The heartbreaker
Tie
level with the champion
Finished level on points with the champion at O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 (May 2, 2026) — the Grand Championship went to the KCBS tiebreaker.
Jury's Out
Jury's Out is a competition barbecue team with 36 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2026. They have won 3 Grand Championships, most recently at the Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 (2024), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #423 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Jury?s Out”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1693
peak 1693 · rated over 32 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
36
in the data
First seen
Apr 9, 2021
latest Jun 12, 2026 · 5.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
3
2 reserve · wins it all 8% of the time
Category wins
7
17 podiums
Overall top-10s
21
58% of 36 contests
Best top-10 run
11
straight overall top-10s · 2 straight GCs
Avg finish
top 31%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Current form
344.63 ▲
last 5 Backyard vs avg 343.02 (+1.61)
Walk rate
86%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±7.49
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.65 · weakest Pork (166.25)
Road miles
3,779
across 36 mapped stops · furthest 349 mi
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1581)
Purse competed for
$225K
listed at 33 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
663.09 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
343.02 / 360
24 Backyard contests · 3 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
510.71 / 540
7 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #106 (505 pts) | #66 (799 pts) | #126 (525 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | — | #784 (194 pts) | — | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #112 (521 pts) | #115 (546 pts) | #111 (531 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #42 (1,045 pts) | #39 (1,061 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #724 (272 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | #22 (1,132 pts) | #55 (790 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Backyard | — | #145 (193 pts) | #98 (303 pts) | — | — |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1236 (60 pts) | #1286 (60 pts) | #1309 (60 pts) | #1262 (60 pts) | #776 (185 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Jury's Out, each with one reason worth a look.
#424 of the rated field
- Contests
- 43
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 72%
- Peak
- 1700
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Jury's Out)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Jury's Out has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#422 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1693
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 26 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#420 of the rated field
- Contests
- 69
- GCs
- 4
- Top-10s
- 58%
- Peak
- 1715
4–10 in 14 shared contests (29% to Jury's Out)
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 69 contests to 36.
⚔ Head-to-head#431 of the rated field
- Contests
- 38
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 66%
- Peak
- 1694
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Jury's Out's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#433 of the rated field
- Contests
- 42
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 55%
- Peak
- 1691
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 42 contests, alongside a 55% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#430 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 4
- Top-10s
- 83%
- Peak
- 1701
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Jury's Out's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEE LA Q | 30 | 18 | 12 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| NORALA BBQ TEAM | 19 | 8 | 11 | 42% | ⚔ compare |
| The Real Squeal BBQ | 16 | 9 | 7 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| Bentley Que | 16 | 8 | 8 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| RIBLIFE | 16 | 5 | 11 | 31% | ⚔ compare |
| Pork Life | 15 | 12 | 3 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 15 | 11 | 4 | 73% | ⚔ compare |
| Dixie Pigs & Chick's BBQ Team | 15 | 10 | 5 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokey Bees BBQ - MS | 15 | 5 | 10 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Hickory Hangover | 15 | 3 | 11 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| 2 Swine Crew | 14 | 4 | 10 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 13 | 6 | 7 | 46% | ⚔ compare |
| REDBONES BBQ | 13 | 5 | 8 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| HELL ON SQUEALS | 12 | 5 | 7 | 42% | ⚔ compare |
| Modest Meats | 11 | 10 | 1 | 91% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 35 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 180 🔥 | 159.3600 | 172.65 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 35 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 178.8572 | 157.6572 | 169.75 | top 36% |
| Pork | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 174.8456 | 153.6456 | 166.25 | top 52% |
| Brisket | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 174.2628 | 160.4912 | 167.95 | top 47% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 7 | 2 | top 17% |
| Medium (20–39) | 20 | 0 | top 37% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 1 | top 28% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | 4 | 5 | 0 | top 30% | Jun 12, 2026 |
| Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 1 | 1 | top 34% | Apr 5, 2024 |
| Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 5% | May 3, 2024 |
| Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 26% | May 4, 2024 |
| Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 16% | Aug 11, 2023 |
| Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) | 2 | 11 | 0 | top 34% | Oct 7, 2022 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
9 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
6
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
29 of 36 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
25
6 of them more than once
First title
Sep 22, 2023
O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2
Opponents faced
638
finished ahead 999 times, behind 375
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Peak power rating (1693) O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2
- Most recent contest Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)
20243 milestones
- First state championship Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
- 25th tracked contest Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
- Biggest field won (45 teams) Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
20231 milestone
- First Grand Championship O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2
20224 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
- First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
- First perfect 180 (Chicken) Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
- 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY)
20216 milestones
- First tracked contest Smoke on the Falls
- First call Smoke on the Falls
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7200 Smoke on the Falls
- Career-best overall score674.7656 Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
- First overall top-10 Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship
- First overall podium Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.4 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) | Apr 22, 2022 |
| +15.6 | Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship | Dec 2, 2021 |
| +14.8 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 | Sep 22, 2023 |
| +14.1 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 12, 2022 |
| +13.9 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 | May 5, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.5 | Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 5, 2025 |
| -4.3 | Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY) | May 21, 2021 |
| -3.3 | Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 21, 2022 |
| -2.7 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) | Apr 2, 2022 |
| -2.5 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) | Mar 27, 2026 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 75% | top 31% | 98.1% | 96.2% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 80% | top 41% | 97% | 95.7% |
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 100% | top 18% | 98.3% | 95.5% |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 100% | top 16% | 98.4% | 95.9% |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 63% | top 36% | 97.3% | 94.5% |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 49% | 96.3% | 93.1% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 2026 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 11 / 31 (343.9428) | 2 (178.8572) | 22 (165.0856) | — | — |
| May 2, 2026 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Cleveland, AL | 2 / 15 (353.1200) | 1 (180) | 5 (173.1200) | — | — |
| May 1, 2026 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Cleveland, AL | 5 / 17 (347.3828) | 7 (173.1084) | 5 (174.2744) | — | — |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL | 19 / 43 (340.4796) | 19 (171.9656) | 23 (168.5140) | — | — |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL | 20 / 29 (338.2172) | 21 (170.8228) | 16 (167.3944) | — | — |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cullman, AL | — | 4 (176.5600) | — | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 9 / 35 (346.2400) | 2 (178.8572) | 19 (167.3828) | — | — |
| May 3, 2025 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Oneonta, AL | 9 / 23 (349.1200) | 12 (170.8228) | 4 (178.2972) | 17 (167.3828) | — |
| May 2, 2025 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL | 8 / 28 (343.9428) | 7 (171.9656) | 9 (171.9772) | 13 (168.5372) | — |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 13 / 35 (340.4912) | 4 (175.4056) | 19 (165.0856) | — | — |
| May 4, 2024 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 9 / 35 (333.6112) | 11 (167.3712) | 5 (166.2400) | — | — |
| May 3, 2024 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 1 / 45 (353.7144) | 3 (174.8572) | 1 (178.8572) | — | — |
| Apr 5, 2024 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL | 1 / 16 (347.3944) | 1 (175.4172) | 3 (171.9772) | 5 (170.2628) | — |
| Oct 5, 2023 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 4 / 73 (350.8344) | 6 (175.4172) | 4 (175.4172) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 Oneonta, AL | 3 / 18 (346.2284) | 8 (170.8228) | 3 (175.4056) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 Oneonta, AL | 1 / 11 (350.8344) | 1 (180) | 4 (170.8344) | — | — |
| Sep 22, 2023 | O'So Good BBQ Festival (One Meat Ribs) Oneonta, AL | — | — | 3 (169.6800) | — | — |
| Aug 11, 2023 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL | 7 / 35 (510.7772) | 17 (169.6800) | 16 (166.8344) | 4 (174.2628) | — |
| May 6, 2023 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 6 / 23 (341.6456) | 6 (173.1084) | 6 (168.5372) | — | — |
| May 5, 2023 | Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC | 3 / 35 (354.2628) | 1 (180) | 6 (174.2628) | — | — |
| Apr 14, 2023 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) 🏅 Chelsea, AL | 5 / 17 (506.2056) | 4 (170.8456) | 5 (169.1200) | 9 (166.2400) | — |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 8 / 65 (509.0972) | 20 (167.3828) | 3 (175.4172) | 14 (166.2972) | — |
| Nov 12, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL | 40 / 49 (326.1944) | 30 (168.5256) | 47 (157.6688) | — | — |
| Nov 11, 2022 | 4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Gadsden, AL | 5 / 91 (174.3088) | 33 (173.1084) | 85 (157.6572) | 74 (164.5256) | 77 (160.4912) |
| Oct 21, 2022 | Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY) Vicksburg, MS | 18 / 28 (332.4912) | 19 (165.6684) | 14 (166.8228) | — | — |
| Oct 7, 2022 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 11 / 38 (340.5144) | 1 (178.8572) | 23 (161.6572) | — | — |
| Aug 12, 2022 | Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) Glencoe, AL | 4 / 35 (522.2400) | 3 (177.7028) | 14 (169.6916) | 7 (174.8456) | — |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 5 / 23 (339.3484) | 8 (170.8228) | 5 (168.5256) | — | — |
| Apr 22, 2022 | Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) Florence, AL | 2 / 34 (525.6800) | 1 (180) | 7 (171.9772) | 3 (173.7028) | — |
| Apr 2, 2022 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL | 13 / 20 (504.4800) | 5 (173.7028) | 10 (170.8344) | 18 (159.9428) | — |
| Dec 2, 2021 | Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship 🏅 Demopolis, AL | 3 / 19 (346.8572) | 6 (170.8572) | 3 (176) | — | — |
| Oct 8, 2021 | Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL | 12 / 31 (335.9428) | 20 (164.5256) | 4 (171.4172) | — | — |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 22 / 49 (674.7656) | 23 (169.1200) | 10 (172.5600) | 33 (163.9772) | 21 (169.1084) |
| May 21, 2021 | Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY) Meridian, MS | 16 / 22 (329.6228) | 20 (159.3600) | 6 (170.2628) | — | — |
| Apr 17, 2021 | Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL | 11 / 21 (496.4920) | 10 (169.1316) | 8 (169.6916) | 16 (157.6688) | — |
| Apr 9, 2021 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 26 / 38 (658.7200) | 26 (167.9656) | 29 (162.8460) | 34 (153.6456) | 5 (174.2628) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.