A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
SMOKE FREAKS ahead in 100% of their meetings
SMOKE FREAKS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Midlife Crisis BBQ
Midlife Crisis BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 20th of 23 at the Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL (2016). They finished #1954 in the 2018 Master Series Team of the Year standings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1458
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Jun 17, 2016
latest Aug 19, 2023 · 7.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 93%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
50%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±6.01
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 163.01 · weakest Pork (154.85)
Road miles
985
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 985 mi
Schedule strength
41%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1555)
Purse competed for
$7,300
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
630.67 / 720
4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #2535 (55 pts) | #2524 (55 pts) | #1492 (145 pts) | #1939 (70 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #2943 (51 pts) | #2839 (56 pts) | #2935 (51 pts) | #2925 (51 pts) | #1792 (121 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #2199 (73 pts) | #2308 (68 pts) | #2099 (108 pts) | #2318 (63 pts) | #1722 (143 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Midlife Crisis BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
Midlife Crisis BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 121 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#5,237 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Midlife Crisis BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Midlife Crisis BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#5,203 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,241 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
They turned up 7 years after Midlife Crisis BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#5,231 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1457
Level with Midlife Crisis BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,204 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,214 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1458
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Midlife Crisis BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163.9772 | 149.1084 | 156.68 | top 89% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 153.1088 | 159.70 | top 73% |
| Pork | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2972 | 146.8684 | 154.85 | top 80% |
| Brisket | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.2000 | 153.0972 | 163.01 | top 59% |
“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) | 3 | 0 | top 93% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 91% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hog Capital Challenge | 2 | 23 | 0 | top 96% | Jun 15, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
2 contests
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
ME
3 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
6 entries · 0 wins · 1 call
Opponents faced
90
finished ahead 9 times, behind 107
Longest layoff
4.2 yrs
Jun 15, 2018 → Aug 27, 2022
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20233 milestones
- Career-best overall score637.6800 Kora Shriners BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.7028 Kora Shriners BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Most recent contest Kora Shriners BBQ Competition
20163 milestones
- First tracked contest Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL
- First call Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL
- Peak power rating (1492) Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.7 | Hog Capital Challenge (JUDGES FULL) | Jun 16, 2017 |
| -10.6 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition | Aug 19, 2023 |
| -9.9 | Hog Capital Challenge | Jun 15, 2018 |
| -8.3 | Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL | Jun 17, 2016 |
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 | 50% | top 91% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 92% | 86.6% | 86.6% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 87% | 87% | 87% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2023 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME | 42 / 46 (637.6800) | 35 (163.9772) | 43 (155.4172) | 42 (157.7256) | 35 (160.5600) |
| Aug 19, 2023 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 7 (169.7028) | — | — |
| Aug 27, 2022 | Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 13 (164.0112) | — | — |
| Jun 15, 2018 | Hog Capital Challenge Kewanee, IL | 23 / 25 (623.2916) | 24 (150.7884) | 24 (153.1088) | 8 (166.2972) | 21 (153.0972) |
| Jun 16, 2017 | Hog Capital Challenge (JUDGES FULL) Kewanee, IL | 26 / 26 (635.3712) | 24 (162.8340) | 26 (154.8344) | 26 (148.5256) | 11 (169.1772) |
| Jun 17, 2016 | Hog Capital Challenge - JUDGES FULL Kewanee, IL | 20 / 23 (626.3312) | 21 (149.1084) | 13 (161.1544) | 22 (146.8684) | 8 (169.2000) |