The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
DESIGNATED SMOKIN' AREA has finished one call ahead of Mr. B's BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
Mr. B's BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1481
peak 1502 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2015-09-11
latest 2023-08-19
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 69%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
619.17
last 3 Master vs avg 619.17 (-0.00)
Walk rate
40%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±27.93
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 162.61 · weakest Brisket (149.47)
Road miles
323
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 113 mi
Schedule strength
31%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1542)
Purse competed for
$6K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
619.17 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
309.09 / 360
2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (2 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The comeback
5.1 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.1 years, then back at Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) (2022-08-20).
- last seen 2017-07-28
- back 2022-08-20
Teams like this (closest power rating)
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.
124 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4072 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4067 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 9 years after Mr. B's BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.
⚔ Head-to-head#4077 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
Level with Mr. B's BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4061 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4058 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4057 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Mr. B's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 157.7028 | 162.61 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 161.7144 | 131.3600 | 150.84 | top 76% |
| Pork | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 172.0344 | 136.0344 | 153.34 | top 68% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160.5944 | 134.1828 | 149.47 | top 73% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 75% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 48% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 63% | 2023-08-19 |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
7.9 yrs
2015-09-11 → 2023-08-19
Busiest season
2017
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
IL
5 of 5 contests
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 162.61 · weakest Brisket (149.47)
Walk rate
40%
a top-10 call in 2 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 5 contests
Master average
619.17
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
309.09
out of 360 · 2 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
146
61–111 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
323
5 mapped stops · furthest 113 mi
Schedule strength
1542
average field rating faced — tougher than 31% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$5,650
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
Longest layoff
5.1 yrs
2017-07-28 → 2022-08-20
Power rating
1481
peak 1502 · #4065 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2015
- First tracked contest Windy City BBQ Classic
- First call Windy City BBQ Classic
- Career-best overall score642.7656 Windy City BBQ Classic
- Career-best single call (Pork)172.0344 Windy City BBQ Classic
- Peak power rating (1502) Windy City BBQ Classic
- 2023
- Most recent contest Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.6 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2023-08-19 |
| +2.1 | Windy City BBQ Classic | 2015-09-11 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.6 | EffingHam-Jam | 2017-07-28 |
| -7 | *Route 66 Smoke Out | 2017-05-05 |
| -5.9 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2022-08-20 |
Category scores over time
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 50% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 75% | 82.4% | 82.4% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 87% | 88.2% | 84.4% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 48% | 89.3% | 89.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-19 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 16 / 32 (321.6800) | 12 (166.8572) | 20 (154.8228) | — | — |
| 2022-08-20 | Smoke on the Midway (BACKYARD ONLY) Fairbury, IL | 15 / 20 (296.5028) | 5 (165.1428) | 19 (131.3600) | — | — |
| 2017-07-28 | EffingHam-Jam Effingham, IL | 33 / 35 (579.9316) | 26 (157.7028) | 27 (152.0116) | 32 (136.0344) | 34 (134.1828) |
| 2017-05-05 | *Route 66 Smoke Out Dwight, IL | 23 / 29 (634.8000) | 23 (160.5484) | 19 (161.7144) | 29 (151.9428) | 16 (160.5944) |
| 2015-09-11 | Windy City BBQ Classic Chicago, IL | 29 / 61 (642.7656) | 33 (162.7884) | 48 (154.2972) | 7 (172.0344) | 41 (153.6456) |