High-water mark
669.0168
career-best overall
92.9% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 669.0168 at Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff — 92.9% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 28, 2023
Kings of Smoke
Kings of Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 11th of 42 at the Porkapalooza BBQ Festival (2016). They are ranked #4402 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1475
peak 1509 · rated over 9 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jun 18, 2016
latest Sep 9, 2023 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
646.49 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 643.32 (+3.18)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±11.56
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.30 · weakest Brisket (159.15)
Road miles
3,167
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 1,341 mi
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1580)
Purse competed for
$50K
listed at 5 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
643.32 / 720
9 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Kings of Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
150 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,390 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 10%
- Peak
- 1475
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Kings of Smoke)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Kings of Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,388 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,409 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,417 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1507
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 3 years before Kings of Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,403 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1475
Level with Kings of Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,404 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before Kings of Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking Hogs BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Shark Q | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| KC Meat Sweats | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| LOVE 2 Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8228 | 150.8572 | 160.15 | top 76% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 174.8456 | 154.2856 | 164.30 | top 55% |
| Pork | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 150.8000 | 159.71 | top 72% |
| Brisket | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8572 | 142.2972 | 159.15 | top 63% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 78% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 64% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Trails | 2 | 35 | 0 | top 74% | Sep 11, 2020 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.1
across 8 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
5 of 9 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
8
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
246
finished ahead 113 times, behind 244
Longest layoff
1.5 yrs
Apr 6, 2018 → Sep 27, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20232 milestones
- Career-best overall score669.0168 Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff
- Most recent contest 7th Annual Smoke on the Trails
20172 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2168 Seventh Annual Bull Moose
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.8456 Seventh Annual Bull Moose
20164 milestones
- First tracked contest Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
- First call Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1509) Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +8.6 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival | Jun 18, 2016 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -6.3 | Seventh Annual Bull Moose | Apr 7, 2017 |
| -5.8 | Smoke on the Trails | Sep 11, 2020 |
| -5.6 | Eighth Annual Bull Moose (JUDGE'S FULL) | Apr 6, 2018 |
| -4.6 | Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff | Apr 28, 2023 |
| -4 | 7th Annual Smoke on the Trails | Sep 9, 2023 |
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 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 92.9% | 91.1% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 73% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 68% | 89.9% | 89.9% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 81% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 66% | 87.6% | 87.6% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 78% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 78% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 26% | 87.9% | 87.9% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2023 | 7th Annual Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 30 / 38 (643.2340) | 28 (166.2284) | 31 (161.6800) | 32 (158.2400) | 25 (157.0856) |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Hog Wild BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Brandon, MS | 23 / 28 (669.0168) | 25 (165.6684) | 15 (172.5600) | 13 (170.8228) | 23 (159.9656) |
| Sep 9, 2022 | 6th Annual Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 27 / 37 (643.8856) | 34 (155.3712) | 23 (164.5600) | 30 (161.6916) | 19 (162.2628) |
| Sep 10, 2021 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 36 / 53 (647.3376) | 38 (157.0972) | 35 (163.3944) | 33 (167.4172) | 38 (159.4288) |
| Sep 11, 2020 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 39 / 48 (628.9944) | 27 (166.8228) | 40 (154.2856) | 46 (150.8000) | 35 (157.0860) |
| Sep 27, 2019 | Smoke on the Trails 🏅 Gardner, KS | 35 / 53 (630.7084) | 46 (150.8572) | 28 (162.2628) | 45 (151.3256) | 17 (166.2628) |
| Apr 6, 2018 | Eighth Annual Bull Moose (JUDGE'S FULL) Somerville, TN | 31 / 40 (643.8172) | 36 (153.0628) | 34 (155.9544) | 26 (163.9428) | 9 (170.8572) |
| Apr 7, 2017 | Seventh Annual Bull Moose Somerville, TN | 21 / 27 (650.2168) | 25 (162.2628) | 2 (174.8456) | 23 (155.9656) | 24 (157.1428) |
| Jun 18, 2016 | Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, CA | 11 / 42 (632.6400) | 14 (164.0228) | 1 (169.1428) | 17 (157.1772) | 32 (142.2972) |