The heartbreaker
Came within 0.0002 points of the Grand Championship at Polar Bear Challenge (2013-02-22).
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Came within 0.0002 points of the Grand Championship at Polar Bear Challenge (2013-02-22).
In the top 8% of every rated team in the data
A power rating of 1678 puts them #493 of 6,413 rated teams — the top 8% of the field.
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 73 times in 100
Their Grand Championship at Rock'n Freedom (2015-06-19) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 27-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, THE AMERICAN DREAM BBQ.
Took the Grand Championship over a 55-team field at Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK.
Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest is their spot: an average finish in the top 12% across 2 visits.
A call in 44 of 54 contests
A top-10 category call in 81% of their 54 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
97.2% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 699.9888 at Rock'n Freedom — 97.2% of a perfect 720.
GILLY'S BBQ has finished one call ahead of BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
2013 was the year it came together: 19 contests, 4 Grand Championships and 6 category wins, at an average finish in the top 16%.
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ ahead in 85% of their meetings
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ has come out ahead in 28 of their 33 shared contests.
Their last Grand Championship came at Rock'n Freedom on 2015-06-19 — 17 contests and 11.2 years ago.
Ahead in 80% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of SMOKIN' BUTTS in 12 of their 15 shared contests.
Finished 2 of 46 at their very first tracked contest, Polar Bear Challenge (2013-02-22).
Redneck Grillers has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Something about March: average finish in the top 19% across 4 contests, versus top 30% the rest of the year.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 11,304 miles across 54 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,286 miles to World Food Championships - World Barbecue Championship(Competitor's Series).
They've cooked Sam's Club National BBQ Tour every year from 2013 to 2017 — the contest they never miss.
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.
They've been 1708 at their best, 30 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headA longer road to the same neighbourhood — 86 contests to 54.
⚔ Head-to-headThese two have cooked 3 of the same contests — WINK'S BARBEQUE ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 76 contests, alongside a 26% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headBoth teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ | 33 | 5 | 28 | 15% | ⚔ compare |
| OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ | 28 | 8 | 20 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| PITMASTERIQ BBQ | 26 | 12 | 14 | 46% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN O BBQ | 22 | 12 | 10 | 55% | ⚔ compare |
| ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ | 22 | 10 | 12 | 45% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKE THIS BBQ MO | 21 | 9 | 12 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 21 | 5 | 16 | 24% | ⚔ compare |
| GILLY'S BBQ | 21 | 3 | 18 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| BRICKHEAD BBQ | 17 | 8 | 9 | 47% | ⚔ compare |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | 17 | 6 | 11 | 35% | ⚔ compare |
| OKLAHOMA JOE'S SERIOUS QUE | 16 | 6 | 10 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' BUTTS | 15 | 12 | 3 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| RIPPEL-QUE | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| HOG TIDE BAR-B-QUE | 15 | 5 | 10 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Shootin' Smoke | 14 | 8 | 6 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 53 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 179.4400 | 149.1544 | 168.49 | top 39% |
| Pork Ribs | 54 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 178.8800 | 152.5256 | 166.84 | top 39% |
| Pork | 54 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 178.8572 | 156.5256 | 167.41 | top 41% |
| Brisket | 53 | 33 | 6 | 13 | 178.8572 | 157.1200 | 170.27 | top 25% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 39 | 4 | top 29% |
| OK | 5 | 1 | top 32% |
| IL | 4 | 0 | top 31% |
| AR | 3 | 0 | top 35% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 46% |
| KY | 1 | 0 | top 13% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 24 | 2 | top 27% |
| Large (40+) | 29 | 3 | top 32% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 5 | 6 | 0 | top 26% | 2017-05-05 |
| Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 23% | 2016-04-15 |
| *Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest | 2 | 5 | 0 | top 56% | 2018-04-20 |
| Hott Butts BBQ Contest | 2 | 4 | 0 | top 24% | 2016-06-03 |
| Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 12% | 2015-08-21 |
| Laurie Hillbilly BBQ | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 30% | 2015-07-31 |
| Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 34% | 2015-05-01 |
| Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff | 2 | 2 | 0 | top 16% | 2014-04-04 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.4 | Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK | 2013-03-15 |
| +15.3 | Polar Bear Challenge | 2013-02-22 |
| +13.8 | Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest | 2013-04-19 |
| +13 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) | 2017-09-22 |
| +13 | 6th Annual Wellsville BBQ Cookoff | 2013-07-12 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -21.7 | *Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest | 2018-04-20 |
| -11.8 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open | 2015-10-03 |
| -9.4 | Q'ing for a Cause | 2015-09-04 |
| -7.7 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) | 2015-09-25 |
| -6.6 | 22nd Annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest | 2014-08-22 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 100% | 68.8% | 68.8% |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 80% | top 29% | 96.1% | 95% |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 40% | 93.1% | 92.5% |
| 2015 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 69% | top 38% | 97.2% | 93.2% |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 77% | top 33% | 95.8% | 93.1% |
| 2013 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 89% | top 16% | 96.4% | 93.8% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-04-20 | *Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest Washington, MO | 40 / 40 (495.3028) | 6 (173.1200) | 19 (164.5256) | 34 (157.6572) | — |
| 2017-10-06 | National Pro BBQ Tour Championship Bentonville, AR | 34 / 50 (684.4916) | 17 (176.0116) | 47 (164.5372) | 34 (169.6800) | 12 (174.2628) |
| 2017-09-22 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Edmond, OK | 6 / 30 (691.9884) | 2 (178.8800) | 8 (176.0000) | 24 (167.9772) | 18 (169.1312) |
| 2017-07-07 | 10th Annual Wellsville BBQ Cookoff Wellsville, MO | 6 / 25 (682.7656) | 17 (166.8228) | 7 (173.1200) | 7 (169.6800) | 3 (173.1428) |
| 2017-05-05 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 6 / 29 (675.3484) | 11 (171.4284) | 21 (160.5256) | 13 (167.3944) | 1 (176.0000) |
| 2017-04-21 | Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest Washington, MO | 5 / 40 (684.4684) | 20 (166.2400) | 30 (161.6684) | 2 (178.8572) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2016-06-03 | Hott Butts BBQ Contest Boonville, MO | 8 / 22 (670.1940) | 16 (159.3828) | 1 (174.3200) | 8 (167.3828) | 4 (169.1084) |
| 2016-05-06 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 12 / 30 (668.4572) | 18 (168.5600) | 13 (166.2400) | 10 (169.6800) | 16 (163.9772) |
| 2016-04-15 | Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO | 23 / 53 (658.8000) | 31 (165.7028) | 28 (160.5944) | 9 (171.4056) | 26 (161.0972) |
| 2015-10-03 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO | 353 / 606 (646.6740) | 226 (166.8228) | 504 (152.5256) | 358 (162.2400) | 242 (165.0856) |
| 2015-10-02 | 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO | 109 / 187 (672.5256) | 127 (166.8344) | 69 (170.2628) | 156 (161.7028) | 37 (173.7256) |
| 2015-09-25 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Midwest City, OK | 23 / 30 (660.9940) | 18 (167.3712) | 11 (170.2628) | 24 (163.9772) | 26 (159.3828) |
| 2015-09-04 | Q'ing for a Cause Columbia, MO | 14 / 21 (661.0512) | 17 (166.2628) | 12 (166.2972) | 11 (166.8112) | 16 (161.6800) |
| 2015-08-21 | Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO | 11 / 58 (666.2172) | 17 (165.1316) | 24 (162.8228) | 23 (162.8228) | 1 (175.4400) |
| 2015-07-31 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Laurie, MO | 9 / 38 (681.6340) | 13 (171.9772) | 5 (172.5828) | 21 (166.2284) | 9 (170.8456) |
| 2015-07-10 | 8th Annual Wellsville BBQ Cookoff Wellsville, MO | 15 / 31 (662.1828) | 13 (166.8228) | 6 (170.2628) | 22 (162.2628) | 19 (162.8344) |
| 2015-06-26 | 3rd Annual Willard Freedom Feast BBQ Cook-Off Willard, MO | 12 / 31 (675.8860) | 6 (174.2744) | 8 (170.8344) | 23 (159.9428) | 8 (170.8344) |
| 2015-06-19 | Rock'n Freedom Seymour, MO | 1 / 36 (699.9888) | 2 (177.1544) | 8 (171.4288) | 5 (175.4056) | 3 (176.0000) |
| 2015-06-05 | Hott Butts BBQ Contest Boonville, MO | 4 / 32 (681.6572) | 10 (168.5600) | 12 (165.6800) | 2 (176.5600) | 5 (170.8572) |
| 2015-05-15 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 6 / 30 (674.2172) | 7 (171.4288) | 5 (171.4400) | 12 (162.2284) | 10 (169.1200) |
| 2015-05-01 | Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest Columbia, MO | 17 / 37 (667.9084) | 6 (172.5600) | 33 (153.6800) | 3 (175.4400) | 18 (166.2284) |
| 2015-04-17 | 7th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO | 10 / 49 (672.4796) | 9 (169.1200) | 33 (159.3712) | 8 (170.2628) | 7 (173.7256) |
| 2014-10-02 | 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO | 162 / 552 (666.7660) | 293 (164.5372) | 167 (168.5372) | 201 (166.8344) | 167 (166.8572) |
| 2014-10-02 | 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO | 88 / 165 (669.6344) | 94 (167.3828) | 64 (169.7144) | 151 (156.5256) | 21 (176.0116) |
| 2014-09-18 | Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-Off Murphysboro, IL | 16 / 57 (675.8968) | 13 (170.8456) | 47 (160.4912) | 9 (172.5944) | 12 (171.9656) |
| 2014-08-22 | 22nd Annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO | 27 / 52 (642.2516) | 43 (149.1544) | 10 (169.1544) | 14 (166.8228) | 29 (157.1200) |
| 2014-08-01 | Laurie Hillbilly BBQ Laurie, MO | 17 / 47 (666.7428) | 30 (165.1200) | 16 (168.5372) | 33 (161.6456) | 5 (171.4400) |
| 2014-07-11 | 7th Annual Wellsville BBQ Cookoff Wellsville, MO | 22 / 41 (660.4340) | 32 (160.5372) | 12 (170.2856) | 18 (167.3712) | 23 (162.2400) |
| 2014-05-09 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 8 / 30 (682.7656) | 15 (166.8228) | 6 (170.2628) | 14 (168.5372) | 1 (177.1428) |
| 2014-05-02 | Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest Columbia, MO | 8 / 35 (673.6456) | 24 (164.0000) | 9 (169.6684) | 16 (166.2744) | 5 (173.7028) |
| 2014-04-25 | Wabash Ribberfest Barbecue Championship Mt. Carmel, IL | 17 / 50 (662.2284) | 42 (155.4056) | 29 (160.0000) | 15 (167.9656) | 1 (178.8572) |
| 2014-04-11 | 6th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO | 12 / 46 (672.0112) | 27 (161.1428) | 22 (162.2856) | 2 (178.2972) | 11 (170.2856) |
| 2014-04-04 | Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff Kennett, MO | 2 / 22 (682.2056) | 1 (175.4172) | 12 (167.3828) | 11 (165.7028) | 5 (173.7028) |
| 2014-03-15 | Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK | 13 / 72 (689.6572) | 33 (171.9772) | 33 (168.5600) | 35 (170.2628) | 3 (178.8572) |
| 2014-03-14 | Smokin' At The Run Shootout Miami, OK | 19 / 43 (666.2400) | 40 (160.5256) | 22 (163.4172) | 3 (172.5944) | 5 (169.7028) |
| 2013-12-06 | Calhoun KOA's (GBC Qualifier) Calhoun, GA | 30 / 65 (674.1252) | 47 (167.3828) | 29 (168.5256) | 42 (165.1084) | 17 (173.1084) |
| 2013-11-07 | World Food Championships - World Barbecue Championship(Competitor's Series) Las Vegas, NV | — | — | 10 (173.7256) | 39 (162.8228) | 37 (159.9428) |
| 2013-09-27 | Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival Hermann, MO | 1 / 39 (689.1772) | 1 (179.4400) | 7 (169.1772) | 5 (170.8800) | 6 (169.6800) |
| 2013-09-20 | Bikes Blues & BBQ Fayetteville, AR | 13 / 49 (682.2288) | 27 (164.5600) | 17 (169.6916) | 11 (171.4172) | 5 (176.5600) |
| 2013-09-13 | Q the Lou Litchfield, IL | 10 / 25 (642.7196) | 15 (159.9428) | 17 (153.1084) | 9 (164.5484) | 6 (165.1200) |
| 2013-09-06 | Smoke On The River Quincy, IL | 6 / 28 (671.9656) | 1 (173.7372) | 12 (164.5484) | 19 (163.4056) | 4 (170.2744) |
| 2013-08-23 | Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO | 3 / 56 (680.9940) | 15 (168.5256) | 4 (174.2628) | 9 (170.8228) | 9 (167.3828) |
| 2013-08-16 | BBQ and Fly In on the River Excelsior Springs, MO | 32 / 66 (648.4228) | 31 (162.8228) | 22 (165.1200) | 53 (158.2172) | 29 (162.2628) |
| 2013-07-26 | Racing For The BBQ Lee's Summit, MO | 2 / 58 (684.4912) | 7 (171.9656) | 5 (173.7028) | 12 (169.7028) | 9 (169.1200) |
| 2013-07-19 | Smokin' on the River Glasgow, MO | 2 / 36 (683.9772) | 11 (168.5600) | 5 (169.1544) | 5 (170.8228) | 3 (175.4400) |
| 2013-07-12 | 6th Annual Wellsville BBQ Cookoff Wellsville, MO | 1 / 42 (689.1084) | 7 (171.9772) | 1 (178.8800) | 16 (167.9884) | 9 (170.2628) |
| 2013-05-10 | 2013 Optimist Kick-Off Cook-Off Florissant, MO | 3 / 25 (662.8570) | 3 (168.5714) | 13 (159.4284) | 13 (160.5714) | 1 (174.2858) |
| 2013-05-03 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO | 7 / 30 (664.5712) | 5 (170.2858) | 12 (163.4284) | 19 (161.7140) | 8 (169.1430) |
| 2013-04-26 | Smokin' in the Ozarks Rogers, AR | 4 / 34 (681.1428) | 2 (177.7144) | 17 (164.0000) | 8 (169.1428) | 6 (170.2856) |
| 2013-04-19 | Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO | 1 / 50 (678.2856) | 11 (167.9998) | 14 (165.1426) | 2 (174.2860) | 2 (170.8572) |
| 2013-04-05 | Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff Kennett, MO | 10 / 44 (676.5708) | 8 (170.8570) | 33 (161.1426) | 15 (169.1426) | 4 (175.4286) |
| 2013-03-29 | Benton KY Kiwanis Barbeque Kook Off Benton, KY | 5 / 40 (671.4284) | 15 (169.1430) | 12 (166.2856) | 31 (159.4284) | 2 (176.5714) |
| 2013-03-15 | Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK Miami, OK | 1 / 55 (694.2856) | 4 (174.2858) | 8 (172.0000) | 11 (171.9998) | 1 (176.0000) |
| 2013-02-22 | Polar Bear Challenge Columbia, MO | 2 / 46 (685.1424) | 1 (178.8572) | 6 (170.8570) | 7 (170.8570) | 26 (164.5712) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1954 (60 pts) | #1377 (175 pts) | #1869 (90 pts) | #2030 (60 pts) | — |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #513 (749 pts) | #610 (654 pts) | #804 (499 pts) | #624 (649 pts) | #389 (979 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #200 (1500 pts) | #190 (1469 pts) | #229 (1325 pts) | #211 (1355 pts) | #185 (1565 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #244 (1349 pts) | #355 (1030 pts) | #307 (1144 pts) | #191 (1437 pts) | #94 (1953 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #15 (2672 pts) | #34 (2268 pts) | #88 (1808 pts) | #104 (1688 pts) | #28 (2325 pts) |