The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Smell My Smoke BBQ has finished one call ahead of TKO BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
TKO BBQ
TKO BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 53rd of 54 at The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake (2014). They are ranked #5879 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1440
peak 1440 · rated over 5 contests
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
Apr 11, 2014
latest Jul 6, 2023 · 9.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 99%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
0%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±160.05
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 135.63 · weakest Pork (84.41)
Road miles
774
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 774 mi
Schedule strength
52%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)
Purse competed for
$90K
listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Master avg
311.76 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to TKO BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
77 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,881 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1440
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,892 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 8 years before TKO BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,875 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1440
Level with TKO BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,873 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1440
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2014.
⚔ Compare careers#5,885 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1439
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before TKO BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,865 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1440
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146.2400 | 20 | 92.99 | top 97% |
| Pork Ribs | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147.9772 | 20 | 96.99 | top 97% |
| Pork | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 151.3712 | 20 | 84.41 | top 98% |
| Brisket | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146.7884 | 124.4800 | 135.63 | top 92% |
“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
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina Festival of Discovery | 2 | 76 | 0 | top 99% | Jul 6, 2023 |
| SC Festival of Discovery | 2 | 81 | 0 | top 99% | Jul 9, 2021 |
More numbers
Contests a season
1
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
SC
4 of 5 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
3
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
236
finished ahead 3 times, behind 387
Longest layoff
5.3 yrs
Apr 11, 2014 → Jul 12, 2019
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20232 milestones
- Career-best single call (Pork)151.3712 South Carolina Festival of Discovery
- Most recent contest South Carolina Festival of Discovery
20143 milestones
- First tracked contest The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake
- Career-best overall score587.2684 The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake
- Peak power rating (1486) The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.9 | The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake | Apr 11, 2014 |
| -12.6 | SC Festival of Discovery | Jul 9, 2021 |
| -11.9 | SC Festival of Discovery | Jul 12, 2019 |
| -11.7 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery | Jul 7, 2022 |
| -10.4 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery | Jul 6, 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 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 54.2% | 54.2% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 99% | 34.2% | 34.2% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 100% | 22.8% | 22.8% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 99% | 23.6% | 23.6% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 81.6% | 81.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2023 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 76 / 76 (390.4224) | 76 (138.8000) | 76 (100.2512) | 73 (151.3712) | — |
| Jul 7, 2022 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 91 / 92 (246.3996) | 88 (139.9084) | 89 (86.4912) | 91 (20) | — |
| Jul 9, 2021 | SC Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 81 / 81 (164.4800) | 81 (20) | 80 (20) | — | 80 (124.4800) |
| Jul 12, 2019 | SC Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 82 / 83 (170.2400) | 81 (20) | 79 (130.2400) | 82 (20) | — |
| Apr 11, 2014 | The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake Smithville, MO | 53 / 54 (587.2684) | 50 (146.2400) | 51 (147.9772) | 52 (146.2628) | 46 (146.7884) |