JL Smokers NC
Rating
1608
peak 1609
Contests
57
in the data
First seen
2019-05-03
latest 2026-05-15
Best ToY finish
#142
Master 2023
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
5
22 podiums
Overall top-10s
18
of 57 contests
Avg finish
top 45%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
689.87 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 669.63 (+20.24)
Walk rate
70%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
4
best run (overall)
Consistency
±69.04
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.13 · weakest Pork Ribs (169.35)
Road miles
8714
mi across 57 mapped stops · furthest 830 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
North Meets South BBQ has finished one call ahead of JL Smokers 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
SMOKIN SKULLIES has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
MUTTLEY CREW BBQ has come out ahead in 34 of their 47 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of SMOKING STUDS BBQ in 20 of their 26 shared contests.
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 32-team field at Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge.
📅 A April team
Something about April: average finish in the top 32% across 4 contests, versus top 45% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge (2022-09-23) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 16-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ.
Teams like this (closest power rating, NC first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 56 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 180.0000 🔥 | 144.5484 | 170.13 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 55 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 178.8572 | 158.2172 | 169.35 | top 49% |
| Pork | 55 | 25 | 0 | 7 | 178.8572 | 153.7028 | 169.39 | top 47% |
| Brisket | 55 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 178.8572 | 146.7772 | 169.40 | top 43% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC | 36 | 1 | top 44% |
| SC | 6 | 0 | top 47% |
| GA | 4 | 0 | top 47% |
| KS | 4 | 0 | top 47% |
| VA | 3 | 0 | top 48% |
| WV | 2 | 0 | top 47% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 39% |
| Medium (20–39) | 34 | 1 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 18 | 0 | top 50% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2024 (13 contests)
- Cooks mostly in NC (36 of 57 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (56 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge (2022-09-23)
- Wins it all in 2% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 669.63
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 699.3940 | 692.88 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 694.1824 | 681.11 |
| 2024 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 700.5028 | 684.75 |
| 2023 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 693.6456 | 640.24 |
| 2022 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 699.3716 | 678.81 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 689.6228 | 672.15 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 653.5880 | 653.59 |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 685.0624 | 658.49 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-15 | Speed & Feed BBQ Festival at Darlington Raceway Darlington, SC | 4 / 26 (699.3940) | 6 (177.7028) | 10 (175.4056) | 10 (172.5828) | 5 (173.7028) |
| 2026-05-01 | Bear-B-Q New Bern, NC | 6 / 26 (694.7884) | 13 (170.8456) | 3 (176.5600) | 20 (168.5256) | 1 (178.8572) |
| 2026-03-06 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA | 22 / 44 (684.4684) | 31 (169.1084) | 15 (173.1200) | 18 (171.4172) | 20 (170.8228) |
| 2025-11-14 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic Cumming, GA | 40 / 56 (677.6000) | 27 (171.9772) | 47 (166.2400) | 47 (166.2628) | 19 (173.1200) |
| 2025-10-24 | Eastern Carolina BBQ Throwdown Rocky Mount, NC | 8 / 45 (693.0972) | 2 (177.1544) | 23 (169.6800) | 18 (170.8456) | 4 (175.4172) |
| 2025-09-19 | Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge Rutherford College, NC | 14 / 36 (682.7428) | 16 (170.8228) | 3 (176.5716) | 24 (166.8228) | 19 (168.5256) |
| 2025-09-05 | Uniquely Union Festival Union, SC | 15 / 25 (679.2912) | 17 (167.3828) | 12 (169.6800) | 8 (170.8228) | 8 (171.4056) |
| 2025-07-25 | Smoke on the Mountain Galax, VA | 29 / 37 (670.1600) | 32 (163.3828) | 27 (166.2400) | 27 (167.4172) | 15 (173.1200) |
| 2025-07-10 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery Greenwood, SC | 44 / 66 (673.6000) | 27 (171.4056) | 28 (171.4172) | 64 (155.3716) | 14 (175.4056) |
| 2025-05-09 | Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off Waynesboro, GA | 4 / 42 (694.1824) | 62 (144.5484) | 1 (177.7028) | 3 (176.5600) | 11 (172.5484) |
| 2025-02-28 | Mission Farms - King of the Farm Iron Station, NC | 16 / 26 (678.1712) | 14 (170.8456) | 10 (169.6800) | 15 (169.6800) | 18 (167.9656) |
| 2024-11-15 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic Cuming, GA | 34 / 58 (681.5884) | 31 (171.4056) | 41 (167.3828) | 10 (176.5600) | 44 (166.2400) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 72 / 169 (686.2056) | 95 (171.9656) | 62 (173.1200) | 128 (168.0116) | 63 (173.1084) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 130 / 444 (685.0284) | 203 (170.2628) | 96 (174.2628) | 168 (170.8228) | 162 (169.6800) |
| 2024-09-20 | Pigmaster BBQ Challenge Rutherford College, NC | 16 / 33 (686.7312) | 23 (168.5140) | 7 (174.2744) | 10 (174.2628) | 23 (169.6800) |
| 2024-09-13 | Clayton BBQ Challenge Clayton, NC | 4 / 27 (693.0740) | 10 (172.5484) | 1 (177.7028) | 16 (169.7028) | 8 (173.1200) |
| 2024-07-26 | Smoke on the Mountain Galax, VA | 3 / 32 (700.5028) | 21 (168.5256) | 2 (177.7144) | 3 (178.8572) | 7 (175.4056) |
| 2024-07-11 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery Greenwood, SC | 56 / 76 (670.1484) | 62 (165.0972) | 60 (165.6800) | 49 (168.5600) | 41 (170.8112) |
| 2024-06-14 | Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Buckhannon, WV | 14 / 30 (675.9088) | 18 (166.8344) | 21 (163.9772) | 9 (171.9772) | 8 (173.1200) |
| 2024-05-04 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 Kannapolis, NC | 15 / 35 (690.7772) | 33 (166.2284) | 28 (169.6800) | 3 (178.2972) | 2 (176.5716) |
| 2024-05-03 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 Kannapolis, NC | 12 / 45 (689.0744) | 7 (176.0000) | 35 (163.3944) | 9 (175.4172) | 8 (174.2628) |
| 2024-04-12 | Bone Suckin' Sauce Peak City Pig Fest Apex, NC | 11 / 25 (676.4228) | 1 (177.7144) | 24 (158.2172) | 15 (168.5256) | 8 (171.9656) |
| 2024-02-23 | Mission Farms King of the Farm Iron Station, NC | 12 / 26 (681.5884) | 13 (170.8228) | 23 (164.5256) | 7 (171.9772) | 4 (174.2628) |
| 2023-10-13 | Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook Off Waxhaw, NC | 6 / 25 (693.5996) | 2 (180.0000) | 19 (166.2284) | 6 (174.2628) | 8 (173.1084) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 271 / 487 (669.5768) | 312 (165.6684) | 253 (168.5140) | 353 (162.2516) | 77 (173.1428) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 128 / 211 (679.9084) | 176 (166.2628) | 5 (178.8572) | 164 (166.2744) | 133 (168.5140) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-22 | Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge Rutherford College, NC | 6 / 33 (691.3600) | 13 (173.1316) | 8 (173.1200) | 6 (173.1428) | 10 (171.9656) |
| 2023-09-01 | Fire in the Foothills BBQ Festival King, NC | 16 / 21 (664.4228) | 18 (162.8344) | 17 (163.9428) | 10 (168.5256) | 8 (169.1200) |
| 2023-07-21 | Smoke on the Mountain Galax, VA | 21 / 38 (679.3256) | 18 (171.9772) | 13 (170.8228) | 30 (161.6800) | 9 (174.8456) |
| 2023-07-06 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery Greenwood, SC | 16 / 76 (690.7772) | 1 (178.8572) | 44 (166.8228) | 37 (167.3944) | 5 (177.7028) |
| 2023-05-06 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 Kannapolis, NC | 16 / 23 (680.4224) | 18 (169.6684) | 19 (168.5256) | 7 (175.4172) | 19 (166.8112) |
| 2023-05-05 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 Kannapolis, NC | 11 / 35 (693.6456) | 5 (176.5600) | 14 (172.5600) | 3 (177.7028) | 25 (166.8228) |
| 2023-04-14 | Bone Suckin' Sauce Peak City Pig Fest Apex, NC | 3 / 32 (169.1772) | 7 (174.8456) | 4 (174.2628) | 10 (173.1084) | 14 (167.3828) |
| 2023-04-07 | Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition Stem, NC | 9 / 28 (690.7884) | 10 (174.2628) | 11 (171.4056) | 3 (176.0000) | 16 (169.1200) |
| 2023-02-24 | Mission Farm's King of the Farm Iron Station, NC | 18 / 33 (679.9316) | 30 (161.6800) | 23 (166.2628) | 3 (176.5600) | 4 (175.4288) |
| 2022-10-29 | Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 2) Shelby, NC | 14 / 34 (685.0052) | 30 (166.2284) | 22 (169.1084) | 4 (177.7028) | 10 (171.9656) |
| 2022-10-28 | Shelby BBQ Extravaganza (Day 1) Shelby, NC | 7 / 35 (685.0512) | 17 (170.8228) | 7 (172.0000) | 12 (171.4056) | 14 (170.8228) |
| 2022-09-23 | Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge Connelly Springs, NC | 1 / 32 (699.3716) | 12 (173.1200) | 2 (177.7144) | 13 (170.8344) | 3 (177.7028) |
| 2022-07-22 | Bone Suckin Sauce Peak City Pig Fest Apex, NC | 9 / 35 (685.0400) | 11 (174.8572) | 7 (171.9772) | 18 (166.2400) | 7 (171.9656) |
| 2022-06-10 | WV Coalfields Cookoff Welch, WV | 7 / 15 (669.0168) | 7 (170.8228) | 10 (163.4056) | 9 (166.8112) | 6 (167.9772) |
| 2022-05-13 | Jiggy With The Piggy Kannapolis, NC | 17 / 46 (677.0288) | 7 (177.7144) | 25 (166.2400) | 15 (171.4172) | 31 (161.6572) |
| 2022-04-08 | Jimbo's Annual BBQ Competition Stem, NC | 16 / 36 (674.1252) | 7 (174.8456) | 21 (166.2400) | 22 (166.8112) | 14 (166.2284) |
| 2022-03-18 | Mission Farm's King of the Farm Iron Station, NC | 32 / 33 (655.8400) | 16 (169.6800) | 26 (166.2972) | 33 (155.9084) | 26 (163.9544) |
| 2021-10-08 | Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-off Waxhaw, NC | 17 / 26 (652.9716) | 9 (171.9772) | 6 (173.1200) | 23 (158.8000) | 25 (149.0744) |
| 2021-09-24 | Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge Rutherford College, NC | 16 / 27 (664.4116) | 7 (173.1200) | 21 (162.2400) | 8 (171.9772) | 23 (157.0744) |
| 2021-07-16 | Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Zooland Asheboro, NC | 3 / 19 (689.6228) | 9 (171.9772) | 5 (173.1200) | 2 (174.2628) | 9 (170.2628) |
| 2021-03-12 | Rufus Teague BBQ Throwdown - Pirateland Myrtle Beach, SC | 17 / 39 (681.6112) | 19 (170.8456) | 20 (167.9656) | 7 (174.2744) | 19 (168.5256) |
| 2020-09-11 | Pigmaster's BBQ Challenge Connelly Springs, NC | 21 / 24 (653.5880) | 17 (165.1312) | 18 (164.5600) | 15 (168.5256) | 23 (155.3712) |
| 2019-11-09 | Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel B) Concord, NC | 26 / 33 (661.5424) | 18 (171.9884) | 29 (163.3828) | 27 (165.6800) | 31 (160.4912) |
| 2019-11-08 | Polar Pig BBQ Cook-Off (Duel A) Concord, NC | 23 / 47 (669.5652) | 14 (172.5600) | 36 (161.6684) | 15 (169.6684) | 27 (165.6684) |
| 2019-10-11 | Waxhaw Grillin & Chillin BBQ cook-off Waxhaw, NC | 3 / 27 (685.0624) | 3 (173.1084) | 7 (170.2628) | 9 (168.5484) | 2 (173.1428) |
| 2019-10-04 | Hops and Hogs Festival Huntersville, NC | 6 / 11 (675.3600) | 4 (172.5600) | 7 (167.4172) | 7 (165.1316) | 4 (170.2512) |
| 2019-09-20 | Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic Salisbury, NC | 42 / 56 (643.2568) | 36 (163.3712) | 13 (170.2744) | 51 (153.7028) | 45 (155.9084) |
| 2019-08-02 | Pigs & Pedals Asheboro, NC | 35 / 40 (627.8636) | 32 (159.4060) | 32 (159.9888) | 28 (161.6916) | 38 (146.7772) |
| 2019-05-03 | Jiggy With The Piggy Kannapolis, NC | 41 / 60 (646.8112) | 48 (158.8112) | 32 (163.4744) | 53 (155.3600) | 13 (169.1656) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #221 (502 pts) | #320 (397 pts) | #262 (522 pts) | #330 (357 pts) | #167 (627 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #255 (856 pts) | #281 (801 pts) | #249 (1011 pts) | #250 (896 pts) | #242 (946 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #149 (1238 pts) | #186 (1093 pts) | #191 (1133 pts) | #110 (1358 pts) | #108 (1408 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #142 (1250 pts) | #103 (1447 pts) | #171 (1215 pts) | #83 (1560 pts) | #126 (1305 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #183 (1114 pts) | #224 (989 pts) | #246 (974 pts) | #258 (914 pts) | #212 (1034 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #376 (507 pts) | #392 (512 pts) | #423 (492 pts) | #339 (617 pts) | #556 (332 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #501 (197 pts) | #395 (297 pts) | #547 (202 pts) | #430 (267 pts) | #581 (177 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #483 (686 pts) | #421 (801 pts) | #531 (656 pts) | #554 (626 pts) | #422 (796 pts) |