Signature meat
33%
pork ribs entries won
3 wins from 9 entries
When pork ribs is on the table, watch out — they've won it in 33% of their entries (3 of 9).
- best 176.0344
- average 164.82
- 5 calls
Covered Embers
Covered Embers is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 7 at the Country Road & BBQ Contest (2023). They are ranked #3637 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1491
peak 1501 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Apr 22, 2017
latest Oct 7, 2023 · 6.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
3
8 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
22% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
660.85
last 5 Master vs avg 661.23 (-0.38)
Walk rate
89%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±15.63
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 165.49 · weakest Pork (164.68)
Road miles
1,114
across 9 mapped stops
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1536)
Master avg
661.23 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #722 (207 pts) | #778 (207 pts) | #637 (330 pts) | #898 (147 pts) | #770 (207 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #1020 (111 pts) | #1123 (101 pts) | #965 (136 pts) | #1127 (96 pts) | #679 (241 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #1017 (256 pts) | #1360 (171 pts) | #634 (536 pts) | #935 (316 pts) | #1063 (261 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Covered Embers, each with one reason worth a look.
152 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,651 of the rated field
- Contests
- 17
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 35%
- Peak
- 1490
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to Covered Embers)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Covered Embers has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,616 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 39%
- Peak
- 1491
2–3 in 5 shared contests (40% to Covered Embers)
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#3,646 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 8 years before Covered Embers's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,640 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1503
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,650 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1508
Level with Covered Embers on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,629 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1491
Careers of much the same size, 10 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| GRILLER INSTINCT | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| ITALIAN STYLE BBQ TEAM | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| COOKLOUNGE BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| DRAGON BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 175.4172 | 155.4172 | 165.48 | top 64% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 176.0344 | 135.8172 | 164.82 | top 47% |
| Pork | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 170.8456 | 157.6684 | 164.68 | top 69% |
| Brisket | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 171.4400 | 160 | 165.49 | top 48% |
“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) | 5 | 0 | top 61% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 66% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 3 wins · 5 calls
Opponents faced
76
finished ahead 52 times, behind 89
Longest layoff
2 yrs
Sep 14, 2019 → Sep 25, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20234 milestones
- First overall podium Country Road & BBQ Contest
- Career-best overall score693.7372 Country Road & BBQ Contest
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.0344 Country Road & BBQ Contest
- Most recent contest Country Road & BBQ Contest
20191 milestone
- First overall top-10 Italian Hardcore Barbecue (DAY 2)
20181 milestone
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Meat, Smoke & Beer Festival & KCBS BBQ Competition 2018
20174 milestones
- First tracked contest Bardo-Q BBQ Competition
- First call Bardo-Q BBQ Competition
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score674.3084 Bardo-Q BBQ Competition
- Peak power rating (1501) Bardo-Q BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.4 | Country Road & BBQ Contest | Oct 7, 2023 |
| +2.9 | BBQ Friui Venezia Giulia | May 11, 2019 |
| +1.7 | Italian Hardcore Barbecue (DAY 2) | Sep 14, 2019 |
| +1.3 | Bardo-Q BBQ Competition | Apr 22, 2017 |
| +0.3 | Meat, Smoke & Beer Festival & KCBS BBQ Competition 2018 | Sep 29, 2018 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12 | Country Road & BBQ Contest -Day2 | Mar 23, 2019 |
| -9.6 | The War of Barbeque | Mar 24, 2018 |
| -2.6 | FO.G & SMOKE | Sep 25, 2021 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 43% | 96.4% | 96.4% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 69% | 91.2% | 91.2% |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 100% | top 67% | 91.8% | 90.5% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 71% | 91.1% | 91.1% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 50% | 93.7% | 93.7% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2023 | Country Road & BBQ Contest Cartigliano | 3 / 7 (693.7372) | 3 (175.4172) | 2 (176.0344) | 6 (170.8456) | 3 (171.4400) |
| Oct 7, 2023 | Country Road & BBQ Contest (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cartigliano | — | — | 14 (158.8228) | — | — |
| Sep 25, 2021 | FO.G & SMOKE Modena | 11 / 16 (656.5600) | 13 (159.3828) | 8 (168.0688) | 14 (157.6684) | 2 (171.4400) |
| Sep 14, 2019 | Italian Hardcore Barbecue (DAY 2) Carugate MI | 7 / 13 (661.1428) | 12 (158.2284) | 1 (172.6288) | 3 (170.2856) | 7 (160) |
| May 11, 2019 | BBQ Friui Venezia Giulia Lignano Sabbiadoro, Udine | 12 / 23 (656.5144) | 21 (159.3944) | 1 (171.4744) | 14 (164.5256) | 11 (161.1200) |
| Mar 23, 2019 | Country Road & BBQ Contest -Day2 Torreglia | 24 / 25 (636.3200) | 8 (173.7144) | 25 (135.8172) | 15 (165.0856) | 20 (161.7028) |
| Sep 29, 2018 | Meat, Smoke & Beer Festival & KCBS BBQ Competition 2018 Graz | 11 / 19 (655.9204) | 18 (155.4172) | 1 (174.2744) | 18 (158.2516) | 4 (167.9772) |
| Mar 24, 2018 | The War of Barbeque Noventa di Piave | 15 / 18 (655.3596) | 10 (167.4284) | 15 (158.8572) | 12 (165.6684) | 12 (163.4056) |
| Apr 22, 2017 | Bardo-Q BBQ Competition Bardonecchia | 14 / 28 (674.3084) | 6 (174.8800) | 18 (167.4400) | 21 (165.1200) | 16 (166.8684) |