A tough matchup
3–0
behind in the head-to-head
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS ahead in 100% of their meetings
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Smoke and Mirrors
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1503
peak 1511 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
2013-08-31
latest 2023-08-04
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 51%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
624.15
last 4 Master vs avg 624.15 (+0.00)
Walk rate
60%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
2
best run (overall)
Consistency
±11.37
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 162.19 · weakest Pork Ribs (154.75)
Road miles
3,219
mi across 5 mapped stops · furthest 1768 mi
Schedule strength
10%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1515)
Purse competed for
$3K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
624.15 / 720
4 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
335.38 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 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 (5 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 weak link
−7.4
points behind their best meat
Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.44 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 20%.
- Pork Ribs avg 154.75
- Chicken avg 162.19
- 1 calls in 5 entries
The comeback
5.9 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 5.9 years, then back at Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL) (2023-08-04).
- last seen 2017-09-02
- back 2023-08-04
Announced themselves early
5th
at their very first contest
Finished 5 of 26 at their very first tracked contest, BBQ on the Bow (2013-08-31).
- 2013-08-31
- 26-team field
The long haul
3,219
road miles between contests
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,219 miles across 5 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,768 miles to Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL).
- 5 mapped stops
- furthest 1,768 mi
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.
105 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3073 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1510
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Smoke and Mirrors)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Smoke and Mirrors has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#3103 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1505
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#3084 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1514
No shared contest yet.
Level with Smoke and Mirrors on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3096 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2020, 3 years before Smoke and Mirrors's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3101 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1506
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Smoke and Mirrors's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3081 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1512
No shared contest yet.
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 168.5944 | 156.5944 | 162.19 | top 48% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2744 | 140.6172 | 154.75 | top 59% |
| Pork | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 164.5600 | 145.1084 | 154.84 | top 57% |
| Brisket | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 165.7488 | 143.3600 | 156.99 | top 44% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 1 | 0 | top 55% |
| AB | 1 | 0 | top 51% |
| OR | 1 | 0 | top 60% |
| CA | 1 | 0 | top 19% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 60% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 35% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 62% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ on the Bow | 2 | 18 | 0 | top 60% | 2017-09-02 |
The story so far (18 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
9.9 yrs
2013-08-31 → 2023-08-04
Busiest season
2023
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 5 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
AL
1 of 5 contests · 4 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
4
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
5 entries · 0 wins · 1 calls
Strongest meat
Chicken
averages 162.19 · weakest Pork Ribs (154.75)
Walk rate
60%
a top-10 call in 3 of 5 contests
Overall top-10 rate
40%
2 of 5 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight contests
Master average
624.15
out of 720 · 4 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
335.38
out of 360 · 1 contest · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
150
82–88 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
3,219
5 mapped stops · furthest 1,768 mi
Schedule strength
1515
average field rating faced — tougher than 10% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$2,600
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Longest layoff
5.9 yrs
2017-09-02 → 2023-08-04
Power rating
1503
peak 1511 · #3091 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest BBQ on the Bow
- First call BBQ on the Bow
- First overall top-10 BBQ on the Bow
- Peak power rating (1511) BBQ on the Bow
- 2015
- Career-best overall score631.9772 BBQ on the Bow
- 2023
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score335.3828 Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)170.2744 Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL)
- Most recent contest Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.7 | BBQ on the Bow | 2013-08-31 |
| +0.5 | Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL) | 2023-08-04 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -5.7 | BBQ on the Bow | 2017-09-02 |
| -2.6 | Battle of the Bones | 2014-06-20 |
| -0.1 | BBQ on the Bow | 2015-09-05 |
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 55% | 93.2% | 93.2% |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 69% | 84% | 84% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 51% | 87.8% | 87.8% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 60% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 19% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-04 | Smoke in the Outfield (BACKYARD) (TEAM REGISTRATION FULL) Madison, AL | 32 / 58 (335.3828) | 42 (165.1084) | 28 (170.2744) | — | — |
| 2017-09-02 | BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T2W3J6 | 29 / 42 (604.5028) | 24 (156.5944) | 25 (150.2856) | 25 (154.2628) | 36 (143.3600) |
| 2015-09-05 | BBQ on the Bow Calgary, AB | 18 / 35 (631.9772) | 13 (168.5944) | 18 (154.8684) | 33 (145.1084) | 9 (163.4060) |
| 2014-06-20 | Battle of the Bones Central Point, OR | 9 / 15 (630.3084) | 5 (161.7372) | 10 (157.7028) | 9 (155.4400) | 8 (155.4284) |
| 2013-08-31 | BBQ on the Bow Calgary, Alberta, CA | 5 / 26 (629.8176) | 11 (158.8916) | 18 (140.6172) | 4 (164.5600) | 3 (165.7488) |