A Good Rub BBQ

A Good Rub BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 28 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 26 at the Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship) (2015), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #894 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#894

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1617

peak 1628 · rated over 28 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 9, 2014

latest Oct 13, 2023 · 9.4 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#268

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

43% of 28 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 38%

overall standings

Best overall

690.7772 / 720

Master · Rock'n Freedom

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

670.10 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 668.07 (+2.03)

Walk rate

75%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Brisket · Rock'n Freedom

Consistency

±15.00

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 171.05 · weakest Pork (165.32)

Road miles

2,991

across 28 mapped stops · furthest 163 mi

Schedule strength

58%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1574)

Purse competed for

$13K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

668.07 / 720

28 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (12 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in brisket.

Brisket ×1

Happy hunting ground

Top 12% average finish here

Rock'n Freedom is their spot: an average finish in the top 12% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 4th
average top 12%

They almost always walk

75% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 21 of 28 contests

A top-10 category call in 75% of their 28 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

690.7772 career-best overall

95.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 690.7772 at Rock'n Freedom — 95.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 19, 2015

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

GETTIN' BASTED has finished one call ahead of A Good Rub BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

The weak link

−5.7 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.73 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 36% of the time against 46%.

Pork avg 165.32
Chicken avg 171.05
10 calls in 28 entries

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Hogzilla in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

Show 5 more storylines

The comeback

4.2 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4.2 years, then back at Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition (Oct 13, 2023).

last seen Aug 9, 2019
back Oct 13, 2023

Chicken nemesis

15 of 22 shared chicken entries lost

GETTIN' BASTED ahead 68% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, GETTIN' BASTED has out-cooked them in 15 of 22 shared chicken entries.

Built for the big stage

Top 27% average finish in large fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 27% finish in large fields against top 53% in small ones.

Large (40+): top 27% (10)
Small (<20 teams): top 53% (6)

An April team

Top 20% average finish in April

Something about April: average finish in the top 20% across 4 contests, versus top 38% the rest of the year.

4 April contests
top 38% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.08% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.08% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.8% of a perfect score
28 contests

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
2017 ↗	Master	#1467 (175 pts)	#1552 (175 pts)	#1641 (155 pts)	#1773 (125 pts)	#2030 (100 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#784 (475 pts)	#518 (780 pts)	#778 (510 pts)	#790 (495 pts)	#847 (440 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#268 (1,241 pts)	#266 (1,231 pts)	#292 (1,171 pts)	#422 (886 pts)	#253 (1,296 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#351 (1,044 pts)	#358 (1,029 pts)	#401 (959 pts)	#464 (834 pts)	#327 (1,094 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to A Good Rub BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

GIVE IT TO GOD

#892 of the rated field

1618 power rating

Contests: 90
GCs: 3
Top-10s: 32%
Peak: 1681

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to A Good Rub BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team A Good Rub BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 87 contests
last seen Apr 28, 2017

⚔ Head-to-head

Q'N CANUCKS

#891 of the rated field

1618 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 54%
Peak: 1635

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before A Good Rub BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 28 contests

⚔ Compare careers

TNK BBQ

#895 of the rated field

1617 power rating

Contests: 39
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1624

Careers of much the same size, 39 contests to 28, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 39 contests
last seen Oct 26, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

Cities Edge BBQ

#893 of the rated field

1618 power rating

Contests: 58
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1648

They've been 1648 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 56 contests
last seen Oct 9, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM

#890 of the rated field

1618 power rating

Contests: 90
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1627

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 90 contests, alongside a 22% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 89 contests
last seen Oct 4, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

SMOKING FINNS FI

#896 of the rated field

1617 ▼ 1 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 5
Top-10s: 58%
Peak: 1617

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to A Good Rub BBQ)

Level with A Good Rub BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 20 contests
last seen May 15, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
GETTIN' BASTED	22	3	19	14%	⚔ compare
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ	16	1	15	6%	⚔ compare
SMOOTH SMOKE	15	5	10	33%	⚔ compare
COUNTRYSIDE BBQ PRO SHOP	13	8	5	62%	⚔ compare
HOG TIDE BAR-B-QUE	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
BRICKHEAD BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
DEAD PIGS TELL NO TALES	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
BIG WOODIE BBQ	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
SLEEPY HOLLOW	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
BIG BUTTS NEED RUBBIN TOO	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
QUAU	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
BLOWN AWAY BBQ	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
Hogzilla	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
TEAM DOGHOUSE BBQ	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
PORK N' CIDER	8	7	1	88%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	13	0	4	177.1428	161.7028	171.05	top 33%
Pork Ribs	28	10	0	2	177.7144	151.9544	165.84	top 45%
Pork	28	10	0	1	178.2972	154.8344	165.32	top 48%
Brisket	28	11	1	4	180 🔥	139.9316	165.86	top 39%

“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)	6	top 53%
Medium (20–39)	12	top 39%
Large (40+)	10	top 27%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MO	26	0	top 38%
KS	2	0	top 35%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Table Rock Boats and Bones	3	9	top 46%	Sep 17, 2016
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	21	top 80%	May 6, 2016
Rock'n Freedom	2	4	top 12%	Jun 19, 2015
Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival	2	7	top 19%	Apr 24, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 9 contests

Contests a season 4 across 7 seasons in the data

Most contests held in MO 26 of 28 contests · 2 states in all

Contests visited 23 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 1,366 finished ahead 1,711 times, behind 743

Longest layoff 4.2 yrs Aug 9, 2019 → Oct 13, 2023

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

20231 milestone

Oct 13 Most recent contest Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition

20191 milestone

Aug 9 Peak power rating (1628) Route 66 BBQ & Steak Showdown

20181 milestone

Aug 10 25th tracked contest Route 66 Barbeque Throwdown (JUDGES FULL)

20154 milestones

May 22 First overall podium Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship)
May 22 First Reserve Championship Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship)
May 22 10th tracked contest Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship)
Jun 19 Career-best overall score690.7772 Rock'n Freedom

20146 milestones

May 9 First tracked contest Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival
May 9 First call Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival
May 9 First overall top-10 Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival
May 9 First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.7260 Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival
Jun 20 First category win (Brisket) Rock'n Freedom
Jun 20 First perfect 180 (Brisket) Rock'n Freedom

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.7	Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship)	May 22, 2015
+14.8	Rock'n Freedom	Jun 20, 2014
+14.3	Rock'n Freedom	Jun 19, 2015
+13.4	Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival	May 9, 2014
+9.5	Rock'n N Ribs BBQ Festival	Apr 21, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.8	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	May 6, 2016
-11.1	Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition	Oct 13, 2023
-8.1	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Sep 9, 2016
-6.2	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	May 15, 2015
-5.4	Smokin' Summer Kick-off	Jun 5, 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)
2023	1	0	0	0%	top 83%	90.5%	90.5%
2019	1	1	0	100%	top 24%	94.4%	94.4%
2018	3	1	0	67%	top 35%	94.4%	93.5%
2017	1	1	0	100%	top 11%	95.2%	95.2%
2016	6	0	0	33%	top 51%	94.3%	91.8%
2015	9	5	0	89%	top 34%	95.9%	93.3%
2014	7	4	1	100%	top 32%	95.1%	92.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 13, 2023	Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition 🏅 Osage Beach, MO	15 / 18 (651.8744)	14 (172.5828)	15 (163.9772)	17 (158.2172)	16 (157.0972)
Aug 9, 2019	Route 66 BBQ & Steak Showdown 🏅 Springfiled, MO	6 / 25 (679.3372)	3 (174.2744)	10 (167.9772)	14 (163.3712)	4 (173.7144)
Sep 15, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	204 / 467 (665.1204)	144 (170.3088)	337 (160.5372)	161 (168.0116)	185 (166.2628)
Aug 10, 2018	Route 66 Barbeque Throwdown (JUDGES FULL) Springfield, MO	7 / 19 (679.9200)	14 (165.1200)	12 (163.3828)	2 (178.2972)	2 (173.1200)
Apr 20, 2018	Rock'n N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	11 / 43 (674.2288)	13 (172.5600)	14 (169.1544)	10 (168.5256)	21 (163.9888)
Apr 21, 2017	Rock'n N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	6 / 55 (685.6804)	6 (176)	8 (172.5716)	12 (171.4172)	17 (165.6916)
Oct 29, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	142 / 557 (669.6684)	210 (166.8572)	77 (172)	343 (162.2512)	139 (168.5600)
Sep 17, 2016	Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO	27 / 43 (665.6572)	16 (171.9884)	34 (161.7144)	19 (169.1316)	29 (162.8228)
Sep 9, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Kansas City, MO	25 / 30 (651.3828)	14 (167.4056)	26 (160)	19 (164.5828)	25 (159.3944)
Jun 24, 2016	Freedom Feast BBQ Cook-Off Willard, MO	13 / 49 (678.7660)	2 (177.1428)	6 (171.4172)	28 (159.3716)	10 (170.8344)
May 6, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO	27 / 30 (628.4692)	16 (169.1316)	21 (160.0116)	23 (159.3944)	30 (139.9316)
Apr 22, 2016	Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	12 / 61 (672.4572)	9 (171.9772)	20 (165.7028)	10 (170.8344)	22 (163.9428)
Oct 3, 2015	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO	131 / 606 (671.3832)	106 (171.4172)	376 (161.1544)	131 (169.6800)	139 (169.1316)
Sep 25, 2015	Burg Fest BBQ Contest Warrensburg, MO	8 / 19 (671.3372)	6 (171.4056)	5 (167.4172)	10 (167.9772)	9 (164.5372)
Sep 19, 2015	Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO	9 / 33 (683.3600)	15 (167.4056)	12 (167.9772)	10 (170.8228)	3 (177.1544)
Jun 26, 2015	3rd Annual Willard Freedom Feast BBQ Cook-Off Willard, MO	8 / 31 (679.3716)	13 (171.9772)	10 (169.1316)	10 (169.1200)	12 (169.1428)
Jun 19, 2015	Rock'n Freedom Seymour, MO	4 / 36 (690.7772)	9 (173.7028)	2 (177.7144)	15 (168.5488)	12 (170.8112)
Jun 5, 2015	Smokin' Summer Kick-off Branson, MO	12 / 17 (656.9828)	7 (173.1084)	11 (162.8344)	15 (157.6456)	11 (163.3944)
May 22, 2015	Table Rock and Ribs (GC receives Golden Ticket to the World Food Championship) Kimberling City, MO	2 / 26 (689.7028)	7 (175.4172)	4 (172.5484)	11 (168)	4 (173.7372)
May 15, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO	21 / 30 (637.6232)	2 (174.2972)	25 (151.9544)	24 (155.9772)	20 (155.3944)
Apr 24, 2015	Rock N Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	16 / 63 (664.4228)	20 (168.5256)	36 (157.0856)	28 (163.9544)	3 (174.8572)
Sep 26, 2014	Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival Hermann, MO	11 / 37 (674.2512)	3 (175.4400)	24 (164.5712)	7 (167.9772)	15 (166.2628)
Sep 13, 2014	Table Rock Boats and Bones Kimberling City, MO	16 / 34 (661.1088)	12 (172)	16 (166.2744)	32 (154.8344)	7 (168)
Jul 4, 2014	Fin to Fur Red White and Blue BBQ Blowout Thayer, MO	6 / 12 (646.7084)	7 (161.7028)	7 (161.0972)	9 (165.0856)	7 (158.8228)
Jun 26, 2014	2nd Annual Freedom Feast BBQ Cook-Off Willard, MO	15 / 35 (654.7772)	9 (170.8228)	8 (168.5828)	25 (155.3600)	11 (160.0116)
Jun 20, 2014	Rock'n Freedom Seymour, MO	4 / 33 (684.5028)	17 (170.2628)	11 (167.9772)	13 (166.2628)	1 (180)
May 16, 2014	Table Rock & Ribs Kimberling City, MO	6 / 18 (667.3944)	7 (167.4056)	2 (173.7372)	7 (165.1428)	10 (161.1088)
May 9, 2014	Rock'n Ribs BBQ Festival Springfield, MO	7 / 57 (669.7260)	13 (169.1544)	16 (165.1544)	9 (169.1428)	11 (166.2744)

A Good Rub 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

Storylines (12 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

Built for the big stage

An April team

The metronome

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)