GRAND SLAM BBQ

GRAND SLAM BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 31 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 62 at the Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (2019), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1000 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,000

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1606

peak 1606 · rated over 28 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 28, 2013

latest Mar 1, 2024 · 10.7 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#306

Backyard 2024 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

12 podiums

Overall top-10s

29% of 31 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 39%

overall standings

Best overall

658.1828 / 720

Master · Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest

Perfect 180s

Current form

634.02 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 635.57 (-1.56)

Walk rate

71%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7028

Chicken · Sip & Swine BBQ Festival

Consistency

±13.55

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 164.43 · weakest Brisket (152.24)

Road miles

3,758

across 31 mapped stops · furthest 453 mi

Schedule strength

30%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1540)

Purse competed for

$61K

listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 6 state-championship entries

Master avg

635.57 / 720

22 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

330.22 / 360

1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs

Backyard (3-meat) avg

508.16 / 540

5 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), 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.

Storylines (13 found in their record)

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

The heartbreaker

0.5944 points from the title

Came within 0.5944 points of the Grand Championship at Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (Mar 1, 2019).

Happy hunting ground

Top 12% average finish here

Sip & Swine BBQ Festival is their spot: an average finish in the top 12% across 5 visits.

5 visits
best finish 3rd
average top 12%

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 Recovery Fest 2013 (Sep 6, 2013).

Chicken 1st
Pork Ribs 1st

They almost always walk

71% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 22 of 31 contests

A top-10 category call in 71% of their 31 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

The one to beat

4× one call ahead of them

Rocks Money Pit BBQ has finished one call ahead of GRAND SLAM BBQ 4 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

16–4 behind in the head-to-head

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead in 80% of their meetings

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has come out ahead in 16 of their 20 shared contests.

The weak link

−12.2 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 12.19 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 9% of the time against 43%.

Brisket avg 152.24
Chicken avg 164.43
2 calls in 22 entries

Show 6 more storylines

A strong matchup

9–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of JAM'N HAMS in 9 of their 9 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

12 of 20 shared chicken entries lost

OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE ahead 60% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE has out-cooked them in 12 of 20 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

HOG-IT-UP BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A March team

Top 11% average finish in March

Something about March: average finish in the top 11% across 6 contests, versus top 39% the rest of the year.

6 March contests
top 39% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,758 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,758 miles across 31 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 453 miles to Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier).

31 mapped stops
furthest 453 mi

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked Sip & Swine BBQ Festival every year from 2020 to 2024 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 3rd

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 ↗	Backyard	#306 (110 pts)	#302 (120 pts)	#359 (80 pts)	—	—
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2353 (60 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#2345 (60 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#939 (335 pts)	#910 (385 pts)	#680 (565 pts)	#1195 (270 pts)	#886 (400 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#508 (749 pts)	#439 (854 pts)	#466 (854 pts)	#447 (854 pts)	#596 (614 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#345 (891 pts)	#198 (1,291 pts)	#204 (1,311 pts)	#328 (916 pts)	#569 (561 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to GRAND SLAM BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

WHISKEY BENT BBQ - FL

#998 of the rated field

1606 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1635

They've been 1635 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 29 contests
last seen Jan 26, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

OKLAHOMA JAYHAWK BBQ

#999 of the rated field

1606 power rating

Contests: 30
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1606

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 7 years before GRAND SLAM BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 30 contests
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

Marty Party BBQ

#1,003 of the rated field

1605 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 59%
Peak: 1620

Careers of much the same size, 27 contests to 31, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 26 contests
last seen Aug 15, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Stewey Magoos BBQ

#1,005 of the rated field

1605 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1605

32 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 25% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 32 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

2 CASE BBQ

#1,002 of the rated field

1605 power rating

Contests: 42
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1631

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 41 contests
last seen May 16, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

Bushwood BBQ

#1,004 of the rated field

1605 power rating

Contests: 48
GCs: 3
Top-10s: 52%
Peak: 1635

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

rated over 44 contests
last seen Aug 28, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE	20	4	16	20%	⚔ compare
PAVONE BROTHERS BBQ	17	5	12	29%	⚔ compare
JD'S SMOKIN MISFITS	16	6	10	38%	⚔ compare
FRED VEGAS SMOKERS	15	3	12	20%	⚔ compare
3 EYZ BBQ	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
Rocks Money Pit BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
APORKALYPSE NOW	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
LIFE IS GOOD BUT BBQ IS BETTER	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
MAKIN BACON BBQ	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
HOG-IT-UP BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
4:20 Q	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
JAM'N HAMS	9	9	0	100%	⚔ compare
ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
HEAVENLY HOGS BBQ COMPANY	8	7	1	88%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	12	1	3	177.7028	153.1200	164.43	top 35%
Pork Ribs	28	10	4	5	173.7028	148	163.69	top 32%
Pork	28	8	1	3	174.8572	142.2400	160.42	top 43%
Brisket	22	2	1	1	176.5600	134.1944	152.24	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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 19%
Medium (20–39)	10	top 43%
Large (40+)	17	top 38%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
VA	18	top 46%
GA	6	top 11%
MD	4	top 51%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	5	3	top 12%	Mar 1, 2024
Que & Cruz	3	9	top 41%	Oct 6, 2017
BBQ Jamboree	3	20	top 52%	May 13, 2016
Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest	2	12	top 41%	Oct 16, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2014 7 contests

Contests a season 2.6 across 12 seasons in the data

Most contests held in VA 18 of 31 contests · 3 states in all

Contests visited 19 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 702 finished ahead 1,008 times, behind 502

Longest layoff 1 yrs Mar 1, 2019 → Mar 6, 2020

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

20242 milestones

Mar 1 Peak power rating (1606) Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
Mar 1 Most recent contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival

20231 milestone

Mar 3 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7028 Sip & Swine BBQ Festival

20191 milestone

Mar 1 First Reserve Championship Sip & Swine BBQ Festival

20181 milestone

Mar 2 25th tracked contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival

20143 milestones

Jun 27 10th tracked contest Hogging Up BBQ Festival
Aug 22 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4572 Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival
Oct 17 Career-best overall score658.1828 Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest

20136 milestones

Jun 28 First tracked contest Hogging Up Virginia Bluegrass BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)
Jun 28 First call Hogging Up Virginia Bluegrass BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL)
Aug 23 First category win (Pork Ribs) Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival
Sep 6 First overall top-10 Recovery Fest 2013
Sep 6 First overall podium Recovery Fest 2013
Sep 6 First multi-meat day Recovery Fest 2013

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.3	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	Mar 1, 2019
+13.9	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	Mar 4, 2022
+13.9	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	Mar 5, 2021
+13.2	Recovery Fest 2013	Sep 6, 2013
+12.3	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival	Mar 6, 2020

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.6	BBQ Jamboree-Day 1 (JUDGES FULL)	May 12, 2017
-6.6	10th Annual Recovery Fest	Sep 5, 2014
-5.8	BBQ Jamboree	May 13, 2016
-4.7	Autumnfest	Oct 18, 2013
-2.7	14th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash	Aug 14, 2015

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	1	0	0	100%	top 25%	91.7%	91.7%
2023	1	1	0	100%	top 14%	94.2%	94.2%
2022	1	1	0	100%	top 5%	94.5%	94.5%
2021	1	1	0	100%	top 4%	95.4%	95.4%
2020	1	1	0	100%	top 11%	91.6%	91.6%
2019	1	1	1	100%	top 3%	94.8%	94.8%
2018	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2017	3	1	1	33%	top 63%	90.9%	87.3%
2016	3	0	0	33%	top 61%	89.7%	88.5%
2015	4	0	0	75%	top 46%	89.6%	89%
2014	7	1	1	57%	top 45%	91.4%	88.1%
2013	7	2	4	100%	top 40%	89.6%	88.3%

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	15 / 59 (330.2172)	13 (167.9656)	21 (162.2516)	3 (174.8572)	—
Mar 3, 2023	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	9 / 65 (508.4916)	4 (177.7028)	14 (166.8228)	20 (163.9660)	—
Mar 4, 2022	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	4 / 73 (510.1940)	5 (173.1200)	8 (169.6684)	8 (167.4056)	—
Mar 5, 2021	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	3 / 81 (515.4172)	5 (172.5944)	6 (173.1428)	11 (169.6800)	—
Mar 6, 2020	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	7 / 61 (494.7316)	14 (163.9544)	6 (167.3944)	18 (163.3828)	—
Mar 1, 2019	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA	2 / 62 (511.9428)	6 (169.1428)	4 (170.8228)	1 (171.9772)	—
Mar 2, 2018	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 6, 2017	Que & Cruz Louisa, VA	9 / 28 (654.7660)	13 (165.7144)	20 (153.6916)	15 (158.8000)	1 (176.5600)
May 12, 2017	BBQ Jamboree-Day 1 (JUDGES FULL) Fredericksburg, VA	51 / 54 (602.1144)	49 (153.7144)	48 (152.5144)	46 (151.3484)	51 (144.5372)
Mar 3, 2017	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival Lawrenceville, GA	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 30, 2016	Que & Cruz Louisa, VA	17 / 31 (646.1488)	24 (157.6800)	4 (170.2628)	19 (161.6456)	17 (156.5604)
May 13, 2016	BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA	49 / 72 (628.3892)	38 (161.0972)	36 (161.1316)	46 (158.2516)	58 (147.9088)
Mar 4, 2016	Sip & Swine BBQ Festival (GBC Qualifier) Lawrenceville, GA	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 16, 2015	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	19 / 37 (638.6624)	28 (157.0512)	22 (157.0972)	26 (155.9656)	5 (168.5484)
Aug 14, 2015	14th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD	27 / 46 (645.0512)	16 (168.5712)	17 (167.4400)	30 (159.9428)	35 (149.0972)
May 29, 2015	Beltway BBQ Showdown Ft. Washington, MD	17 / 39 (636.4460)	22 (157.6800)	2 (170.2744)	19 (156.5372)	21 (151.9544)
May 8, 2015	BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA	20 / 65 (642.1144)	9 (168.5600)	11 (165.6916)	50 (147.9200)	22 (159.9428)
Oct 17, 2014	Shenandoah Valley BBQ Fest Woodstock, VA	12 / 40 (658.1828)	7 (171.4056)	15 (165.6800)	24 (159.9772)	20 (161.1200)
Sep 5, 2014	10th Annual Recovery Fest Richmond, VA	22 / 32 (612.9716)	21 (153.1200)	20 (153.6688)	21 (151.3828)	20 (154.8000)
Aug 22, 2014	Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival Harrisonburg, VA	3 / 16 (648.4572)	6 (162.2400)	1 (170.2972)	2 (167.9884)	14 (147.9316)
Aug 1, 2014	Southern Maryland Brew & BBQ Leonardtown, MD	34 / 59 (626.7432)	9 (166.8456)	23 (162.8460)	16 (162.8572)	56 (134.1944)
Jun 27, 2014	Hogging Up BBQ Festival Winchester, VA	18 / 46 (641.6000)	11 (163.4056)	15 (162.2744)	31 (155.3828)	15 (160.5372)
May 9, 2014	BBQ Jamboree Fredericksburg, VA	36 / 64 (619.3028)	41 (154.2628)	51 (148)	10 (165.6800)	37 (151.3600)
May 2, 2014	Naptown barBAYq Contest & Music Festival Annapolis, MD	27 / 59 (631.8856)	40 (154.2628)	18 (162.2628)	15 (164.5600)	36 (150.8000)
Oct 18, 2013	Autumnfest Woodstock, VA	26 / 40 (623.8516)	16 (160.5600)	1 (171.4056)	32 (151.3828)	37 (140.5032)
Sep 20, 2013	Smokin' on the Track BBQ Shenandoah, VA	8 / 26 (643.3028)	4 (166.8572)	16 (155.9656)	7 (161.6800)	11 (158.8000)
Sep 6, 2013	Recovery Fest 2013 Richmond, VA	3 / 28 (645.1776)	1 (169.1888)	1 (173.7028)	12 (154.3088)	15 (147.9772)
Aug 23, 2013	Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival Harrisonburg, VA	12 / 28 (618.7200)	12 (159.3944)	1 (165.7028)	24 (142.2400)	17 (151.3828)
Jul 26, 2013	Bluemont BBQ Bash & Blackberry Bonanza Bluemont, VA	14 / 33 (634.2172)	3 (168)	14 (157.6916)	4 (166.8456)	32 (141.6800)
Jul 19, 2013	Que & Cruz Louisa, VA	16 / 45 (643.3600)	14 (166.2972)	12 (162.8572)	5 (166.2628)	36 (147.9428)
Jun 28, 2013	Hogging Up Virginia Bluegrass BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Winchester, VA	14 / 26 (641.1432)	3 (173.7142)	11 (162.8572)	12 (159.4286)	25 (145.1432)

GRAND SLAM BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

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

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Happy hunting ground

A multi-meat day

They almost always walk

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A March team

The long haul

A standing appointment

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

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

By state / province (where the contests were held)

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, averaged over 5 contests — 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)