A tough matchup
7–0
behind in the head-to-head
Notorious P.I.G. ahead in 100% of their meetings
Notorious P.I.G. has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
Philly Special BBQ
Philly Special BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 7 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2020 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 10th of 21 at the BBQ on the Bow (2020). They are ranked #5053 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1461
peak 1504 · rated over 7 contests
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
Sep 26, 2020
latest Sep 2, 2023 · 2.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
2 podiums
Overall top-10s
1
14% of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 70%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
633.86 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 629.23 (+4.62)
Walk rate
29%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.98
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 160.97 · weakest Pork Ribs (155.24)
Road miles
335
across 7 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi
Schedule strength
15%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1522)
Master avg
629.23 / 720
7 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 | #1232 (65 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1254 (105 pts) | #1266 (65 pts) | #1072 (115 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #873 (164 pts) | #795 (219 pts) | #950 (174 pts) | #1007 (134 pts) | #763 (229 pts) |
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #631 (246 pts) | #649 (256 pts) | #676 (251 pts) | #613 (271 pts) | #518 (366 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Philly Special BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
135 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,038 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1462
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,036 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1462
12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 17% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#5,048 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1462
They were already cooking in 2013, 7 years before Philly Special BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#5,066 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
Level with Philly Special BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,037 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1462
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Philly Special BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,068 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 5 years before Philly Special BBQ'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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| MOTLEY QUE | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Kreiser Barbecue | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| Notorious P.I.G. | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| HOME COOKIN' BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Fire BBQ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Bad to the Brisket | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Homestead Smoke Shack | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 146.8228 | 157.71 | top 68% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.1428 | 146.2744 | 155.24 | top 72% |
| Pork | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5256 | 144.5256 | 155.31 | top 74% |
| Brisket | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 167.4512 | 150.2400 | 160.97 | top 46% |
“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) | 2 | 0 | top 92% |
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 60% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Didsbury Lions BBQ | 2 | 16 | 0 | top 76% | Aug 27, 2022 |
| BBQ on the Bow | 2 | 10 | 0 | top 65% | Sep 4, 2021 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2021
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AB
6 of 7 contests
Contests visited
5
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
94
finished ahead 60 times, behind 150
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20233 milestones
- Career-best overall score656.4224 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.1428 Barbeque on the Bow Festival
- Most recent contest Barbeque on the Bow Festival
20221 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.9080 Barbeque on the Bow
20204 milestones
- First tracked contest BBQ on the Bow
- First call BBQ on the Bow
- First overall top-10 BBQ on the Bow
- Peak power rating (1504) BBQ on the Bow
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +3.7 | BBQ on the Bow | Sep 26, 2020 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -14.1 | Smoke, Wind & Fire | Jul 10, 2021 |
| -10.3 | Didsbury Lions BBQ | Aug 27, 2022 |
| -9.3 | BBQ on the Bow | Sep 4, 2021 |
| -4.2 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival | Sep 2, 2023 |
| -2.2 | Barbeque on the Bow | Sep 3, 2022 |
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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 60% | 91.2% | 91.2% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 74% | 90.5% | 89.3% |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 79% | 85.9% | 85% |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 48% | 87.2% | 87.2% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2023 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 24 / 40 (656.4224) | 36 (157.6800) | 16 (169.1428) | 24 (164.5256) | 14 (165.0740) |
| Sep 3, 2022 | Barbeque on the Bow Calgary, AB | 21 / 36 (651.9080) | 11 (168) | 32 (158.8112) | 27 (158.2512) | 11 (166.8456) |
| Aug 27, 2022 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 17 / 19 (633.6804) | 16 (158.2744) | 11 (162.8572) | 19 (151.3944) | 14 (161.1544) |
| Sep 4, 2021 | BBQ on the Bow Didsbury, AB | 24 / 29 (618.2284) | 19 (159.9772) | 25 (146.2744) | 17 (158.2284) | 22 (153.7484) |
| Sep 3, 2021 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 16 / 26 (609.0516) | 18 (154.3316) | 17 (153.6800) | 19 (150.8000) | 19 (150.2400) |
| Jul 10, 2021 | Smoke, Wind & Fire Lethbridge | 15 / 16 (607.8508) | 16 (146.8228) | 12 (149.0512) | 14 (144.5256) | 3 (167.4512) |
| Sep 26, 2020 | BBQ on the Bow Didsbury, AB | 10 / 21 (627.4972) | 7 (158.9028) | 19 (146.8572) | 13 (159.4744) | 3 (162.2628) |