The comeback
4.6 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 4.6 years, then back at Atlanta BBQ Store Classic (Nov 17, 2023).
- last seen Apr 26, 2019
- back Nov 17, 2023
Hot Butts BBQ
Hot Butts BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 34th of 32 at the Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition (2019). They finished #878 in the 2024 Master Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1466
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 3
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Apr 26, 2019
latest Mar 1, 2024 · 4.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 99%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 165.11 · weakest Chicken (153.37)
Road miles
516
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 468 mi
Schedule strength
51%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1565)
Purse competed for
$21K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 3 state-championship entries
Master avg
636.11 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
291.38 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #878 (120 pts) | #977 (120 pts) | #1021 (120 pts) | #938 (120 pts) | #922 (120 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Hot Butts BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Hot Butts BBQ has 3 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 132 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,865 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,870 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Level with Hot Butts BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,858 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1466
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,878 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 3 years before Hot Butts BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,864 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 4 years before Hot Butts BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,877 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1502
They've been 1502 at their best, 36 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.1084 | 145.6228 | 153.37 | top 97% |
| Pork Ribs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5372 | 157.1084 | 160.82 | top 86% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.2284 | 155.3828 | 156.81 | top 91% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 163.3712 | 165.11 | top 75% |
“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) | 1 | 0 | top 106% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 95% |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 7 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
VA
5 of 7 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
a different one every time
Opponents faced
210
finished ahead 11 times, behind 244
Longest layoff
4.6 yrs
Apr 26, 2019 → Nov 17, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20241 milestone
- Most recent contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
20232 milestones
- Career-best overall score640.4568 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
- Career-best single call (Brisket)166.8572 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
20191 milestone
- Peak power rating (1487) Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition
20141 milestone
- First tracked contest VA BBQ Championships
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.7 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition | Apr 26, 2019 |
| -11.3 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 17, 2023 |
| -10.5 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 1, 2024 |
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 92% | 87.7% | 87.7% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 89% | 89% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 106% | 80.9% | 80.9% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2024 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 54 / 59 (631.7596) | 59 (145.6228) | 45 (164.5372) | 49 (158.2284) | 46 (163.3712) |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 59 / 60 (640.4568) | 56 (161.1084) | 57 (157.1084) | 59 (155.3828) | 43 (166.8572) |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition 🏅 Lanexa, VA | 34 / 32 (291.3828) | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 27, 2018 | Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lenexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 28, 2017 | 4th Annual Pickin N Pullin BBQ competition Lanexa, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 21, 2015 | VA BBQ Championships Hampton, VA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2014 | VA BBQ Championships Hampton, VA | — | — | — | — | — |