IMAT BBQ

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

Power ranking

#1141

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1590

peak 1612 · rated over 35 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-10-16

latest 2024-06-07

Best ToY finish

#457

Master 2021

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

7 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 37 contests

Avg finish

top 44%

overall standings

Best overall

689.6228 / 720

Master · Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest

Perfect 180s

Current form

677.36 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 669.14 (+8.22)

Walk rate

54%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.8572

Chicken · *Harper County Bullseye BBQ

Consistency

±12.79

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 169.83 · weakest Pork (164.78)

Road miles

4,295

mi across 37 mapped stops · furthest 210 mi

Schedule strength

72%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1591)

Purse competed for

$272K

listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 15 state-championship entries

Master avg

669.14 / 720

35 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (12 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.

High-water mark

689.6228 career-best overall

95.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 689.6228 at Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest — 95.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
2023-06-09

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BARREL BOYS BBQ has finished one call ahead of IMAT BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2017 their best year

2017 was the year it came together: 7 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 34%.

7 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 34%

A tough matchup

17–2 behind in the head-to-head

CLARK CREW BBQ ahead in 89% of their meetings

CLARK CREW BBQ has come out ahead in 17 of their 19 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.0 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.05 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 9% of the time against 34%.

Pork avg 164.78
Chicken avg 169.83
3 calls in 35 entries

A strong matchup

10–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ALWAYS SAUCED in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

12 of 19 shared chicken entries lost

CLARK CREW BBQ ahead 63% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, CLARK CREW BBQ has out-cooked them in 12 of 19 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

SMOKE N HOGS BBQ KS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 30% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 30% across 8 contests, versus top 44% the rest of the year.

8 September contests
top 44% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,295 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,295 miles across 37 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 210 miles to Smoke EM IF You Got EM.

37 mapped stops
furthest 210 mi

The metronome

±1.78% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.78% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.9% of a perfect score
37 contests

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked Harper County Bullseye BBQ every year from 2015 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 7th

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.

30 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Scorched Deck BBQ

#1145 of the rated field

1590 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1590

3–0 in 3 shared contests (100% to IMAT BBQ)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — IMAT BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2023-10-28

⚔ Head-to-head

GENERAL LEE SMOKING

#1140 of the rated field

1590 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 40
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1590

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 40 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 40 contests
last seen 2024-10-18

⚔ Head-to-head

GOOD OLD BBQ

#1146 of the rated field

1590 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 48%
Peak: 1594

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before IMAT BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 22 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

NO LOOKIN' COOKIN'

#1147 of the rated field

1590 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1608

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 28 contests to 37, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 21 contests
last seen 2026-03-06

⚔ Head-to-head

BIG WHIT AND THE BOYS

#1143 of the rated field

1590 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 39%
Peak: 1590

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 18 contests, alongside a 39% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2016-03-19

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke N Poke BBQ

#1144 of the rated field

1590 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 75%
Peak: 1590

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 11 years after IMAT BBQ did, first appearing in 2026.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2026-08-15
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Three Hog Night Smokers	23	9	14	39%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN ELVISES	20	12	8	60%	⚔ compare
BARREL BOYS BBQ	20	7	13	35%	⚔ compare
CLARK CREW BBQ	19	2	17	11%	⚔ compare
Lucky D's BBQ	18	9	9	50%	⚔ compare
BUFFALO'S BBQ	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
4 LEGS UP BBQ	15	2	13	13%	⚔ compare
WICHITA SWINEMEN	14	8	6	57%	⚔ compare
Rise N Swine	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare
BUTCHER BBQ	14	2	12	14%	⚔ compare
SIPPIN ON SMOKE	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
913 BBQ	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
Fergolicious BBQ	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
56 SMOKEHOUSE	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
SLAPS BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	35	12	0	2	178.8572	150.8572	169.83	top 40%
Pork Ribs	36	11	0	3	177.1772	158.2056	168.08	top 41%
Pork	35	3	0	0	177.1544	151.9772	164.78	top 59%
Brisket	35	10	1	2	176.5600	152.5256	166.49	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	Avg finish
KS	31	top 41%
OK	3	top 72%
MO	1	top 50%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 47%
Medium (20–39)	17	top 43%
Large (40+)	16	top 45%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Harper County Bullseye BBQ	6	7	top 47%	2021-10-15
Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest	4	4	top 35%	2023-06-09
Smoke in the Spring	3	39	top 59%	2021-04-09
American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	2	28	top 22%	2022-09-29
*Derby BBQ Festival	2	10	top 41%	2018-06-08

The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 8.6 yrs 2015-10-16 → 2024-06-07

Busiest season 2017 7 contests

Contests a season 3.7 across 10 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 33 of 37 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 23 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 36 entries · 0 wins · 11 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 169.83 · weakest Pork (164.78)

Walk rate 54% a top-10 call in 20 of 37 contests

Overall top-10 rate 19% 7 of 37 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 669.14 out of 720 · 35 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 1,565 2,397–1,222 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,295 37 mapped stops · furthest 210 mi

Schedule strength 1591 average field rating faced — tougher than 72% of rated contests

Purse competed for $272,155 listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 15 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 1 yrs 2019-10-19 → 2020-10-30

Power rating 1590 peak 1612 · #1141 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
Oct 16 First tracked contest Harper County Bullseye BBQ
Oct 16 First call Harper County Bullseye BBQ
2016
Jun 17 First overall past 90% of a perfect score666.2628 *Eureka BBQ Bash
Jul 1 First overall top-10 Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off
2017
Jul 28 10th tracked contest Dodge City Days National Beef Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest
2018
Oct 19 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8572 *Harper County Bullseye BBQ
2019
Oct 18 Peak power rating (1612) Harper County Bullseye BBQ
Oct 19 25th tracked contest Rock-N-Q on the planes
2023
Jun 9 First category win (Brisket) Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
Jun 9 Career-best overall score689.6228 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
2024
Jun 7 Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.6	*Chisholm Trail BBQ Cook Off	2017-04-28
+12.9	Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off	2016-07-01
+12.5	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST	2021-09-16
+12.2	*Harper County Bullseye BBQ	2018-10-19
+12	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2017-09-01

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.3	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest	2024-06-07
-8.5	Smoke in the Spring	2020-10-30
-7.9	Harper County Bullseye BBQ	2015-10-16
-7.5	16th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ	2021-04-23
-5.6	Smoke in the Spring	2021-04-09

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	1	0	0	0%	top 65%	93.5%	93.5%
2023	1	1	1	100%	top 13%	95.8%	95.8%
2022	3	0	0	33%	top 39%	93.8%	93.6%
2021	6	0	0	50%	top 53%	94.7%	93.2%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 80%	91.1%	91.1%
2019	6	1	0	50%	top 42%	94.2%	92.1%
2018	6	2	0	50%	top 43%	95.7%	93.5%
2017	7	2	0	57%	top 34%	94.9%	93.7%
2016	5	1	0	80%	top 44%	95%	92.5%
2015	1	0	0	100%	top 82%	87.9%	87.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2024-06-07	Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	28 / 43 (673.5424)	23 (170.8228)	31 (165.0972)	28 (170.2512)	25 (167.3712)
2023-06-09	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	4 / 32 (689.6228)	8 (174.2628)	11 (170.2628)	20 (168.5372)	1 (176.5600)
2022-10-01	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
2022-09-29	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	188 / 505 (675.3256)	323 (164.5372)	136 (171.9656)	191 (169.1428)	152 (169.6800)
2022-06-10	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	12 / 29 (672.4912)	19 (166.8228)	5 (173.1316)	15 (165.6912)	13 (166.8456)
2021-10-15	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	11 / 16 (675.8396)	9 (171.4056)	16 (165.0856)	11 (168.5256)	9 (170.8228)
2021-09-16	American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	28 / 467 (506.3316)	147 (169.6800)	126 (170.8228)	214 (166.2400)	273 (161.6800)
2021-06-11	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	14 / 28 (681.7144)	15 (172.0000)	4 (175.4400)	18 (166.8688)	20 (167.4056)
2021-06-11	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest - One Meat Contest - Ribs Derby, KS	—	—	3 (169.1200)	—	—
2021-04-23	16th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ Enid, OK	33 / 41 (652.9484)	26 (167.3944)	16 (168.5600)	35 (154.7656)	30 (162.2284)
2021-04-09	Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS	61 / 105 (673.5768)	34 (173.7028)	96 (158.2056)	45 (170.8228)	35 (170.8456)
2020-10-30	Smoke in the Spring 🏅 Osage City, KS	74 / 93 (655.9312)	68 (165.6800)	40 (169.1428)	89 (151.9772)	39 (169.1312)
2019-10-19	Rock-N-Q on the planes 🏅 Great Bend, KS	19 / 28 (646.7196)	21 (161.6800)	19 (161.6684)	24 (158.8456)	15 (164.5256)
2019-10-18	Harper County Bullseye BBQ 🏅 Harper, KS	11 / 25 (678.1712)	5 (173.7144)	3 (175.4056)	11 (168.5256)	19 (160.5256)
2019-09-12	40th American Royal World Series of Barbecue- OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	26 / 468 (508.5256)	120 (170.2628)	215 (166.2628)	340 (159.4056)	253 (162.7884)
2019-09-06	Midian Shrine Cowskin Cookoff 🏅 Wichita, KS	4 / 16 (677.0628)	4 (173.7144)	7 (162.8228)	8 (166.8228)	2 (173.7028)
2019-06-07	Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS	14 / 39 (664.5024)	17 (166.8228)	10 (168.0000)	29 (159.9540)	7 (169.7256)
2019-04-26	14th Annual HANOR Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ 🏅 Enid, OK	28 / 39 (649.5772)	29 (161.1316)	14 (166.8228)	30 (160.5372)	26 (161.0856)
2018-11-09	Smoke EM IF You Got EM Springfield, MO	15 / 30 (667.9656)	9 (171.4056)	18 (163.4400)	20 (163.4056)	9 (169.7144)
2018-10-19	*Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	7 / 33 (689.1316)	2 (178.8572)	5 (173.1200)	19 (165.1316)	9 (172.0228)
2018-09-15	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	197 / 467 (666.1828)	178 (168.5600)	191 (167.9772)	156 (168.5484)	291 (161.0972)
2018-06-08	*Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	10 / 40 (677.0856)	2 (177.1544)	26 (161.0856)	9 (169.7028)	9 (169.1428)
2018-03-03	*Kansas BBQ Shootout Day 2 Cheney, KS	27 / 42 (671.3140)	15 (173.1084)	32 (162.8228)	27 (166.8456)	26 (168.5372)
2018-03-02	*Kansas BBQ Shoot Out Day 1 Cheney, KS	26 / 47 (669.5996)	19 (169.6684)	25 (167.4400)	17 (172.5600)	37 (159.9312)
2017-10-20	*Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	15 / 47 (682.2284)	15 (173.1772)	29 (166.2284)	5 (174.2628)	18 (168.5600)
2017-09-08	*Derby BBQ Festival(JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS	14 / 29 (667.3944)	10 (169.6800)	18 (163.4172)	15 (164.5600)	9 (169.7372)
2017-09-01	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	66 / 407 (683.3600)	166 (168.5372)	47 (173.7028)	16 (177.1544)	208 (163.9656)
2017-07-28	Dodge City Days National Beef Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS	20 / 43 (673.7144)	18 (169.1544)	13 (173.1200)	29 (164.0000)	20 (167.4400)
2017-07-14	Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ Burlington, KS	10 / 26 (660.4912)	7 (170.8228)	13 (162.8228)	15 (165.7256)	12 (161.1200)
2017-04-28	*Chisholm Trail BBQ Cook Off Wellington, KS	5 / 32 (683.5088)	4 (174.8572)	2 (177.1772)	16 (167.4516)	17 (164.0228)
2017-04-07	Smoke in the Spring (WFC Quilfyer) Osage City, KS	39 / 100 (669.6800)	13 (173.7144)	28 (169.7028)	65 (162.8800)	53 (163.3828)
2016-10-14	*Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	12 / 38 (683.9544)	19 (171.4056)	5 (176.5944)	30 (163.9428)	9 (172.0116)
2016-09-09	*Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	22 / 38 (660.5140)	4 (174.8572)	28 (161.1084)	36 (151.9884)	16 (172.5600)
2016-07-01	Hutchfest BBQ Cook-off Hutchinson, KS	9 / 38 (675.9432)	16 (169.6800)	8 (170.8688)	26 (162.8228)	8 (172.5716)
2016-06-17	*Eureka BBQ Bash Eureka, KS	11 / 26 (666.2628)	6 (171.9656)	11 (166.8916)	12 (163.9884)	12 (163.4172)
2016-04-15	Roberts Ranch Smokin Red Dirt BBQ Enid, OK	40 / 63 (644.4572)	37 (162.8572)	19 (165.6916)	51 (155.3828)	39 (160.5256)
2015-10-16	Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	28 / 34 (633.0624)	32 (150.8572)	10 (169.7028)	29 (159.9768)	27 (152.5256)

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
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#1211 (70 pts)	#1317 (60 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	#1204 (60 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#722 (207 pts)	#922 (152 pts)	#1094 (127 pts)	#1203 (82 pts)	#616 (282 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#825 (179 pts)	#971 (144 pts)	#787 (239 pts)	#925 (164 pts)	#867 (174 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#457 (399 pts)	#474 (409 pts)	#399 (514 pts)	#492 (379 pts)	#501 (384 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#524 (629 pts)	#527 (659 pts)	#448 (764 pts)	#681 (494 pts)	#478 (709 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#590 (583 pts)	#385 (918 pts)	#697 (513 pts)	#690 (533 pts)	#604 (608 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#526 (732 pts)	#437 (877 pts)	#528 (757 pts)	#550 (717 pts)	#604 (652 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#719 (526 pts)	#653 (631 pts)	#667 (611 pts)	#1026 (356 pts)	#688 (581 pts)