The comeback
2.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 2.9 years, then back at RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) (May 17, 2024).
- last seen Jun 11, 2021
- back May 17, 2024
FREEDOM BBQ
FREEDOM BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 14th of 14 at the RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) (2024). They are ranked #4918 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1464
peak 1464 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Sep 20, 2013
latest May 17, 2024 · 10.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 76%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±18.42
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 156.66 · weakest Brisket (151.96)
Road miles
3,406
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1,179 mi
Schedule strength
32%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1543)
Purse competed for
$15K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
624.65 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
295.32 / 360
2 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 FREEDOM BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
141 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,905 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to FREEDOM BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team FREEDOM BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,940 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Fewer contests behind them than FREEDOM BBQ has cooked, 5 to 8, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,913 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Level with FREEDOM BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,925 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 3 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,908 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,936 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before FREEDOM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4172 | 144.5028 | 156.66 | top 65% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 168.5716 | 141.6916 | 153.39 | top 67% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6800 | 145.1200 | 154.44 | top 85% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.6688 | 141.0744 | 151.96 | top 73% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 86% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 55% |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
6 of 8 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
5
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
192
finished ahead 62 times, behind 151
Longest layoff
2.9 yrs
Jun 11, 2021 → May 17, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20241 milestone
- Most recent contest RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD)
20161 milestone
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)168.5716 Derby BBQ Festival
20141 milestone
- Career-best overall score647.3032 Derby BBQ Festival
20132 milestones
- First tracked contest Hogs & Hops Dover
- Peak power rating (1491) Hogs & Hops Dover
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.2 | Smoke in the Grove | Jul 26, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.3 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) | May 17, 2024 |
| -9.8 | Derby BBQ Festival | Sep 9, 2016 |
| -8.8 | Hogs & Hops Dover | Sep 20, 2013 |
| -6.9 | Derby BBQ Festival | Sep 12, 2014 |
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 100% | 84.6% | 84.6% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 30% | 79.5% | 79.5% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 92% | 86.7% | 86.7% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 89.9% | 89.9% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 80% | 83.6% | 83.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2024 | RTrowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin (BACKYARD) Derby, KS | 14 / 14 (304.4456) | 14 (152.5256) | 13 (151.9200) | — | — |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest - One Meat Contest - Ribs Derby, KS | — | — | 12 (158.2516) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2019 | Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 16 / 53 (286.1944) | 19 (144.5028) | 16 (141.6916) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2017 | Derby BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 9, 2016 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 35 / 38 (624.4572) | 31 (158.2856) | 13 (168.5716) | 35 (156.5256) | 38 (141.0744) |
| Sep 11, 2015 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sep 12, 2014 | Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS | 30 / 38 (647.3032) | 20 (167.4172) | 32 (156.5372) | 26 (161.6800) | 26 (161.6688) |
| Sep 20, 2013 | Hogs & Hops Dover Dover, DE | 36 / 45 (602.1832) | 24 (160.5600) | 40 (143.3716) | 42 (145.1200) | 23 (153.1316) |