KEVLAR BBQ MI
Rating
1626
peak 1647
Contests
69
in the data
First seen
2019-05-17
latest 2026-06-26
Best ToY finish
#58
Master 2020
Grand champs
4
3 reserve
Category wins
10
31 podiums
Overall top-10s
20
of 69 contests
Avg finish
top 39%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
678.10 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 677.35 (+0.76)
Walk rate
68%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
5
best run (overall)
Consistency
±12.00
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.14 · weakest Pork (168.37)
Road miles
11902
mi across 69 mapped stops · furthest 658 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Mac Attack BBQ has finished one call ahead of KEVLAR BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
The Yellow Rose Texas BBQ Company has landed one call behind them 3 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
THE REAL SMOKIN ACES has come out ahead in 28 of their 40 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of JAYBIRD'S BBQ in 19 of their 21 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com is their spot: 2 Grand Championships in 3 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 1.7256 points of the Grand Championship at Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ Day 1 (2020-09-11).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 42-team field at All American BBQ Throwdown.
📅 A September team
Something about September: average finish in the top 27% across 12 contests, versus top 39% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at All American BBQ Throwdown (2020-08-07) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 28-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, iBQ'n.
Teams like this (closest power rating, MI first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 56 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 180.0000 🔥 | 156.5256 | 170.14 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 67 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 177.7028 | 156.5716 | 169.20 | top 40% |
| Pork | 55 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 177.7372 | 149.0856 | 168.37 | top 46% |
| Brisket | 55 | 24 | 5 | 11 | 180.0000 🔥 | 150.7772 | 169.79 | top 36% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MI | 24 | 4 | top 30% |
| IN | 17 | 0 | top 48% |
| OH | 7 | 0 | top 38% |
| KS | 5 | 0 | top 51% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 14% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 71% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 61% |
| Medium (20–39) | 28 | 3 | top 34% |
| Large (40+) | 26 | 1 | top 43% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2022 (13 contests)
- Cooks mostly in MI (31 of 69 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (67 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: All American BBQ Throwdown (2020-08-07)
- Wins it all in 6% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 677.35
- 2 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 681.0400 | 677.45 |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 689.6568 | 678.64 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 693.6688 | 681.95 |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 706.8228 | 682.21 |
| 2022 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 698.8116 | 678.89 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 695.4288 | 676.22 |
| 2020 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 688.0000 | 675.48 |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 684.5600 | 669.04 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl Wellington, OH | 22 / 39 (673.0628) | 24 (168.0000) | 28 (164.5372) | 9 (174.2856) | 22 (166.2400) |
| 2026-05-01 | Smoke in the Mitten Westland, MI | 12 / 34 (678.2400) | 7 (172.0000) | 9 (173.1200) | 3 (173.1544) | 32 (159.9656) |
| 2026-05-01 | Smoke in the Mitten (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 15 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2026-04-17 | GLBBQA Spring Fling Coldwater, MI | 26 / 48 (681.0400) | 31 (170.8228) | 27 (169.1316) | 17 (171.9772) | 24 (169.1084) |
| 2025-09-05 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl Wellington, OH | 10 / 42 (689.6568) | 26 (170.2512) | 22 (169.1200) | 2 (177.7372) | 6 (172.5484) |
| 2025-08-01 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 26 / 43 (668.5144) | 34 (164.5600) | 23 (168.5600) | 21 (170.2628) | 30 (165.1316) |
| 2025-08-01 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 16 (169.1200) | — | — |
| 2025-07-18 | Buckeye BBQ Classic Hillsboro, OH | 24 / 40 (675.8972) | 12 (172.5600) | 19 (170.2744) | 12 (173.7144) | 36 (159.3484) |
| 2025-04-18 | GLBBQA Spring Fling Charlotte, MI | 28 / 56 (680.5032) | 38 (168.5372) | 39 (166.2400) | 24 (172.5600) | 12 (173.1660) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 58 / 169 (689.6456) | 60 (174.2628) | 113 (169.1200) | 100 (170.2628) | 25 (176.0000) |
| 2024-10-30 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 232 / 444 (674.7312) | 222 (169.6684) | 118 (173.1200) | 338 (162.2628) | 163 (169.6800) |
| 2024-09-13 | September Fest Coldwater, MI | 11 / 18 (665.5544) | 16 (161.0972) | 10 (165.0972) | 7 (171.9772) | 10 (167.3828) |
| 2024-09-06 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl Wadsworth, OH | 6 / 30 (690.7884) | 16 (169.6800) | 11 (170.2628) | 1 (177.7028) | 5 (173.1428) |
| 2024-08-02 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 13 / 40 (682.2172) | 2 (178.8572) | 16 (167.9772) | 27 (164.5372) | 11 (170.8456) |
| 2024-08-02 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 2 (174.2972) | — | — |
| 2024-07-19 | The Buckeye BBQ Classic Hillsboro, OH | 12 / 33 (680.5256) | 18 (167.9884) | 13 (166.8228) | 12 (170.8572) | 4 (174.8572) |
| 2024-06-07 | Hoosier BBQ Classic Franklin, IN | 8 / 38 (693.6688) | 3 (177.7028) | 12 (171.9888) | 31 (165.1200) | 1 (178.8572) |
| 2024-06-07 | Hoosier BBQ Classic (ONE MEAT RIBS) Franklin, IN | — | — | 10 (169.6684) | — | — |
| 2024-05-03 | Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition Westland, MI | 18 / 26 (670.1596) | 21 (168.5256) | 19 (165.1084) | 16 (165.1084) | 5 (171.4172) |
| 2024-04-19 | GLBBQA Spring Fling Charlotte, MI | 14 / 62 (690.2172) | 34 (169.6800) | 4 (176.5716) | 22 (173.1428) | 28 (170.8228) |
| 2023-10-13 | BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport Wadsworth, OH | 5 / 20 (686.8000) | 2 (176.5600) | 7 (169.6800) | 16 (165.6800) | 4 (174.8800) |
| 2023-08-25 | Rockin' BBQ Take 2 Warsaw, IN | 17 / 23 (671.9312) | 19 (166.8112) | 11 (172.5716) | 19 (163.3828) | 12 (169.1656) |
| 2023-08-25 | Rockin' BBQ Take 2 (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Warsaw, IN | — | 15 (169.6800) | — | — | — |
| 2023-08-04 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 9 / 44 (679.3256) | 19 (170.2628) | 6 (171.9772) | 17 (168.5600) | 16 (168.5256) |
| 2023-08-04 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 15 (168.5484) | — | — |
| 2023-05-05 | Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition Westland, MI | 1 / 25 (706.8228) | 2 (177.7144) | 3 (175.4056) | 2 (174.8456) | 3 (178.8572) |
| 2023-04-28 | Marietta River City BBQ Marietta, OH | 18 / 42 (666.1484) | 8 (173.1200) | 12 (169.1200) | 13 (168.5256) | 35 (155.3828) |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 22 / 249 (696.5256) | 34 (176.5600) | 110 (171.4172) | 60 (174.2856) | 49 (174.2628) |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 339 / 505 (654.7084) | 439 (157.6572) | 40 (176.0000) | 479 (149.0856) | 96 (171.9656) |
| 2022-08-05 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 22 / 50 (674.7428) | 17 (170.2628) | 33 (164.5372) | 24 (166.8228) | 8 (173.1200) |
| 2022-08-05 | All American BBQ Throwdown - One Meat Ribs Westland, MI | — | — | 33 (156.5716) | — | — |
| 2022-07-15 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl Sault Ste Marie, MI | 6 / 30 (688.5028) | 3 (177.7144) | 9 (170.8572) | 15 (169.1200) | 10 (170.8112) |
| 2022-07-15 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl (One Meat Ribs) Sault Ste Marie, MI | — | — | 1 (176.5944) | — | — |
| 2022-06-18 | Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 2 Franklin, IN | 18 / 27 (676.4800) | 10 (173.1200) | 21 (163.4172) | 18 (168.5372) | 12 (171.4056) |
| 2022-06-17 | Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 1 Franklin, IN | 37 / 42 (654.1028) | 13 (173.1200) | 24 (166.2628) | 32 (163.9428) | 38 (150.7772) |
| 2022-06-17 | Hoosier BBQ Classic (One Meat Ribs) Franklin, IN | — | — | 9 (170.2628) | — | — |
| 2022-05-14 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 2) Warsaw, IN | 12 / 25 (680.4688) | 20 (167.3944) | 8 (171.9772) | 11 (170.8228) | 9 (170.2744) |
| 2022-05-13 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (Day 1) Warsaw, IN | 6 / 36 (685.6456) | 11 (173.7028) | 5 (173.1200) | 31 (161.6800) | 2 (177.1428) |
| 2022-05-13 | 8th Annual Rockin' BBQ (One Meat Ribs) Warsaw, IN | — | — | 8 (172.5716) | — | — |
| 2022-04-08 | CCSFEST Indianapolis, IN | 2 / 42 (698.8116) | 7 (175.4172) | 3 (175.4172) | 10 (173.7144) | 6 (174.2628) |
| 2021-10-08 | 32nd Annual Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 10 / 70 (689.7028) | 2 (178.8800) | 44 (169.7028) | 28 (170.8456) | 31 (170.2744) |
| 2021-09-24 | Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com Grand Haven, MI | 1 / 28 (695.4288) | 1 (180.0000) | 6 (170.8572) | 12 (168.0000) | 1 (176.5716) |
| 2021-09-10 | Silver Lake Sand Dunes BBQ Competition Mears, MI | 11 / 25 (677.0172) | 6 (175.4172) | 4 (171.9772) | 13 (163.9428) | 12 (165.6800) |
| 2021-08-06 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 4 / 32 (684.4912) | 6 (174.2972) | 9 (167.4056) | 6 (170.8228) | 5 (171.9656) |
| 2021-07-16 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl Sault Ste Marie, MI | 13 / 27 (668.9940) | 21 (163.9428) | 8 (167.4056) | 10 (170.2628) | 11 (167.3828) |
| 2021-07-16 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl - One Meat Rib Contest Sault Ste Marie, MI | — | — | 8 (168.5484) | — | — |
| 2021-06-19 | Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 2 Franklin, IN | 28 / 37 (667.8512) | 25 (168.5372) | 17 (168.5484) | 20 (169.1200) | 30 (161.6456) |
| 2021-06-18 | Hoosier BBQ Classic Day 1 Franklin, IN | 33 / 51 (665.6112) | 3 (177.1428) | 45 (158.8344) | 43 (158.8112) | 16 (170.8228) |
| 2021-05-15 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 2 Warsaw, IN | 24 / 39 (666.1828) | 19 (169.1200) | 29 (163.9772) | 7 (174.2628) | 30 (158.8228) |
| 2021-05-14 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 1 Warsaw, IN | 24 / 41 (670.7428) | 28 (165.0972) | 21 (166.8456) | 20 (168.5372) | 17 (170.2628) |
| 2021-05-14 | Rockin' BBQ - Day 1 - One Meat Rib Contest Warsaw, IN | — | — | 6 (173.7256) | — | — |
| 2020-11-13 | Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition Mayetta, KS | 87 / 94 (661.5772) | 62 (169.6800) | 94 (157.0972) | 73 (166.8344) | 68 (167.9656) |
| 2020-09-25 | Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com Grand Haven, MI | 1 / 28 (688.0000) | 8 (171.4400) | 1 (177.7028) | 17 (164.0000) | 2 (174.8572) |
| 2020-09-12 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ Day 2 Warsaw, IN | 10 / 26 (683.3256) | 20 (167.4056) | 21 (163.9544) | 6 (171.9656) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2020-09-11 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ Day 1 Warsaw, IN | 2 / 36 (687.9888) | 8 (171.4172) | 11 (169.1200) | 12 (170.8572) | 1 (176.5944) |
| 2020-09-11 | Rockin' BBQ 2 Just Another BBQ - One Meat Companion Contest Warsaw, IN | — | — | 4 (171.4056) | — | — |
| 2020-08-07 | All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 1 / 42 (685.2000) | 8 (171.4056) | 5 (172.6172) | 22 (164.5944) | 2 (176.5828) |
| 2020-07-17 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl Sault Ste Marie, MI | 3 / 31 (677.0860) | 18 (165.6916) | 9 (167.9772) | 6 (170.8572) | 3 (172.5600) |
| 2020-06-20 | Covid-Que Relief (Day 2) Franklin, IN | 43 / 63 (662.1256) | 57 (161.6800) | 5 (173.7028) | 45 (165.0856) | 52 (161.6572) |
| 2020-06-19 | Covid-Que Relief (Day 1) Franklin, IN | 15 / 69 (677.0056) | 14 (172.5484) | 13 (171.9772) | 17 (171.9772) | 53 (160.5028) |
| 2020-05-29 | Rockin BBQ Warsaw, IN | 29 / 66 (657.0284) | 32 (164.5256) | 46 (159.4172) | 29 (164.5256) | 19 (168.5600) |
| 2019-09-20 | Rumble on the River Presented by TheBBQSuperStore.com Grand Haven, MI | 13 / 28 (671.3488) | 11 (169.7144) | 12 (168.5600) | 27 (156.5144) | 2 (176.5600) |
| 2019-09-13 | Silver Lake Sand Dunes Apple & BBQ Festival Mears, MI | 2 / 35 (684.5600) | 2 (174.8800) | 11 (170.2744) | 1 (172.0000) | 14 (167.4056) |
| 2019-08-02 | Westland Area Jaycees All American BBQ Throwdown Westland, MI | 7 / 40 (674.7656) | 25 (164.5372) | 8 (171.4056) | 16 (165.6800) | 5 (173.1428) |
| 2019-07-19 | Bordertown BBQ Brawl Sault Ste Marie, MI | 3 / 28 (678.8228) | 27 (156.5256) | 5 (170.2972) | 3 (174.2972) | 1 (177.7028) |
| 2019-06-28 | BBQ SmokeDown at Chicagoland Joliet, IL | 30 / 42 (657.5428) | 23 (169.6800) | 31 (161.6684) | 35 (157.6456) | 15 (168.5488) |
| 2019-06-21 | 11th Annual Auburn Hills Barbecue Cook-Off Auburn Hills, MI | 13 / 30 (657.5768) | 17 (163.9428) | 6 (170.2628) | 7 (168.0000) | 20 (155.3712) |
| 2019-05-17 | Sunset Hill Kansas City Barbecue Competition Valparaiso, IN | 11 / 20 (658.6740) | 17 (157.0628) | 6 (166.8228) | 10 (167.3828) | 8 (167.4056) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #399 (259 pts) | #429 (289 pts) | #376 (363 pts) | #230 (479 pts) | #501 (199 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #540 (320 pts) | #610 (305 pts) | #543 (394 pts) | #411 (530 pts) | #482 (420 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #211 (1002 pts) | #211 (1027 pts) | #150 (1253 pts) | #230 (962 pts) | #136 (1277 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #285 (773 pts) | #237 (914 pts) | #264 (903 pts) | #331 (638 pts) | #316 (698 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #192 (1077 pts) | #204 (1067 pts) | #103 (1465 pts) | #324 (752 pts) | #173 (1152 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #195 (967 pts) | #160 (1132 pts) | #137 (1270 pts) | #211 (922 pts) | #179 (1022 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #58 (1410 pts) | #129 (860 pts) | #51 (1378 pts) | #130 (850 pts) | #41 (1515 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #332 (941 pts) | #539 (651 pts) | #434 (801 pts) | #398 (851 pts) | #283 (1081 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #592 (582 pts) | #496 (737 pts) | #658 (557 pts) | #722 (502 pts) | #408 (867 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #401 (927 pts) | #374 (1002 pts) | #438 (897 pts) | #559 (707 pts) | #298 (1192 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2175 (75 pts) | #2207 (85 pts) | #1737 (145 pts) | #2326 (60 pts) | #1655 (155 pts) |