Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 79 times in 100
Their Grand Championship at UMB's Smokin' Vault (COMPETITOR SERIES) (2023-05-12) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 21-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Smoke-A-Holics.
They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at UMB's Smokin' Vault (COMPETITOR SERIES) (2023-05-12).
A call in 7 of 8 contests
A top-10 category call in 88% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
PARK AVENUE PORK ahead in 100% of their meetings
PARK AVENUE PORK has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of MAD SMOKERS in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Off the trail for 3 years, then back at UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest - Competitor's Series (2022-05-06).
PARK AVENUE PORK ahead 100% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, PARK AVENUE PORK has out-cooked them in 7 of 7 shared pork ribs entries.
Their overall lands within ±1.64% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.
They've cooked UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series) every year from 2015 to 2018 — the contest they never miss.
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
TAILGATE WARRIORS has 4 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 117 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team TAILGATE WARRIORS has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head33 contests to 8: their number has had years to settle where TAILGATE WARRIORS's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1593 at their best, 97 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head71 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 4% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 10 years after TAILGATE WARRIORS did, first appearing in 2025.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with TAILGATE WARRIORS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARK AVENUE PORK | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke-A-Holics | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Men of Erin | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 161.1316 | 133.6800 | 150.54 | top 77% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 166.2744 | 146.2288 | 154.02 | top 65% |
| Pork | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 176.5944 | 133.7256 | 152.99 | top 74% |
| Brisket | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 160.5828 | 141.7028 | 151.10 | top 64% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 7 | 1 | top 67% |
| KS | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 1 | top 73% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 53% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series) | 4 | 10 | 0 | top 64% | 2018-05-04 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.8 | UMB's Smokin' Vault (COMPETITOR SERIES) | 2023-05-12 |
| +3.1 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series) | 2015-05-01 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.9 | UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest - Competitor's Series | 2022-05-06 |
| -10.5 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | 2023-09-27 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% | top 57% | 86.7% | 86.3% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 100% | 81.7% | 81.7% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 94% | — | — |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 79% | 85.1% | 85.1% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 71% | 85.4% | 85.4% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 63% | 83.5% | 83.5% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 86.3% | 86.3% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-09-27 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 454 / 487 (618.6860) | 454 (152.5716) | 450 (153.0744) | 312 (164.5600) | 458 (148.4800) |
| 2023-05-12 | UMB's Smokin' Vault (COMPETITOR SERIES) Kansas City, MO | 1 / 5 (623.9772) | 5 (133.6800) | 3 (153.1200) | 1 (176.5944) | 1 (160.5828) |
| 2022-05-06 | UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest - Competitor's Series Kansas City, MO | 12 / 12 (587.8972) | 10 (147.3828) | 11 (146.2288) | 11 (152.5828) | 12 (141.7028) |
| 2019-05-03 | UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest(Invitational Competitor's Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 15 / 16 (588.4004) | 10 (161.1316) | 14 (146.7656) | 16 (136.5372) | 13 (143.9660) |
| 2018-05-04 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 11 / 14 (613.0060) | 13 (151.9544) | 8 (161.0972) | 13 (150.2628) | 10 (149.6916) |
| 2017-05-05 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 12 / 17 (615.2116) | 13 (147.9316) | 10 (157.0972) | 13 (153.6800) | 8 (156.5028) |
| 2016-05-06 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 15 / 24 (601.0284) | 8 (161.0972) | 15 (148.5372) | 22 (133.7256) | 7 (157.6684) |
| 2015-05-01 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitor's Series) Kansas City, MO | 10 / 23 (621.0628) | 17 (148.5600) | 3 (166.2744) | 13 (156.0112) | 15 (150.2172) |