Ash Kickin' BBQ MN
Rating
1672
peak 1689
Contests
54
in the data
First seen
2020-08-28
latest 2026-05-08
Best ToY finish
#66
Master 2022
Grand champs
4
3 reserve
Category wins
9
30 podiums
Overall top-10s
20
of 54 contests
Avg finish
top 28%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
681.86 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 682.87 (-1.00)
Walk rate
74%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
7
best run (overall)
Consistency
±10.09
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 173.08 · weakest Pork (168.23)
Road miles
5397
mi across 54 mapped stops · furthest 379 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SMOKIN DINGER - THE PROFESSOR OF HOGOLOGY has finished one call ahead of Ash Kickin' BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Wrecking Crew BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
SHIGGIN & GRINNIN has come out ahead in 25 of their 33 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of SIX BUTT BBQ in 26 of their 31 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Iowa State BBQ Championship is their spot: an average finish in the top 12% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.0456 points of the Grand Championship at Iowa State BBQ Championship (2022-04-01).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 58-team field at Minnesota in May.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) (2022-06-03) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 28-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Hogline.
Teams like this (closest power rating, MN first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 40 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 180.0000 🔥 | 162.2284 | 173.08 | top 31% |
| Pork Ribs | 54 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 178.2972 | 155.3600 | 169.64 | top 38% |
| Pork | 40 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 158.2972 | 168.23 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 40 | 24 | 2 | 9 | 180.0000 🔥 | 154.8112 | 171.77 | top 27% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MN | 18 | 2 | top 30% |
| WI | 10 | 2 | top 22% |
| IA | 5 | 0 | top 28% |
| KS | 4 | 0 | top 39% |
| ND | 3 | 0 | top 28% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 18 | 2 | top 32% |
| Large (40+) | 22 | 2 | top 25% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2023 (14 contests)
- Cooks mostly in MN (26 of 54 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (54 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) (2022-06-03)
- Wins it all in 7% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 682.87
- 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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 682.8228 | 682.78 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 701.6688 | 682.69 |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 691.9316 | 679.41 |
| 2023 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 702.2516 | 684.49 |
| 2022 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 699.9428 | 687.31 |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 684.5256 | 677.28 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 672.4912 | 672.49 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 31 / 77 (682.7312) | 43 (170.8228) | 53 (166.2400) | 12 (174.8456) | 28 (170.8228) |
| 2026-05-01 | ND BBQ Championship Fargo, ND | 19 / 71 (682.8228) | 4 (178.3200) | 47 (165.7144) | 42 (166.8112) | 18 (171.9772) |
| 2025-10-03 | ND BBQ Championship Fargo, ND | 15 / 46 (682.2744) | 5 (176.0000) | 12 (171.4172) | 33 (164.0000) | 11 (170.8572) |
| 2025-08-22 | MN Masters BBQ Pierz, MN | 5 / 26 (683.9200) | 13 (167.9772) | 3 (173.7028) | 14 (169.6800) | 4 (172.5600) |
| 2025-06-14 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 22 / 36 (677.5656) | 27 (168.5256) | 4 (175.4172) | 34 (161.6572) | 9 (171.9656) |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 24 (165.6800) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 25 / 36 (666.1372) | 15 (169.6800) | 32 (159.3716) | 33 (160.5028) | 2 (176.5828) |
| 2025-05-30 | Smokin' in Steele Owatonna, MN | 14 / 28 (683.9088) | 10 (173.1316) | 9 (171.9772) | 22 (165.6800) | 7 (173.1200) |
| 2025-05-09 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 1 / 58 (701.6688) | 4 (178.8572) | 32 (168.5372) | 16 (174.2744) | 1 (180.0000) |
| 2025-05-09 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 17 (170.8344) | — | — |
| 2025-02-21 | Fire on Ice BBQ Championship Onamia, MN | 9 / 42 (683.3372) | 12 (171.9884) | 19 (168.5488) | 15 (170.8228) | 9 (171.9772) |
| 2024-09-27 | ND BBQ Championship Fargo, ND | 11 / 47 (677.0628) | 9 (172.5600) | 17 (167.4400) | 28 (163.9544) | 8 (173.1084) |
| 2024-08-23 | MN Masters BBQ Pierz, MN | 6 / 27 (687.3368) | 11 (170.2512) | 1 (176.5944) | 12 (170.8228) | 10 (169.6684) |
| 2024-07-26 | 8th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest Emmetsburg, IA | 21 / 28 (669.0520) | 12 (171.4172) | 2 (178.2972) | 25 (162.8232) | 24 (156.5144) |
| 2024-06-08 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 6 / 37 (691.9316) | 18 (173.1200) | 3 (176.5716) | 10 (174.2744) | 24 (167.9656) |
| 2024-06-07 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 7 / 41 (685.0516) | 8 (174.2744) | 9 (171.4172) | 31 (162.8000) | 3 (176.5600) |
| 2024-06-07 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 12 (166.2284) | — | — |
| 2024-05-31 | Smokin in Steele Owatonna, MN | 30 / 32 (652.4224) | 23 (166.8112) | 27 (160.5372) | 12 (170.2628) | 31 (154.8112) |
| 2024-05-10 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 21 / 58 (687.3828) | 8 (176.0000) | 24 (170.8344) | 39 (168.0000) | 15 (172.5484) |
| 2024-05-10 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 28 (166.8228) | — | — |
| 2024-03-29 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 8 / 42 (685.0512) | 21 (171.4056) | 27 (165.0856) | 24 (169.1200) | 2 (179.4400) |
| 2023-10-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 1 / 21 (693.6576) | 2 (177.7144) | 5 (169.6916) | 7 (171.9772) | 6 (174.2744) |
| 2023-10-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 12 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 252 / 487 (671.8972) | 175 (170.8344) | 348 (163.3828) | 228 (168.5600) | 185 (169.1200) |
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest Kansas City, KS | 29 / 211 (694.1824) | 114 (170.8112) | 77 (172.5600) | 78 (173.1084) | 17 (177.7028) |
| 2023-07-28 | 7th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest Emmetsburg, IA | 8 / 32 (687.3832) | 3 (176.0000) | 13 (170.8344) | 17 (169.6916) | 9 (170.8572) |
| 2023-07-14 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off Worthington, MN | 11 / 39 (676.5144) | 30 (166.2400) | 3 (174.3088) | 22 (168.0000) | 14 (167.9656) |
| 2023-07-14 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-of (ONE MEAT RIBS) Worthington, MN | — | — | 8 (170.8344) | — | — |
| 2023-07-07 | Art of the Que Spencer, IA | 4 / 28 (686.1944) | 9 (171.9656) | 8 (171.4172) | 20 (167.3944) | 2 (175.4172) |
| 2023-06-10 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 11 / 40 (681.6576) | 5 (177.1428) | 30 (165.1088) | 28 (165.1088) | 3 (174.2972) |
| 2023-06-09 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 1 / 43 (702.2516) | 3 (177.7028) | 12 (170.8344) | 4 (175.4172) | 1 (178.2972) |
| 2023-06-09 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 13 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-06-02 | Smokin in Steele Owatonna, MN | 4 / 29 (677.6000) | 8 (173.7144) | 5 (171.9772) | 8 (169.6800) | 18 (162.2284) |
| 2023-05-12 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 27 / 59 (673.6000) | 18 (173.1200) | 30 (167.3828) | 23 (169.6800) | 42 (163.4172) |
| 2023-05-12 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 27 (165.0856) | — | — |
| 2022-10-15 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (One Meat Ribs) West Salem, WI | — | — | 12 (159.9428) | — | — |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 210 / 249 (667.2568) | 118 (171.9656) | 246 (155.3600) | 216 (164.5256) | 36 (175.4056) |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 33 / 505 (694.2400) | 145 (171.4172) | 105 (173.1200) | 161 (170.8228) | 7 (178.8800) |
| 2022-07-15 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off Worthington, MN | 2 / 40 (690.2288) | 6 (174.2744) | 14 (169.1200) | 20 (168.5372) | 2 (178.2972) |
| 2022-07-15 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off (One Meat Ribs) Worthington, MN | — | — | 3 (174.2628) | — | — |
| 2022-06-11 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 2 / 37 (699.9428) | 1 (180.0000) | 13 (169.6800) | 3 (176.5600) | 7 (173.7028) |
| 2022-06-10 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 3 / 39 (692.5484) | 1 (177.7372) | 5 (173.1200) | 18 (169.7256) | 8 (171.9656) |
| 2022-06-03 | Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) Owatonna, MN | 1 / 33 (689.6684) | 16 (168.5484) | 1 (176.0116) | 10 (172.5600) | 7 (172.5484) |
| 2022-05-13 | Minnesota in May (Masters) Cambridge, MN | 7 / 59 (682.8000) | 46 (162.2284) | 3 (174.2744) | 16 (172.0344) | 5 (174.2628) |
| 2022-05-13 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) Cambridge, MN | — | — | 7 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2022-04-29 | Masters in May Bancroft, WI | 4 / 43 (679.4400) | 2 (177.7028) | 9 (170.2856) | 37 (158.2972) | 5 (173.1544) |
| 2022-04-29 | Masters in May (One Meat Ribs) Bancroft, WI | — | — | 6 (167.3828) | — | — |
| 2022-04-01 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 2 / 48 (689.6344) | 26 (168.5372) | 21 (170.2628) | 14 (171.9772) | 2 (178.8572) |
| 2021-08-20 | 13th Annual Big Island BBQ Albert Lea, MN | 14 / 35 (674.2288) | 1 (179.4400) | 18 (166.2516) | 27 (162.8228) | 17 (165.7144) |
| 2021-07-16 | KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-off Worthington, MN | 10 / 33 (684.5256) | 2 (178.8572) | 2 (176.0000) | 27 (163.4056) | 17 (166.2628) |
| 2021-07-16 | KTD Smokin' Gobbler Cook-off - One Meat Rib Contest Worthington, MN | — | — | 1 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2021-05-07 | Minnesota in May Cambridge, MN | 17 / 60 (673.0856) | 3 (176.5828) | 23 (165.1200) | 35 (164.5600) | 24 (166.8228) |
| 2021-05-07 | Minnesota in May - One Meat Contest - Ribs Cambridge, MN | — | — | 1 (178.2972) | — | — |
| 2020-08-28 | Minnesota in Mayaugust Cambridge, MN | 21 / 45 (672.4912) | 16 (169.7028) | 19 (167.4056) | 27 (164.5600) | 10 (170.8228) |
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 | #553 (150 pts) | #452 (270 pts) | #733 (120 pts) | #520 (185 pts) | #583 (155 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #229 (959 pts) | #241 (929 pts) | #226 (1074 pts) | #393 (569 pts) | #138 (1324 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #211 (1002 pts) | #248 (937 pts) | #126 (1368 pts) | #335 (672 pts) | #190 (1067 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #84 (1555 pts) | #101 (1460 pts) | #129 (1402 pts) | #200 (1010 pts) | #92 (1500 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Backyard | — | — | #283 (106 pts) | — | — |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #66 (1793 pts) | #123 (1348 pts) | #63 (1712 pts) | #245 (948 pts) | #86 (1598 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #505 (348 pts) | #261 (778 pts) | #211 (962 pts) | #791 (178 pts) | #640 (263 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #803 (80 pts) | #782 (105 pts) | #831 (90 pts) | #899 (60 pts) | #651 (135 pts) |