Jury's Out

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#419

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1693

peak 1694 · rated over 32 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s · 2 straight GCs

Contests

in the data

First seen

2021-04-09

latest 2026-06-12

Best ToY finish

#106

Backyard 2025

Grand champs

2 reserve

Category wins

17 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 36 contests

Avg finish

top 31%

overall standings

Best overall

674.7656 / 720

Master · Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ

Perfect 180s

4 🔥

Current form

344.63 ▼

last 5 Backyard vs avg 380.88 (-36.26)

Walk rate

86%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Chicken · O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2

Consistency

±70.57

std dev of Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 172.65 · weakest Pork (166.25)

Road miles

3,779

mi across 36 mapped stops · furthest 349 mi

Schedule strength

65%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1582)

Purse competed for

$225K

listed at 33 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

GCs in 10 state-championship entries

Master avg

663.09 / 720

3 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

380.88 / 360

31 Backyard contests · 3 GCs

Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), 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.

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (19 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

The heartbreaker

Tie level with the champion

Finished level on points with the champion at O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 (2026-05-02) — the Grand Championship went to the KCBS tiebreaker.

Among the elite

#419 of 6,413 rated teams

In the top 7% of every rated team in the data

A power rating of 1693 puts them #419 of 6,413 rated teams — the top 7% of the field.

rating 1693
peak 1694
32 rated contests

Perfect scores on the board

4 perfect 180s

4 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×4

Against the odds

33-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 67 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024-04-05) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 33-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, NORALA BBQ TEAM.

Giant slayer

45 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 45-team field at Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1.

2024-05-03

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championships here

Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 1st
average top 5%

They almost always walk

86% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 31 of 36 contests

A top-10 category call in 86% of their 36 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

674.7656 career-best overall

93.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 674.7656 at Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ — 93.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
2021-08-13

State champions

1 state championships won

They've taken 1 state championship from 10 entries at contests carrying the title.

10 state-championship entries

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Rollin Smoke BBQ has finished one call ahead of Jury's Out 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2024 2 Grand Championships

2024 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 2 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 18%.

4 contests
3 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 18%

A tough matchup

11–4 behind in the head-to-head

Hickory Hangover ahead in 73% of their meetings

Hickory Hangover has come out ahead in 11 of their 15 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.4 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.39 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 38% of the time against 63%.

Pork avg 166.25
Chicken avg 172.65
5 calls in 13 entries

The drought

11 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 on 2024-05-03 — 11 contests and 2.3 years ago.

last GC 2024-05-03
2.3 years ago

A strong matchup

12–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Pork Life in 12 of their 15 shared contests.

A big fish in small ponds

Top 17% average finish in small fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 17% finish in small fields against top 28% in large ones.

Small (<20 teams): top 17% (7)
Large (40+): top 28% (7)

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

LEE LA Q has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Boom or bust

±19.12% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±19.12% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 104.6% of a perfect score
best 146.0%

The long haul

3,779 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,779 miles across 36 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 349 miles to Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1.

36 mapped stops
furthest 349 mi

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

ZIPS BBQ

#418 of the rated field

1693 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 73
GCs: 7
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1709

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.

rated over 66 contests
last seen 2026-08-07

⚔ Head-to-head

MUSTANG SALLY BBQ

#416 of the rated field

1693 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 37
GCs: 3
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1696

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 35 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 35 contests
last seen 2019-09-13

⚔ Head-to-head

Ash Kickin' BBQ

#415 of the rated field

1693 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 4
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1709

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 40 contests to 36, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 38 contests
last seen 2026-05-08

⚔ Head-to-head

Texas Smoke Whisper

#420 of the rated field

1693 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1693

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 6 years before Jury's Out's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 26 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN' 4-PLAY BBQ

#421 of the rated field

1693 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 55
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 49%
Peak: 1713

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 55 contests, alongside a 49% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 53 contests
last seen 2020-09-18

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG BLUE QUE

#422 of the rated field

1693 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 61
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 49%
Peak: 1736

No shared contest yet.

They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Jury's Out's first contest.

rated over 60 contests
last seen 2021-03-19

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar 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	180.0000 🔥	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 state / province

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
AL	27	2	top 31%
NC	4	1	top 16%
MS	2	0	top 69%
GA	1	0	top 12%

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%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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%	2026-06-12
Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY)	3	1	1	top 34%	2024-04-05
Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1	2	1	1	top 5%	2024-05-03
Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2	2	6	0	top 26%	2024-05-04
Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE)	2	4	0	top 16%	2023-08-11
Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY)	2	11	0	top 34%	2022-10-07

The story so far (21 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5.2 yrs 2021-04-09 → 2026-06-12

Busiest season 2023 9 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 6 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in AL 29 of 36 contests · 4 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 25 6 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 35 entries · 6 wins · 22 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 172.65 · weakest Pork (166.25)

Walk rate 86% a top-10 call in 31 of 36 contests

Overall top-10 rate 58% 21 of 36 contests

Wins it all 8% 3 Grand Championships · 2 reserve

First title 2023-09-22 O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2

Best top-10 run 11 straight contests

Master average 663.09 out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs

Backyard average 380.88 out of 360 · 31 contests · 3 GCs

Perfect 180s 4 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 638 999–375 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 3,779 36 mapped stops · furthest 349 mi

Schedule strength 1582 average field rating faced — tougher than 65% of rated contests

Purse competed for $225,225 listed at 33 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 1 from 10 state-championship entries

Power rating 1693 peak 1694 · #419 of 6,413 rated

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

2021
Apr 9 First tracked contest Smoke on the Falls
Apr 9 First call Smoke on the Falls
Apr 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.7200 Smoke on the Falls
Aug 13 Career-best overall score674.7656 Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
Dec 2 First overall top-10 Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship
Dec 2 First overall podium Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship
2022
Apr 22 First category win (Chicken) Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
Apr 22 First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
Apr 22 First perfect 180 (Chicken) Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)
Aug 12 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY)
2023
Sep 22 First Grand Championship O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2
2024
May 3 First state championship Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
May 3 25th tracked contest Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
May 3 Biggest field won (45 teams) Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1
2026
May 2 Peak power rating (1694) O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2
Jun 12 Most recent contest Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.4	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard)	2022-04-22
+15.6	Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship	2021-12-02
+14.8	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2	2023-09-22
+14.1	Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-08-12
+13.9	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1	2023-05-05

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.5	Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY)	2025-09-05
-4.3	Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY)	2021-05-21
-3.3	Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-10-21
-2.7	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY)	2022-04-02
-2.5	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY)	2026-03-27

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

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%	141.9%	113.5%
2022	8	0	4	2	63%	top 36%	146%	114.7%
2021	6	0	1	0	100%	top 49%	137.9%	100.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-06-12	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	11 / 31 (343.9428)	2 (178.8572)	22 (165.0856)	—	—
2026-05-02	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Cleveland, AL	2 / 15 (353.1200)	1 (180.0000)	5 (173.1200)	—	—
2026-05-01	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Cleveland, AL	5 / 17 (347.3828)	7 (173.1084)	5 (174.2744)	—	—
2026-03-27	Singing River Smoke-O-Rama (BACKYARD ONLY) Athens, AL	19 / 43 (340.4796)	19 (171.9656)	23 (168.5140)	—	—
2025-09-05	Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cullman, AL	—	4 (176.5600)	—	—	—
2025-09-05	Bernard Blues & BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Cullman, AL	20 / 29 (338.2172)	21 (170.8228)	16 (167.3944)	—	—
2025-06-13	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	9 / 35 (346.2400)	2 (178.8572)	19 (167.3828)	—	—
2025-05-03	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 2 Oneonta, AL	9 / 23 (349.1200)	12 (170.8228)	4 (178.2972)	17 (167.3828)	—
2025-05-02	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Day 1 Oneonta, AL	8 / 28 (343.9428)	7 (171.9656)	9 (171.9772)	13 (168.5372)	—
2024-06-07	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	13 / 35 (340.4912)	4 (175.4056)	19 (165.0856)	—	—
2024-05-04	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	9 / 35 (333.6112)	11 (167.3712)	5 (166.2400)	—	—
2024-05-03	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	1 / 45 (353.7144)	3 (174.8572)	1 (178.8572)	—	—
2024-04-05	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL	1 / 16 (347.3944)	1 (175.4172)	3 (171.9772)	5 (170.2628)	—
2023-10-05	Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL	4 / 73 (350.8344)	6 (175.4172)	4 (175.4172)	—	—
2023-09-22	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #2 Oneonta, AL	1 / 11 (350.8344)	1 (180.0000)	4 (170.8344)	—	—
2023-09-22	O'So Good BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) #1 Oneonta, AL	3 / 18 (346.2284)	8 (170.8228)	3 (175.4056)	—	—
2023-09-22	O'So Good BBQ Festival (One Meat Ribs) Oneonta, AL	—	—	3 (169.6800)	—	—
2023-08-11	Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE) Glencoe, AL	7 / 35 (510.7772)	17 (169.6800)	16 (166.8344)	4 (174.2628)	—
2023-05-06	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 2 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	6 / 23 (341.6456)	6 (173.1084)	6 (168.5372)	—	—
2023-05-05	Jiggy With The Piggy - Day 1 🏅 Kannapolis, NC	3 / 35 (354.2628)	1 (180.0000)	6 (174.2628)	—	—
2023-04-14	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) 🏅 Chelsea, AL	5 / 17 (506.2056)	4 (170.8456)	5 (169.1200)	9 (166.2400)	—
2023-03-03	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	8 / 65 (509.0972)	20 (167.3828)	3 (175.4172)	14 (166.2972)	—
2022-11-12	4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL	40 / 49 (326.1944)	30 (168.5256)	47 (157.6688)	—	—
2022-11-11	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)
2022-10-21	Barbecue With A View (BACKYARD ONLY) Vicksburg, MS	18 / 28 (332.4912)	19 (165.6684)	14 (166.8228)	—	—
2022-10-07	Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL	11 / 38 (340.5144)	1 (178.8572)	23 (161.6572)	—	—
2022-08-12	Smoke in the Park (BACKYARD ONLY) Glencoe, AL	4 / 35 (522.2400)	3 (177.7028)	14 (169.6916)	7 (174.8456)	—
2022-06-10	Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL	5 / 23 (339.3484)	8 (170.8228)	5 (168.5256)	—	—
2022-04-22	Smoke on the Water BBQ Festival (Backyard) Florence, AL	2 / 34 (525.6800)	1 (180.0000)	7 (171.9772)	3 (173.7028)	—
2022-04-02	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL	13 / 20 (504.4800)	5 (173.7028)	10 (170.8344)	18 (159.9428)	—
2021-12-02	Christmas on the River State Bar B Q Championship 🏅 Demopolis, AL	3 / 19 (346.8572)	6 (170.8572)	3 (176.0000)	—	—
2021-10-08	Scottsboro BBQ Festival (BACKYARD & KIDS QUE ONLY) Scottsboro, AL	12 / 31 (335.9428)	20 (164.5256)	4 (171.4172)	—	—
2021-08-13	Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL	22 / 49 (674.7656)	23 (169.1200)	10 (172.5600)	33 (163.9772)	21 (169.1084)
2021-05-21	Twin States Barbecue Showdown (BACKYARD ONLY) Meridian, MS	16 / 22 (329.6228)	20 (159.3600)	6 (170.2628)	—	—
2021-04-17	Fire at the Foothills (BACKYARD ONLY) Chelsea, AL	11 / 21 (496.4920)	10 (169.1316)	8 (169.6916)	16 (157.6688)	—
2021-04-09	Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL	26 / 38 (658.7200)	26 (167.9656)	29 (162.8460)	34 (153.6456)	5 (174.2628)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

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
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 (1045 pts)	#39 (1061 pts)	—	—
2023 ↗	Master	#1255 (60 pts)	#1319 (60 pts)	#724 (272 pts)	#1287 (60 pts)	#1296 (60 pts)
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#22 (1132 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)