The heartbreaker
4.5488
points from the title
Came within 4.5488 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest (Jun 7, 2019).
KS BBQ
KS BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 39 at the Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest (2019), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #2650 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “K & S BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1515
peak 1515 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
May 12, 2017
latest Jun 7, 2024 · 7.1 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
1 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
2
33% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 41%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
67%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±10.55
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 162.85 · weakest Brisket (133.65)
Road miles
298
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 296 mi
Schedule strength
40%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)
Purse competed for
$68K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries
Master avg
585.51 / 720
1 Master contest · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
324.43 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master 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.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to KS BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
92 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,652 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1514
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,649 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1527
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 6 contests, alongside a 17% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#2,648 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1515
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before KS BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,654 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1521
They turned up 9 years after KS BBQ did, first appearing in 2026.
⚔ Compare careers#2,646 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1515
Level with KS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,653 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1519
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALWAYS SAUCED | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| BEER DART BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokin Carr BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| IMAT BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| DR. LOVE'S BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 171.4400 | 147.3600 | 157.50 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 152.5488 | 162.85 | top 36% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151.9544 | 151.9544 | 151.95 | top 97% |
| Brisket | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 133.6460 | 133.6460 | 133.65 | top 94% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | 4 | 2 | 0 | top 30% | Jun 9, 2023 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
5 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
173
finished ahead 152 times, behind 118
Longest layoff
2.1 yrs
May 12, 2017 → Jun 7, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20242 milestones
- Peak power rating (1515) Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest
20196 milestones
- First call Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
- First overall top-10 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
- First overall podium Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
- First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score343.4400 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)172 Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest
20172 milestones
- First tracked contest Wild West BBQ Cook Off
- Career-best overall score585.5092 Wild West BBQ Cook Off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.6 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2019 |
| +4.1 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 9, 2023 |
| +2.9 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2024 |
| +2.5 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 11, 2021 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.6 | Wild West BBQ Cook Off | May 12, 2017 |
| -1.1 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 10, 2022 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 33% | 88.1% | 88.1% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 31% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 45% | 87.9% | 87.9% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 39% | 87.9% | 87.9% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 5% | 95.4% | 95.4% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 94% | 81.3% | 81.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 2024 | Smoke on the Plains BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 14 / 43 (317.0744) | 14 (151.3600) | 11 (165.7144) | — | — |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 10 / 32 (328.5488) | 8 (166.2972) | 11 (162.2516) | — | — |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 13 / 29 (316.5260) | 16 (153.6916) | 10 (162.8344) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 11 / 28 (316.5600) | 16 (154.8228) | 7 (161.7372) | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 2 / 39 (343.4400) | 2 (171.4400) | 4 (172) | — | — |
| May 12, 2017 | Wild West BBQ Cook Off Lamar, CO | 29 / 31 (585.5092) | 31 (147.3600) | 26 (152.5488) | 30 (151.9544) | 29 (133.6460) |