4 SMOKIN' BUTTS

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1404

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1570

peak 1605 · rated over 22 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s · 2 straight GCs

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-03-15

latest 2021-05-01

Best ToY finish

#155

Master 2013

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

15 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 23 contests

Avg finish

top 38%

overall standings

Best overall

683.9656 / 720

Master · Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

648.47 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 661.86 (-13.39)

Walk rate

78%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

180.0000 🔥

Pork Ribs · Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest

Consistency

±17.37

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 168.03 · weakest Pork (162.44)

Road miles

3,494

mi across 23 mapped stops · furthest 287 mi

Schedule strength

34%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1545)

Purse competed for

$17K

listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.86 / 720

23 Master contests · 2 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (17 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 heartbreaker

3.3600 points from the title

Came within 3.3600 points of the Grand Championship at Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest (2013-08-23).

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180s

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.

Pork Ribs ×1

Giant slayer

32 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 32-team field at Knights of Columbus.

2013-06-21

A multi-meat day

1 contests with 2+ category wins

They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 3 category wins at Knights of Columbus (2013-06-21).

Chicken 1st
Pork Ribs 1st
Brisket 1st

They almost always walk

78% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 18 of 23 contests

A top-10 category call in 78% of their 23 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

683.9656 career-best overall

95.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 683.9656 at Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest — 95.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
2013-08-23

Their season

2013 2 Grand Championships

2013 was the year it came together: 12 contests, 2 Grand Championships and 6 category wins, at an average finish in the top 26%.

12 contests
7 overall top-10s
6 category wins
average top 26%

A tough matchup

8–1 behind in the head-to-head

GILLY'S BBQ ahead in 89% of their meetings

GILLY'S BBQ has come out ahead in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.6 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.59 points below their brisket, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 57%.

Pork avg 162.44
Brisket avg 168.03
4 calls in 23 entries

The drought

15 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Knights of Columbus on 2013-06-21 — 15 contests and 13.2 years ago.

last GC 2013-06-21
13.2 years ago

A strong matchup

8–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 89% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BOSS HAWG BBQ in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

The comeback

5.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 5.1 years, then back at Covid-Que Relief (Day 1) (2020-06-19).

last seen 2015-05-15
back 2020-06-19

Brisket nemesis

7 of 7 shared brisket entries lost

One2BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, One2BBQ has out-cooked them in 7 of 7 shared brisket entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 23% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 23% across 3 contests, versus top 38% the rest of the year.

3 September contests
top 38% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,494 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,494 miles across 23 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 287 miles to Covid-Que Relief (Day 1).

23 mapped stops
furthest 287 mi

The metronome

±2.41% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.41% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.9% of a perfect score
23 contests

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.

50 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

SMOKIN SUZY

#1406 of the rated field

1570 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1570

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to 4 SMOKIN' BUTTS)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 4 SMOKIN' BUTTS has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 25 contests
last seen 2017-09-01

⚔ Head-to-head

SOUTHERN SMOKED SWINE

#1402 of the rated field

1570 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 37%
Peak: 1583

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to 4 SMOKIN' BUTTS)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 6 years before 4 SMOKIN' BUTTS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 19 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

HUNTER'S HOT ASH BBQ

#1407 of the rated field

1570 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 32%
Peak: 1570

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 19 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 19 contests
last seen 2026-06-12

⚔ Head-to-head

THE DUTCH BBQ CREW

#1400 of the rated field

1570 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1570

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 18 contests to 23, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2019-09-07
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Royal Schmidt's BBQ competition team

#1403 of the rated field

1570 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 35
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1592

No shared contest yet.

35 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 43% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 35 contests
last seen 2025-07-26

⚔ Head-to-head

BUCKAROO BBQ

#1405 of the rated field

1570 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 35
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1607

No shared contest yet.

Level with 4 SMOKIN' BUTTS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 35 contests
last seen 2019-04-26

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
BOSS HAWG BBQ	9	8	1	89%	⚔ compare
PITMASTERIQ BBQ	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
GILLY'S BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
SHAKE 'N BAKE BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
ALL IN QUE	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
One2BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
I QUE & BREW	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
RIPPEL-QUE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
OKLAHOMA JOE'S SERIOUS QUE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' BUTTS	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
A PIGS WORST NIGHTMARE	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare
IN DEEP SAUCE	5	3	2	60%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	23	7	2	3	177.7028	153.7142	166.77	top 44%
Pork Ribs	23	7	2	3	180.0000 🔥	141.6228	164.61	top 44%
Pork	23	4	0	2	176.0000	145.1426	162.44	top 57%
Brisket	23	13	2	7	178.3200	142.1944	168.03	top 31%

“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
MO	15	0	top 36%
IL	4	2	top 15%
IN	2	0	top 97%
KY	1	0	top 38%
OK	1	0	top 40%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	12	2	top 34%
Large (40+)	11	0	top 42%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Covid-Que Relief (Day 2)	2	61	top 97%	2020-06-20
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	11	top 43%	2015-05-15
Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff	2	8	top 27%	2014-04-04

The story so far (21 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 8.1 yrs 2013-03-15 → 2021-05-01

Busiest season 2013 12 contests · 2 GCs

Contests a season 4.6 across 5 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MO 15 of 23 contests · 5 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 20 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 23 entries · 2 wins · 7 calls

Strongest meat Brisket averages 168.03 · weakest Pork (162.44)

Walk rate 78% a top-10 call in 18 of 23 contests

Overall top-10 rate 39% 9 of 23 contests

Wins it all 9% 2 Grand Championships · 1 reserve

First title 2013-06-14 Southern Pride Invitational (Competitor's Series)

Best top-10 run 7 straight contests

Master average 661.86 out of 720 · 23 contests · 2 GCs

Perfect 180s 1 every judge at the table handing back a nine

Opponents faced 596 582–375 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 3,494 23 mapped stops · furthest 287 mi

Schedule strength 1545 average field rating faced — tougher than 34% of rated contests

Purse competed for $17,000 listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 5.1 yrs 2015-05-15 → 2020-06-19

Power rating 1570 peak 1605 · #1404 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Mar 15 First tracked contest Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK
Mar 15 First call Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK
Mar 15 First overall past 90% of a perfect score667.9994 Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK
Apr 5 First overall top-10 Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff
Jun 14 First category win (Chicken) Southern Pride Invitational (Competitor's Series)
Jun 14 First overall podium Southern Pride Invitational (Competitor's Series)
Jun 14 First Grand Championship Southern Pride Invitational (Competitor's Series)
Jun 21 First multi-meat day Knights of Columbus
Jun 21 Biggest field won (32 teams) Knights of Columbus
Aug 23 First Reserve Championship Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest
Aug 23 First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest
Aug 23 Career-best overall score683.9656 Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest
Sep 13 10th tracked contest Q the Lou
2015
May 15 Peak power rating (1605) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
2021
May 1 Most recent contest 39th Annual Kennett Jaycees Show Me State BBQ Cook Off

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.1	Knights of Columbus	2013-06-21
+13.9	Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest	2013-08-23
+10.6	Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff	2013-04-05
+10	22nd Annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest	2014-08-22
+9.9	Q the Lou	2013-09-13

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.2	Covid-Que Relief (Day 1)	2020-06-19
-13.1	Covid-Que Relief (Day 2)	2020-06-20
-6.5	39th Annual Kennett Jaycees Show Me State BBQ Cook Off	2021-05-01
-4.3	Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest	2013-04-19
-1.4	Columbia Elks Lodge # 594 BBQ Contest	2020-10-17

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2021	1	0	0	0	0%	top 75%	90.8%	90.8%
2020	3	0	0	0	33%	top 86%	94.6%	89.4%
2015	1	0	0	0	100%	top 37%	91.3%	91.3%
2014	6	0	2	0	83%	top 32%	93.5%	92.8%
2013	12	2	7	6	92%	top 26%	95%	92.3%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021-05-01	39th Annual Kennett Jaycees Show Me State BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Kennett, MO	24 / 32 (653.5540)	22 (162.8228)	19 (165.6916)	27 (160.5140)	23 (164.5256)
2020-10-17	Columbia Elks Lodge # 594 BBQ Contest 🏅 Columbia, MO	24 / 38 (681.1544)	33 (166.8800)	19 (168.5944)	24 (169.1200)	2 (176.5600)
2020-06-20	Covid-Que Relief (Day 2) Franklin, IN	61 / 63 (643.9312)	56 (162.8456)	41 (162.8572)	61 (158.2628)	55 (159.9656)
2020-06-19	Covid-Que Relief (Day 1) Franklin, IN	67 / 69 (606.6516)	55 (162.2856)	69 (141.6228)	52 (160.5488)	68 (142.1944)
2015-05-15	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO	11 / 30 (657.0740)	14 (167.4056)	18 (161.7028)	21 (157.1428)	7 (170.8228)
2014-10-17	Casino Queen BBQ Competition Greater St. Louis, IL	15 / 44 (668.5028)	2 (177.7028)	27 (162.2972)	27 (162.8228)	20 (165.6800)
2014-09-26	Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival Hermann, MO	12 / 37 (673.0168)	25 (164.5256)	22 (165.6684)	3 (176.0000)	14 (166.8228)
2014-08-22	22nd Annual Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO	6 / 52 (671.3832)	11 (169.7144)	3 (174.2744)	10 (168.5716)	25 (158.8228)
2014-05-02	Columbia Elks Lodge #594 BBQ Contest Columbia, MO	14 / 35 (666.7772)	18 (166.8228)	13 (166.8572)	17 (166.2744)	15 (166.8228)
2014-04-11	6th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO	18 / 46 (659.9084)	4 (173.7028)	25 (161.1544)	16 (167.3828)	30 (157.6684)
2014-04-04	Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff Kennett, MO	8 / 22 (669.0168)	18 (162.7884)	9 (168.0000)	13 (164.5256)	4 (173.7028)
2013-11-08	1st Annual BBQ BIVOUAC St. James, MO	10 / 33 (673.0400)	15 (168.5372)	17 (164.5372)	8 (170.8228)	7 (169.1428)
2013-09-27	Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival Hermann, MO	6 / 39 (673.1200)	11 (169.7028)	19 (163.4400)	26 (161.6572)	1 (178.3200)
2013-09-13	Q the Lou Litchfield, IL	5 / 25 (664.5144)	6 (166.8228)	21 (150.2516)	2 (174.8456)	2 (172.5944)
2013-08-23	Cape Jaycees BBQ Fest Cape Girardeau, MO	2 / 56 (683.9656)	5 (170.2628)	1 (180.0000)	29 (158.2972)	3 (175.4056)
2013-06-21	Knights of Columbus Quincy, IL	1 / 32 (677.1426)	1 (170.2858)	1 (172.5712)	18 (158.2856)	1 (176.0000)
2013-06-14	Southern Pride Invitational (Competitor's Series) unrated Marion, IL	1 / 29 (667.9998)	1 (172.5714)	6 (164.0000)	12 (161.1426)	2 (170.2858)
2013-06-07	SMOKIN on the Summit Lees Summit, MO	22 / 81 (651.4284)	18 (166.2856)	4 (172.5716)	76 (145.1426)	14 (167.4286)
2013-05-03	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour St. Charles, MO	15 / 30 (649.1426)	12 (166.2856)	18 (158.8572)	28 (152.5712)	6 (171.4286)
2013-04-19	Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO	31 / 50 (627.9994)	35 (153.7142)	23 (158.8572)	33 (153.1424)	16 (162.2856)
2013-04-05	Kennett Jaycee's Show Me State BBQ Cookoff Kennett, MO	8 / 44 (678.2854)	6 (171.4284)	28 (162.8572)	23 (166.8570)	3 (177.1428)
2013-03-29	Benton KY Kiwanis Barbeque Kook Off Benton, KY	15 / 40 (657.1422)	28 (161.1426)	8 (168.5714)	34 (156.5712)	8 (170.8570)
2013-03-15	Smokin' At The Run Miami, OK Miami, OK	22 / 55 (667.9994)	40 (161.1426)	14 (170.8570)	29 (165.7142)	10 (170.2856)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021 ↗	Master	#1226 (62 pts)	#1246 (72 pts)	#1212 (87 pts)	#1518 (57 pts)	#1220 (67 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#639 (125 pts)	#696 (120 pts)	#636 (150 pts)	#682 (125 pts)	#372 (320 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1636 (125 pts)	#1935 (110 pts)	#2031 (90 pts)	#2139 (75 pts)	#1556 (160 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#654 (565 pts)	#737 (510 pts)	#711 (530 pts)	#628 (610 pts)	#783 (460 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#155 (1608 pts)	#150 (1453 pts)	#140 (1534 pts)	#295 (1003 pts)	#65 (2088 pts)