The Popes White Smoke

The Popes White Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 28 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 5th of 22 at the KCBS International BBQ Contest Vuur en Vlees (2019). They are ranked #4692 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#4,692

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1469

peak 1469 · rated over 28 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 3, 2017

latest Sep 10, 2023 · 6.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#417

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

21% of 28 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 66%

overall standings

Best overall

672 / 720

Master · KCBS International BBQ contest Vuur en Vlees

Perfect 180s

Current form

640.36 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 637.65 (+2.71)

Walk rate

57%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.7372

Pork Ribs · Meat the East

Consistency

±15.15

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 159.87 · weakest Pork Ribs (158.90)

Road miles

2,410

across 28 mapped stops

Schedule strength

39%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1551)

Purse competed for

$1,800

listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings

Master avg

637.65 / 720

28 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

672.0000 career-best overall

93.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 672.0000 at KCBS International BBQ contest Vuur en Vlees — 93.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Oct 23, 2021

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Osdorp Grillers (NL) has finished one call ahead of The Popes White Smoke 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2022 their best year

2022 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 54%.

4 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 54%

A tough matchup

24–0 behind in the head-to-head

IQ - NETHERLANDS ahead in 100% of their meetings

IQ - NETHERLANDS has come out ahead in 24 of their 24 shared contests.

A strong matchup

9–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 90% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ANTWERPS BBQ-TEAM in 9 of their 10 shared contests.

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at Eastern BBQ Contest 2020-Day 2 (Aug 14, 2021).

last seen Nov 30, 2019
back Aug 14, 2021

Chicken nemesis

22 of 24 shared chicken entries lost

IQ - NETHERLANDS ahead 92% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, IQ - NETHERLANDS has out-cooked them in 22 of 24 shared chicken entries.

Show 3 more storylines

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

RIVERLAND SMOKERS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A May team

Top 56% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 56% across 5 contests, versus top 66% the rest of the year.

5 May contests
top 66% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.10% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.10% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.6% 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
2021 ↗	Master	#417 (441 pts)	#508 (371 pts)	#402 (511 pts)	#453 (416 pts)	#414 (486 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#832 (71 pts)	#1102 (56 pts)	#800 (101 pts)	#821 (91 pts)	#817 (86 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#701 (448 pts)	#824 (393 pts)	#582 (598 pts)	#660 (508 pts)	#659 (513 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#851 (365 pts)	#596 (625 pts)	#817 (430 pts)	#779 (450 pts)	#681 (535 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1005 (330 pts)	#1026 (360 pts)	#857 (455 pts)	#805 (500 pts)	#747 (525 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to The Popes White Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.

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

MATES & PLATES BARBECUE TEAM

#4,680 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1469

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to The Popes White Smoke)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — MATES & PLATES BARBECUE TEAM ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Sep 21, 2019

⚔ Head-to-head

Royaal BBQ

#4,703 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 10%
Peak: 1469

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to The Popes White Smoke)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Jun 8, 2019

⚔ Head-to-head

CHILICHEF

#4,701 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1503

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to The Popes White Smoke)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before The Popes White Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 6 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

Outhouse BBQ

#4,705 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 3%
Peak: 1469

Careers of much the same size, 29 contests to 28, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 29 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

GEMINI BBQ

#4,695 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1469

27 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 11% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 27 contests
last seen Oct 18, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

SI2 BBQ

#4,700 of the rated field

1469 power rating

Contests: 35
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1505

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2017.

rated over 32 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2025

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
IQ - NETHERLANDS	24	0	24	0%	⚔ compare
BBQ Team Laurentius	18	6	12	33%	⚔ compare
SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ	18	0	18	0%	⚔ compare
Osdorp Grillers (NL)	17	4	13	24%	⚔ compare
Backcorner BBQ	17	2	15	12%	⚔ compare
BBQ+	17	0	17	0%	⚔ compare
DE VLIEGENDE HOLLANDER BBQ-TEAM	17	0	17	0%	⚔ compare
Dutch BBQ Friends - Netherlands	16	10	6	63%	⚔ compare
BUGHOUSE SMOKERS	16	5	11	31%	⚔ compare
PARKSTAD SMOKERS	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
RIVERLAND SMOKERS	14	8	6	57%	⚔ compare
WETTELS ON FIRE	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
010 BRAAI	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
It's spice that meats you	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
White Squirrel BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	5	0	172.6056	139.3484	159.87	top 67%
Pork Ribs	28	7	2	173.7372	141.6688	158.90	top 56%
Pork	28	7	2	172.6056	132.5144	159.31	top 61%
Brisket	28	8	1	169.6916	146.8456	159.57	top 53%

“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)	3	top 50%
Medium (20–39)	19	top 68%
Large (40+)	6	top 65%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest (Day 2)	2	15	top 72%	Sep 10, 2023
Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest	2	16	top 81%	Jun 24, 2023
Meetjesland International BBQ Contest	2	9	top 66%	Apr 29, 2023
BBQ an der Burg 2019	2	24	top 75%	Jul 6, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2018 6 contests

Contests a season 4.7 across 6 seasons in the data

Contests visited 24 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 257 finished ahead 288 times, behind 576

Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Nov 30, 2019 → Aug 14, 2021

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

20232 milestones

Apr 29 25th tracked contest Meetjesland International BBQ Contest
Sep 10 Most recent contest Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest (Day 2)

20211 milestone

Oct 23 Career-best overall score672 KCBS International BBQ contest Vuur en Vlees

20192 milestones

Apr 13 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)173.7372 Meat the East
Jun 29 First overall top-10 KCBS International BBQ Contest Vuur en Vlees

20181 milestone

Sep 1 10th tracked contest 2nd International Suydersee BBQ Contest

20174 milestones

Jun 3 First tracked contest Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition
Jun 3 Peak power rating (1490) Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition
Aug 26 First call Regahfest 2017
Oct 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.0856 5th Annual BBQ Society Cook-Off

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.7	KCBS International BBQ contest Vuur en Vlees	Oct 23, 2021
+11.6	KCBS International BBQ Contest Vuur en Vlees	Jun 29, 2019
+7.8	Beer,Fries & BBQ VI	May 11, 2019
+7.5	De Vliegende Hollander BBQ	Sep 25, 2021
+6.3	De Vliegende Hollander BBQ-Contest II	May 21, 2022

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.3	Meat The East	Apr 14, 2018
-10.4	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition	Jun 3, 2017
-10.1	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition	May 19, 2018
-8.5	Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest	Jun 24, 2023
-8.2	1st International Suydersee BBQ Contest	Sep 2, 2017

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2023	4	1	50%	top 73%	90.8%	88.6%
2022	4	2	100%	top 54%	91.2%	90.4%
2021	4	2	75%	top 54%	93.3%	89.7%
2019	5	1	60%	top 54%	92.3%	88.7%
2018	6	0	33%	top 81%	89.1%	86.7%
2017	5	0	40%	top 72%	90.2%	88.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 10, 2023	Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest (Day 2) Dongen	15 / 23 (632.5604)	15 (159.9656)	23 (141.6688)	9 (169.1772)	11 (161.7488)
Jun 24, 2023	Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest Dodewaard	23 / 26 (626.8460)	26 (144.0116)	17 (158.3088)	22 (161.6800)	13 (162.8456)
May 6, 2023	3rd De Vliegende Hollander BBQ Contest Terneuzen	8 / 15 (653.5888)	14 (159.4172)	3 (166.2516)	3 (167.3944)	9 (160.5256)
Apr 29, 2023	Meetjesland International BBQ Contest Aalter	17 / 20 (638.1144)	15 (161.1088)	16 (158.2400)	16 (161.0856)	15 (157.6800)
Sep 10, 2022	Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" BBQ Contest Dongen	13 / 28 (650.6968)	12 (167.3940)	23 (155.3600)	18 (161.1084)	7 (166.8344)
Jun 25, 2022	Riverland Smokers BBQ Contest Dodewaard	16 / 22 (641.4856)	20 (150.7656)	5 (169.1316)	4 (172.5484)	18 (149.0400)
May 21, 2022	De Vliegende Hollander BBQ-Contest II Terneuzen	9 / 18 (656.0688)	8 (167.4744)	7 (161.1544)	15 (160.5600)	7 (166.8800)
May 14, 2022	Meetjesland International BBQ Contest Aalter	9 / 19 (656.4460)	7 (169.6800)	4 (170.2744)	5 (167.3944)	18 (149.0972)
Oct 23, 2021	KCBS International BBQ contest Vuur en Vlees Liesselseweg, Deurne	7 / 30 (672)	13 (167.9656)	3 (170.2972)	6 (172.6056)	18 (161.1316)
Sep 25, 2021	De Vliegende Hollander BBQ Terneuzen	9 / 21 (655.9540)	14 (163.4628)	12 (162.8228)	13 (161.6912)	5 (167.9772)
Sep 11, 2021	Farm Meat "De Vaartse Hoeve" Barbeque Contest Dongen	23 / 29 (617.6800)	26 (151.3828)	23 (151.4400)	25 (148.5600)	9 (166.2972)
Aug 14, 2021	Eastern BBQ Contest 2020-Day 2 Meerbeke	18 / 26 (636.5828)	15 (165.7372)	14 (159.4516)	18 (156.5712)	18 (154.8228)
Nov 30, 2019	Beer,Fries & BBQ-The Winter Edition Helshoven	22 / 31 (622.1832)	30 (149.6800)	16 (154.8572)	18 (160.5372)	19 (157.1088)
Jul 6, 2019	BBQ an der Burg 2019 Geestland	25 / 36 (621.2800)	20 (159.4400)	15 (157.1656)	36 (141.2000)	9 (163.4744)
Jun 29, 2019	KCBS International BBQ Contest Vuur en Vlees Deurne	5 / 22 (664.6060)	9 (164.5600)	11 (162.3088)	5 (172.0228)	7 (165.7144)
May 11, 2019	Beer,Fries & BBQ VI Kapermolenpark, Hasselt	20 / 49 (647.9196)	27 (164.5484)	34 (154.2628)	12 (168.5828)	23 (160.5256)
Apr 13, 2019	Meat the East Hengelo	28 / 41 (638.1484)	34 (159.9656)	4 (173.7372)	40 (147.9428)	29 (156.5028)
Sep 15, 2018	Het 5DE BBQKampioenschap Van Het Waasland Sint Niklaas	27 / 31 (622.8572)	28 (154.2628)	27 (149.6916)	28 (155.9884)	13 (162.9144)
Sep 1, 2018	2nd International Suydersee BBQ Contest Zeewolde Flevoland	23 / 44 (641.6344)	37 (158.8228)	31 (154.8344)	11 (165.7028)	13 (162.2744)
Aug 25, 2018	Regahfest 2018 Green The Hague	29 / 35 (623.8972)	35 (145.6800)	22 (158.8000)	24 (157.1200)	14 (162.2972)
Jun 30, 2018	BBQ an der Burg 2018 Geestland	24 / 30 (621.6220)	4 (169.1656)	12 (164.0228)	30 (138.2624)	23 (150.1712)
May 19, 2018	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp	54 / 60 (612.4456)	5 (172.6056)	49 (151.9772)	60 (132.5144)	35 (155.3484)
Apr 14, 2018	Meat The East Hengelo	32 / 34 (622.1940)	27 (159.4284)	33 (142.2400)	20 (161.7028)	25 (158.8228)
Oct 7, 2017	5th Annual BBQ Society Cook-Off Hoofddorp	26 / 47 (649.0856)	29 (165.1544)	19 (164.5372)	36 (159.4284)	23 (159.9656)
Sep 9, 2017	Farm Meat Dongen	29 / 38 (631.2340)	38 (139.3484)	8 (165.1084)	25 (157.0856)	3 (169.6916)
Sep 2, 2017	1st International Suydersee BBQ Contest Zeewolde Flevoland	26 / 32 (630.7776)	21 (161.1316)	26 (155.3716)	23 (156)	15 (158.2744)
Aug 26, 2017	Regahfest 2017 The Hague	17 / 28 (639.4628)	15 (163.4744)	17 (158.8572)	2 (170.2856)	27 (146.8456)
Jun 3, 2017	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp Netherlands	48 / 56 (626.8460)	39 (160.6172)	39 (157.1200)	47 (155.9772)	46 (153.1316)

The Popes White Smoke

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

Master avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A May 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

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)