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1481
Level with Big Mike's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,153 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,126 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1480
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,155 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 8 years before Big Mike's 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 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167.4056 | 149.1200 | 157.54 | top 75% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5372 | 148.4916 | 160.66 | top 61% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 168.6400 | 150.2400 | 160.27 | top 70% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 157.6572 | 123.9200 | 144.32 | top 93% |
“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
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
IN
3 of 6 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Opponents faced
112
finished ahead 38 times, behind 82
Longest layoff
5.2 yrs
Apr 26, 2019 → Jul 6, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.9944 Sutherlin Throwdown
- Career-best overall score652.9944 Sutherlin Throwdown
- Most recent contest Sutherlin Throwdown
20194 milestones
- First call Smokin For Garrett
- First overall top-10 Smokin For Garrett
- Career-best single call (Pork)168.6400 Smokin For Garrett
- Peak power rating (1499) Smokin For Garrett
20151 milestone
- First tracked contest Carnivores Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.1 | Smokin For Garrett | Apr 26, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.1 | 2024 Icebox Cookoff | Jul 6, 2024 |
| -13.9 | Carnivores Classic | May 29, 2015 |
| -4.8 | Sutherlin Throwdown | Jul 18, 2026 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 90.7% | 90.7% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 88.9% | 88.9% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 15% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 79.4% | 79.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2026 | Sutherlin Throwdown 🏅 Sutherlin, OR | 23 / 29 (652.9944) | 20 (167.4056) | 20 (168.5372) | 26 (159.3944) | 24 (157.6572) |
| Jul 6, 2024 | 2024 Icebox Cookoff 🏅 Sweet Home, OR | 37 / 37 (639.8856) | 36 (157.1428) | 24 (168.5256) | 35 (162.8228) | 37 (151.3944) |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Smokin For Garrett 🏅 Boonville, IN | 4 / 26 (482.2400) | 10 (156.5028) | 8 (157.0972) | 3 (168.6400) | — |
| Apr 27, 2018 | Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 29, 2015 | Carnivores Classic Missoula, MT | 19 / 20 (571.7716) | 19 (149.1200) | 16 (148.4916) | 17 (150.2400) | 19 (123.9200) |