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MIDNIGHT STOKERS

MIDNIGHT STOKERS is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2016. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Smokin' on Oak (2014), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #466 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#466
of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1685
peak 1685 · rated over 31 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

32
in the data

First seen

Apr 19, 2013
latest Oct 21, 2016 · 3.5 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#269
Master 2014 · every season

Grand champs

1
1 reserve · wins it all 3% of the time

Category wins

2
11 podiums

Overall top-10s

15
47% of 32 contests

Best top-10 run

4
straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 26%
overall standings

Best overall

690.8572 / 720
Master · Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

678.68 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 669.48 (+9.20)

Walk rate

72%
contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥
Chicken · Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship

Consistency

±16.66
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork
avg 168.84 · weakest Brisket (164.89)

Road miles

1,015
across 32 mapped stops · furthest 63 mi

Schedule strength

30%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1541)

State championships

0 🏅
won from 5 state-championship entries

Master avg

669.48 / 720
32 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (16 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Among the elite

#466 of 6,476 rated teams

In the top 7% of every rated team in the data

A power rating of 1685 puts them #466 of 6,476 rated teams — the top 7% of the field.

  • rating 1685
  • peak 1685
  • 31 rated contests

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

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

  • Chicken ×1

On the rise

+47 rating points in a year

Their power rating has climbed 47 points across 9 contests since Apr 8, 2016 — from 1638 up to 1685.

  • 9 contests since Apr 8, 2016
  • now 1685

Giant slayer

30 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 30-team field at Smokin' on Oak.

  • Aug 22, 2014

They almost always walk

72% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 23 of 32 contests

A top-10 category call in 72% of their 32 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

Show 9 more storylines

High-water mark

690.8572 career-best overall

96.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 690.8572 at Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship — 96.0% of a perfect 720.

  • Master
  • Sep 26, 2014

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

DIXIE BOYS BBQ has finished one call ahead of MIDNIGHT STOKERS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

10–1 behind in the head-to-head

JAESTAR BBQ ahead in 91% of their meetings

JAESTAR BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 11 shared contests.

The drought

20 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Smokin' on Oak on Aug 22, 2014 — 20 contests and 12.1 years ago.

  • last GC Aug 22, 2014
  • 12.1 years ago

A strong matchup

14–6 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 70% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Theslabs.com in 14 of their 20 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

8 of 13 shared pork entries lost

Four Men and A Pig ahead 62% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Four Men and A Pig has out-cooked them in 8 of 13 shared pork entries.

A September team

Top 10% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 10% across 4 contests, versus top 26% the rest of the year.

  • 4 September contests
  • top 26% the rest of the year

The metronome

±2.31% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.31% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

  • averages 93.0% of a perfect score
  • 32 contests

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Sertoma 48 BBQ every year from 2013 to 2016 — the contest they never miss.

  • 4 visits in all
  • best finish 5th

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

YearSeriesOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
2016 ↗ Master #317 (1,140 pts) #568 (710 pts) #356 (1,045 pts) #335 (1,090 pts) #470 (875 pts)
2015 ↗ Master #296 (1,182 pts) #389 (967 pts) #361 (1,012 pts) #361 (987 pts) #292 (1,177 pts)
2014 ↗ Master #269 (1,262 pts) #304 (1,127 pts) #396 (962 pts) #216 (1,352 pts) #387 (972 pts)
2013 ↗ Master #423 (721 pts) #496 (651 pts) #398 (786 pts) #413 (776 pts) #499 (641 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MIDNIGHT STOKERS, each with one reason worth a look.

JOUSTING PIGS BBQ
#462 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
48
GCs
0
Top-10s
27%
Peak
1688
3–0 in 3 shared contests (100% to MIDNIGHT STOKERS)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — MIDNIGHT STOKERS ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

  • rated over 48 contests
  • last seen Jun 3, 2022
⚔ Head-to-head
QUETOPIA
#463 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
50
GCs
3
Top-10s
32%
Peak
1698
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to MIDNIGHT STOKERS)

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 50 contests to 32.

  • rated over 48 contests
  • last seen Oct 2, 2020
⚔ Head-to-head
Fine As* Swine BBQ
#465 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
33
GCs
1
Top-10s
73%
Peak
1686

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 32 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

  • rated over 32 contests
  • last seen Sep 12, 2025
  • on a 5-contest top-10 run
⚔ Compare careers
Insomnia BBQ Team
#464 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
30
GCs
5
Top-10s
90%
Peak
1685

Their rating is built on 5 Grand Championships in 30 contests, alongside a 90% overall top-10 rate.

  • rated over 29 contests
  • last seen Oct 18, 2025
  • on a 5-contest top-10 run
⚔ Compare careers
Big Boots BBQ
#467 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
30
GCs
2
Top-10s
60%
Peak
1689

They turned up 5 years after MIDNIGHT STOKERS did, first appearing in 2018.

  • rated over 27 contests
  • last seen May 5, 2023
⚔ Compare careers
DAD'S GRILLIN CREW
#461 of the rated field
1685 power rating
Contests
99
GCs
3
Top-10s
52%
Peak
1775

Level with MIDNIGHT STOKERS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

  • rated over 96 contests
  • last seen May 10, 2024
⚔ Compare careers

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

OpponentMeetingsAheadBehindWin rate
Theslabs.com 20 14 6 70% ⚔ compare
913 BBQ 19 7 12 37% ⚔ compare
B & C SMOKERS 14 9 5 64% ⚔ compare
Sublime BBQ 13 6 7 46% ⚔ compare
Four Men and A Pig 13 4 9 31% ⚔ compare
PASSIONS OF THE PIT 12 10 2 83% ⚔ compare
Dead Last BBQ 12 10 2 83% ⚔ compare
OLD STYLE BBQ 12 6 6 50% ⚔ compare
BLACK EYE BBQ 12 4 8 33% ⚔ compare
THE SMOKING HILLS 12 3 9 25% ⚔ compare
FUNNY FARM BBQ 11 8 3 73% ⚔ compare
BLUE BUCKET BBQ 11 7 4 64% ⚔ compare
HIGH i QUE 11 6 5 55% ⚔ compare
Big Wigs BBQ 11 4 7 36% ⚔ compare
JAESTAR BBQ 11 1 10 9% ⚔ compare

By meat

CategoryEntriesCallsWinsPodiumsBestWorstAverageAvg finish
Chicken 32 9 1 1 180 🔥 152.5488 168.45 top 33%
Pork Ribs 32 11 0 2 177.1544 154.8116 167.30 top 34%
Pork 32 12 1 5 177.7144 143.9428 168.84 top 28%
Brisket 32 9 0 3 178.8800 135.8740 164.89 top 38%

“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

FieldContestsGCsAvg finish
Medium (20–39)51top 23%
Large (40+)270top 27%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

WhereContestsGCsAvg finish
KS291top 27%
MO30top 24%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

ContestVisitsBestGCsAvg finishLast visit
Sertoma 48 BBQ 4 5 0 top 18% May 6, 2016
Cookin on the Kaw 3 7 0 top 23% Oct 7, 2016
Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 3 2 0 top 10% Sep 25, 2015
Smokin' on Oak 2 1 1 top 21% Aug 28, 2015
Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 2 5 0 top 4% Jun 24, 2016
Smoke in the Spring 2 19 0 top 30% Apr 8, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2016 9 contests
Contests a season 8 across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in KS 29 of 32 contests · 2 states in all
Contests visited 22 6 of them more than once
First title Aug 22, 2014 Smokin' on Oak
Opponents faced 1,301 finished ahead 2,213 times, behind 613

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

20163 milestones
  1. 25th tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
  2. Peak power rating (1685) Cookin on the Kaw
  3. Most recent contest Border War Barbeque
20148 milestones
  1. 10th tracked contest Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout
  2. First category win (Pork) Smokin' on Oak
  3. First overall podium Smokin' on Oak
  4. First Grand Championship Smokin' on Oak
  5. Biggest field won (30 teams) Smokin' on Oak
  6. First Reserve Championship Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
  7. First perfect 180 (Chicken) Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
  8. Career-best overall score690.8572 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship
20134 milestones
  1. First tracked contest 5th Annual VFW Post 846 BBQ Challenge (FULL)
  2. First call Sertoma 48 BBQ
  3. First overall past 90% of a perfect score660 Sertoma 48 BBQ
  4. First overall top-10 Wheels 'N' Squeels BBQ Challenge

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

SwingContestDate
+14.7Smokin' on OakAug 22, 2014
+13.6Shawnee Great Grillers State ChampionshipSep 26, 2014
+13.2Wheels 'N' Squeels BBQ ChallengeAug 1, 2013
+12.4Sertoma 48 BBQMay 9, 2014
+11Sertoma 48 BBQMay 8, 2015

📉 Toughest weekends

SwingContestDate
-12.3Wheels 'N' Squeels BBQ ChallengeAug 1, 2014
-11.9Tonganoxie Days BBQ BlowoutJun 13, 2014
-3.4East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots FestivalAug 23, 2013
-1.2Keepers of the Fire BBQ ContestJun 6, 2014
-0.6Border War BarbequeOct 21, 2016

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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

SeasonContestsGCsTop-10sCategory winsWalk rateAvg finishBest overall (% of perfect)Avg overall (% of perfect)
20169040 67% top 25% 95.5% 93.6%
20159050 67% top 21% 95.9% 94.2%
20148142 75% top 34% 96% 92.3%
20136020 83% top 27% 94.5% 91.1%

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

DateEventOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
Oct 21, 2016 Border War Barbeque Osawatomie, KS 17 / 38 (669.0516) 28 (163.3944) 15 (169.1544) 13 (169.1200) 17 (167.3828)
Oct 7, 2016 Cookin on the Kaw DeSoto, KS 19 / 56 (675.9428) 22 (169.7028) 11 (172.0116) 17 (173.1200) 37 (161.1084)
Sep 9, 2016 Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO 7 / 76 (686.2172) 29 (167.3944) 20 (171.4172) 10 (173.1428) 5 (174.2628)
Jul 15, 2016 Wolf Creek Wildblue BBQ Burlington, KS 6 / 46 (687.3828) 10 (170.2744) 13 (170.8572) 6 (174.8456) 9 (171.4056)
Jun 24, 2016 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle-Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 9 / 183 (674.8112) 38 (167.4056) 9 (173.7028) 34 (167.4400) 38 (166.2628)
Jun 3, 2016 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS 12 / 55 (671.3484) 34 (163.3828) 5 (173.1772) 12 (173.1084) 29 (161.6800)
May 6, 2016 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 13 / 42 (672.4916) 27 (165.7028) 20 (167.9888) 5 (173.1200) 17 (165.6800)
Apr 29, 2016 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Overland Park, KS 7 / 30 (671.3144) 9 (171.4288) 11 (168.5372) 10 (167.9656) 15 (163.3828)
Apr 8, 2016 Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS 45 / 109 (657.6344) 51 (165.7372) 50 (163.4060) 43 (166.8112) 53 (161.6800)
Oct 3, 2015 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO 90 / 606 (675.9772) 21 (176.5600) 165 (168.5944) 92 (171.4056) 347 (159.4172)
Oct 2, 2015 36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO 88 / 187 (675.4060) 12 (177.1544) 170 (157.7144) 55 (171.4172) 95 (169.1200)
Sep 25, 2015 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 6 / 112 (690.7884) 17 (170.2628) 21 (171.9772) 3 (177.7028) 17 (170.8456)
Aug 28, 2015 Smokin' on Oak Bonner Springs, KS 16 / 42 (671.9312) 14 (171.9656) 9 (172.5944) 37 (158.2284) 15 (169.1428)
Jun 26, 2015 Great Lenexa BBQ Battle - Kansas State Championship 🏅 Lenexa, KS 5 / 183 (682.2632) 43 (166.2744) 6 (173.7144) 24 (168.5600) 9 (173.7144)
Jun 5, 2015 McLouth BBQ Blowout 24th Annual (JUDGES FULL) McLouth, KS 6 / 33 (682.9144) 5 (173.7028) 22 (160.0344) 13 (170.2972) 2 (178.8800)
May 8, 2015 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 5 / 45 (680.5944) 13 (169.7144) 3 (173.1656) 17 (166.2744) 5 (171.4400)
Apr 24, 2015 Smokin' in the Ville Edwardsville, KS 8 / 29 (674.8112) 17 (165.1428) 11 (167.4172) 3 (172.5484) 9 (169.7028)
Apr 10, 2015 Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS 19 / 97 (670.8000) 19 (170.2628) 33 (165.7372) 40 (164.5372) 13 (170.2628)
Oct 10, 2014 Cookin on the Kaw DeSoto, KS 8 / 46 (681.6684) 8 (174.8456) 10 (172.5600) 13 (170.2972) 24 (163.9656)
Sep 26, 2014 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 2 / 112 (690.8572) 1 (180) 57 (159.9656) 3 (177.7144) 2 (173.1772)
Aug 22, 2014 Smokin' on Oak Bonner Springs, KS 1 / 30 (686.2740) 8 (170.2856) 7 (171.9884) 1 (173.1428) 3 (170.8572)
Aug 1, 2014 Wheels 'N' Squeels BBQ Challenge Olathe, KS 60 / 70 (627.8168) 26 (166.8344) 55 (157.0856) 17 (168.0228) 68 (135.8740)
Jun 13, 2014 Tonganoxie Days BBQ Blowout Tonganoxie, KS 34 / 41 (625.0628) 39 (152.5488) 25 (162.2856) 37 (154.2628) 29 (155.9656)
Jun 6, 2014 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS 27 / 54 (655.9544) 28 (164.5600) 10 (169.7372) 12 (169.1200) 43 (152.5372)
May 9, 2014 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 5 / 54 (677.0856) 21 (166.8228) 6 (169.7372) 3 (174.2744) 20 (166.2512)
Apr 25, 2014 VFW Post 846 6th Annual BBQ Challenge (10 TEAM SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE) Overland Park, KS 15 / 65 (669.6228) 5 (173.7144) 20 (166.8228) 16 (169.1200) 33 (159.9656)
Oct 11, 2013 Cookin' on the Kaw DeSoto, KS 7 / 42 (656.4912) 30 (155.9656) 2 (177.1544) 8 (168) 24 (155.3712)
Sep 27, 2013 Shawnee Great Grillers State Championship 🏅 Shawnee, KS 25 / 114 (659.9316) 31 (166.8228) 77 (154.8116) 9 (172) 20 (166.2972)
Aug 23, 2013 East Central State BBQ Cook-Off Paola Roots Festival Paola, KS 40 / 68 (638.8112) 19 (165.1312) 45 (156.5600) 66 (143.9428) 4 (173.1772)
Aug 1, 2013 Wheels 'N' Squeels BBQ Challenge Olathe, KS 7 / 74 (680.4680) 10 (172.5600) 19 (169.1084) 10 (172.5484) 21 (166.2512)
May 10, 2013 Sertoma 48 BBQ Lawrence, KS 11 / 49 (660) 7 (171.4286) 6 (168.5712) 15 (166.2860) 37 (153.7142)
Apr 19, 2013 5th Annual VFW Post 846 BBQ Challenge (FULL) Overland Park, KS 25 / 73 (641.7142) 30 (163.4286) 39 (155.9998) 19 (164.5716) 33 (157.7142)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

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

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