Giant slayer
41
teams beaten in one weekend
Took the Grand Championship over a 41-team field at Cattlemen's BBQ Competition.
- Jul 13, 2013
PLAYING WITH FIRE
PLAYING WITH FIRE is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2017. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Cattlemen's BBQ Competition (2013). They are ranked #2796 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1511
peak 1525 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
May 10, 2013
latest Feb 18, 2017 · 3.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
0 reserve · wins it all 17% of the time
Category wins
2
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
33% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 46%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
644.61 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 637.66 (+6.96)
Walk rate
83%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±24.74
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 166.17 · weakest Brisket (152.27)
Road miles
1,639
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 1,612 mi
Schedule strength
10%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1514)
Master avg
637.66 / 720
6 Master contests · 1 GC
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #1970 (75 pts) | #2073 (75 pts) | #2043 (75 pts) | #2080 (75 pts) | #2034 (75 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to PLAYING WITH FIRE, each with one reason worth a look.
125 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,799 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1515
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,797 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1514
They turned up 7 years after PLAYING WITH FIRE did, first appearing in 2020.
⚔ Compare careers#2,802 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1511
Level with PLAYING WITH FIRE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,785 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1517
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,788 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1517
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,807 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1520
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocineros del Este | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke'Em All | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ FREAKS | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 172 | 152 | 159.23 | top 49% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 176.5944 | 147.3940 | 159.98 | top 49% |
| Pork | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 177.7028 | 150.8570 | 166.17 | top 25% |
| Brisket | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 166.2628 | 141.7032 | 152.27 | 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) | 4 | 0 | top 52% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 1 | top 33% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2013
2 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
1.2
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
PR
4 of 6 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited
6
a different one every time
First title
Jul 13, 2013
Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
Opponents faced
165
finished ahead 123 times, behind 90
Longest layoff
1 yrs
Feb 21, 2014 → Feb 21, 2015
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20171 milestone
- Most recent contest Smoking Hot BBQ CoCo Beach
20151 milestone
- Peak power rating (1525) Smokin' Hot BBQ San Juan Puerto Rico
201311 milestones
- First tracked contest Green Lane Fire CO's
- First call Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First overall podium Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First Grand Championship Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First multi-meat day Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score675.4056 Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- Biggest field won (41 teams) Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- Career-best overall score675.4056 Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Pork)177.7028 Cattlemen's BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.2 | Cattlemen's BBQ Competition | Jul 13, 2013 |
| +6.7 | Smokin' Hot BBQ San Juan Puerto Rico | Feb 21, 2015 |
| +6.2 | Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition | Feb 21, 2014 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.1 | Smoking Hot BBQ CoCo Beach | Feb 18, 2017 |
| -4.7 | 9th Annual Smoking Hot BBQ San Juan | Feb 20, 2016 |
| -4.2 | Green Lane Fire CO's | May 10, 2013 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 78% | 85.3% | 85.3% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 68% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 30% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 32% | 90.1% | 90.1% |
| 2013 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% | top 33% | 93.8% | 88.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2017 | Smoking Hot BBQ CoCo Beach Rio Grande | 18 / 23 (614.1940) | 14 (159.4056) | 22 (147.3940) | 5 (165.6912) | 22 (141.7032) |
| Feb 20, 2016 | 9th Annual Smoking Hot BBQ San Juan San Juan, PR | 19 / 28 (629.6456) | 22 (152) | 14 (164.5256) | 10 (164.5600) | 22 (148.5600) |
| Feb 21, 2015 | Smokin' Hot BBQ San Juan Puerto Rico San Juan, PR | 10 / 33 (654.7884) | 12 (164.5484) | 10 (164.5600) | 2 (171.9656) | 21 (153.7144) |
| Feb 21, 2014 | Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition San Juan, PR | 12 / 38 (649.0396) | 2 (172) | 20 (158.2628) | 9 (166.2284) | 19 (152.5484) |
| Jul 13, 2013 | Cattlemen's BBQ Competition San Juan, PR | 1 / 41 (675.4056) | 19 (154.8456) | 1 (176.5944) | 1 (177.7028) | 5 (166.2628) |
| May 10, 2013 | Green Lane Fire CO's Green Lane, PA | 37 / 58 (602.8572) | 37 (152.5714) | 35 (148.5716) | 34 (150.8570) | 31 (150.8572) |