BBQ Costa Rica

BBQ Costa Rica is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2024. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018 (2018), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #2074 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “*BBQ Costa Rica”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,074

of 6,485 rated · rankings

Rating

1536

peak 1538 · rated over 7 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Mar 4, 2017

latest Apr 6, 2024 · 7.1 years on the trail

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 14% of the time

Category wins

8 podiums

Overall top-10s

71% of 7 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 37%

overall standings

Best overall

677.0856 / 720

Master · BBQFest Costa Rica 2019

Perfect 180s

Current form

654.92 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 657.44 (-2.53)

Walk rate

86%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.3200

Brisket · BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2024

Consistency

±18.59

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.49 · weakest Brisket (160.09)

Road miles

6,773

across 7 mapped stops · furthest 1,972 mi

Schedule strength

22%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1530)

Master avg

657.44 / 720

7 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (11 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The heartbreaker

4.7088 points from the title

Came within 4.7088 points of the Grand Championship at BBQFest Costa Rica 2019 (Mar 23, 2019).

Signature meat

29% pork entries won

2 wins from 7 entries

When pork is on the table, watch out — they've won it in 29% of their entries (2 of 7).

best 174.2628
average 168.49
6 calls

A multi-meat day

1 contest with 2+ category wins

They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018 (Apr 7, 2018).

Pork Ribs 1st
Pork 1st

High-water mark

677.0856 career-best overall

94.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 677.0856 at BBQFest Costa Rica 2019 — 94.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
Mar 23, 2019

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

GRILLDROIDS has finished one call ahead of BBQ Costa Rica 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

The weak link

−8.4 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.40 points below their pork, and turns into a call 43% of the time against 86%.

Brisket avg 160.09
Pork avg 168.49
3 calls in 7 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BBQ Holics in 5 of their 5 shared contests.

Show 4 more storylines

The comeback

3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3 years, then back at BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2022 (Mar 25, 2022).

last seen Mar 23, 2019
back Mar 25, 2022

Announced themselves early

2nd at their very first contest

Finished 2 of 18 at their very first tracked contest, BBQ Fest Costa Rica (Mar 4, 2017).

Mar 4, 2017
18-team field

A March team

Top 17% average finish in March

Something about March: average finish in the top 17% across 3 contests, versus top 37% the rest of the year.

3 March contests
top 37% the rest of the year

The long haul

6,773 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 6,773 miles across 7 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,972 miles to Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018.

7 mapped stops
furthest 1,972 mi

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BBQ Costa Rica, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Berg's BBQ

#2,077 of the rated field

1536 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1536

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen Aug 15, 2026
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

Braddah's BBQ

#2,068 of the rated field

1536 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1536

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 7 contests, alongside a 43% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 7 contests
last seen Aug 9, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

Moe Cason Barbeque

#2,083 of the rated field

1535 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1535

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

rated over 7 contests

⚔ Compare careers

LONESOME DOVE KOOKERS

#2,066 of the rated field

1536 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1536

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Jan 29, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

Double S Smokers

#2,064 of the rated field

1536 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1536

Level with BBQ Costa Rica on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 6 contests
last seen Oct 30, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

Okie Folks Barbecue

#2,076 of the rated field

1536 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1536

They turned up 7 years after BBQ Costa Rica did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Aug 21, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
GRILLDROIDS	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
BBQ Holics	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
TEC BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	7	5	0	2	172	155.3828	164.97	top 42%
Pork Ribs	7	3	1	1	170.2744	145.6916	163.89	top 49%
Pork	7	6	2	2	174.2628	160	168.49	top 29%
Brisket	7	3	1	3	174.3200	142.8456	160.09	top 50%

“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)	2	1	top 9%
Medium (20–39)	4	0	top 37%
Large (40+)	1	0	top 97%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2023	2	9	0	top 55%	Apr 15, 2023

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 2 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 1.2 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in TN 1 of 7 contests

Contests visited 6 1 of them more than once

First title Apr 7, 2018 Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018

Opponents faced 175 finished ahead 96 times, behind 133

Longest layoff 3 yrs Mar 23, 2019 → Mar 25, 2022

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

20242 milestones

Apr 6 Career-best single call (Brisket)174.3200 BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2024
Apr 6 Most recent contest BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2024

20221 milestone

Mar 25 Peak power rating (1538) BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2022

20191 milestone

Mar 23 Career-best overall score677.0856 BBQFest Costa Rica 2019

20183 milestones

Apr 7 First category win (Pork Ribs) Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018
Apr 7 First Grand Championship Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018
Apr 7 First multi-meat day Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018

20176 milestones

Mar 4 First tracked contest BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Mar 4 First call BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Mar 4 First overall top-10 BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Mar 4 First overall podium BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Mar 4 First Reserve Championship BBQ Fest Costa Rica
Mar 4 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.9028 BBQ Fest Costa Rica

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.2	Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018	Apr 7, 2018
+14	BBQ Fest Costa Rica	Mar 4, 2017
+13.5	BBQFest Costa Rica 2019	Mar 23, 2019
+6.8	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2024	Apr 6, 2024
+5.1	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2022	Mar 25, 2022

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.4	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitation Barbecue (JUDGES FULL)	Oct 26, 2018
-9.3	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2023	Apr 15, 2023

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	1	1	100%	top 29%	90.8%	90.8%
2023	1	0	0	0	100%	top 77%	90.1%	90.1%
2022	1	0	1	0	100%	top 32%	93.7%	93.7%
2019	1	0	1	1	100%	top 9%	94%	94%
2018	2	1	1	2	50%	top 52%	93.4%	89.8%
2017	1	0	1	0	100%	top 11%	91%	91%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Apr 6, 2024	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2024 Heredia	7 / 24 (653.7488)	10 (164.5600)	24 (145.6916)	4 (169.1772)	1 (174.3200)
Apr 15, 2023	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2023 San Jose	20 / 26 (649.0628)	24 (158.8228)	11 (169.1200)	7 (170.8344)	24 (150.2856)
Mar 25, 2022	BBQ Fest Costa Rica 2022 San Jose	9 / 28 (674.8228)	7 (168.5600)	17 (168)	6 (173.1084)	20 (165.1544)
Mar 23, 2019	BBQFest Costa Rica 2019 San Jose	2 / 22 (677.0856)	2 (172)	5 (169.6800)	1 (174.2628)	11 (161.1428)
Oct 26, 2018	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitation Barbecue (JUDGES FULL) Lynchburg, TN	99 / 102 (619.8740)	96 (155.3828)	86 (161.6456)	83 (160)	102 (142.8456)
Apr 7, 2018	Circuito Parrillero by BBQ Fest Etapo 1 2018 San Jose	1 / 16 (672.6172)	2 (169.1772)	1 (170.2744)	1 (170.2856)	3 (162.8800)
Mar 4, 2017	BBQ Fest Costa Rica Costa Rica	2 / 18 (654.9028)	4 (166.2856)	5 (162.8112)	8 (161.7944)	3 (164.0116)

BBQ Costa Rica

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Master avg

Storylines (11 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Signature meat

A multi-meat day

High-water mark

The one to beat

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Announced themselves early

A March team

The long haul

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)