On the rise
+29
rating points in a year
Their power rating has climbed 29 points across 6 contests since May 9, 2025 — from 1485 up to 1514.
- 6 contests since May 9, 2025
- now 1514
KPG SMOKIN'
KPG SMOKIN' is a competition barbecue team with 12 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2024 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 28 at the Smokin' in Steele (2025). They are ranked #2663 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1514
peak 1515 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
12
in the data
First seen
May 10, 2024
latest May 8, 2026 · 2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
3
6 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
8% of 12 contests
Avg finish
top 51%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
678.43 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 674.20 (+4.22)
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±11.09
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 174.21 · weakest Brisket (164.04)
Road miles
990
across 12 mapped stops · furthest 215 mi
Schedule strength
66%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1584)
Purse competed for
$80K
listed at 10 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 8 state-championship entries
Master avg
674.20 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to KPG SMOKIN', each with one reason worth a look.
96 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,665 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1514
0–3 in 3 shared contests (0% to KPG SMOKIN')
These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — Weasel's Bone Lickin' BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,671 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1516
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,675 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1514
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 6 years before KPG SMOKIN''s most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,670 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1522
Fewer contests behind them than KPG SMOKIN' has cooked, 8 to 12, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,662 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1521
They were already cooking in 2013, 11 years before KPG SMOKIN''s first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,656 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1522
Level with KPG SMOKIN' on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPITFIRE | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Ash Kickin' BBQ | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| NECTAR OF THE HOGS | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| RUB MY RACK | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| SIX BUTT BBQ | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Sugar Shack | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Phoenix BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Prairie Smoke BBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Steel Smoke BBQ | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| ACES HIGH BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Good Grefe! | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKEY AND HIS BANDITS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Slightly Sauced | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 179.4400 | 163.3828 | 174.21 | top 27% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 178.8572 | 158.2056 | 168.50 | top 45% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1428 | 161.0856 | 167.69 | top 61% |
| Brisket | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1200 | 153.1084 | 164.04 | top 63% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 30% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 58% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota in May | 3 | 36 | 0 | top 63% | May 8, 2026 |
| ND BBQ Championship | 3 | 25 | 0 | top 54% | May 1, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
6 contests
Contests a season
4
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
7 of 12 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
4
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
12 entries · 3 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
236
finished ahead 213 times, behind 342
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 10th tracked contest ND BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1515) ND BBQ Championship
- Most recent contest Minnesota in May
20255 milestones
- First call Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Career-best single call (Chicken)179.4400 Minnesota in May
- First overall top-10 Smokin' in Steele
- Career-best overall score694.7884 Smokin' in Steele
20242 milestones
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score671.9428 Minnesota in May
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15 | Smokin' in Steele | May 30, 2025 |
| +6.6 | MN Masters BBQ | Aug 22, 2025 |
| +6 | ND BBQ Championship | May 1, 2026 |
| +2.3 | ND BBQ Championship | Oct 3, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.8 | Minnesota in May | May 10, 2024 |
| -4.8 | Minnesota in May | May 9, 2025 |
| -1.6 | ND BBQ Championship | Sep 27, 2024 |
| -0.5 | Minnesota in May | May 8, 2026 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25% | top 45% | 94.5% | 94.3% |
| 2025 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 83% | top 45% | 96.5% | 94.1% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 72% | 93.3% | 92% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 36 / 77 (680.5028) | 11 (176.5600) | 25 (171.4056) | 62 (165.6916) | 54 (166.8456) |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 43 (158.2056) | — | — |
| May 1, 2026 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 30 / 71 (677.6572) | 2 (178.8800) | 49 (165.6800) | 41 (166.8572) | 36 (166.2400) |
| May 1, 2026 | ND BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Fargo, ND | — | — | 22 (163.4172) | — | — |
| Oct 3, 2025 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 25 / 46 (665.5768) | 27 (167.3828) | 39 (159.9428) | 20 (169.7028) | 18 (168.5484) |
| Oct 3, 2025 | ND BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Fargo, ND | — | — | 1 (175.4400) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | MN Masters BBQ 🏅 Pierz, MN | 11 / 26 (673.6000) | 4 (176.5828) | 9 (170.2744) | 18 (167.3828) | 18 (159.3600) |
| May 30, 2025 | Smokin' in Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 5 / 28 (694.7884) | 3 (177.7028) | 1 (178.8572) | 14 (170.2628) | 16 (167.9656) |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 37 / 58 (675.9656) | 2 (179.4400) | 21 (170.2744) | 21 (173.1428) | 56 (153.1084) |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 1 (178.8572) | — | — |
| Sep 27, 2024 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 31 / 47 (653.5768) | 35 (163.3828) | 13 (168) | 35 (161.0856) | 32 (161.1084) |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 45 / 58 (671.9428) | 20 (173.7600) | 53 (161.6572) | 46 (167.4056) | 29 (169.1200) |