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HUG HOGS

HUG HOGS is a competition barbecue team with 46 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2018. They have won 2 Grand Championships, most recently at the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (2015), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #493 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#493
of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1678
peak 1708 · rated over 46 contests

Contests

46
in the data

First seen

May 4, 2013
latest Oct 5, 2018 · 5.4 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#127
Master 2014 · every season

Grand champs

2
2 reserve · wins it all 4% of the time

Category wins

13
23 podiums

Overall top-10s

26
57% of 46 contests

Best top-10 run

7
straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 30%
overall standings

Best overall

694.8228 / 720

Perfect 180s

0

Current form

658.72 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 673.03 (-14.30)

Walk rate

87%
contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4400

Consistency

±14.91
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken
avg 170.10 · weakest Brisket (165.73)

Road miles

5,680
across 46 mapped stops · furthest 493 mi

Schedule strength

50%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1565)

Master avg

673.03 / 720
46 Master contests · 2 GCs

Storylines (20 found in their record)

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

Among the elite

#493 of 6,491 rated teams

In the top 8% of every rated team in the data

A power rating of 1678 puts them #493 of 6,491 rated teams — the top 8% of the field.

  • rating 1678
  • peak 1708
  • 46 rated contests

Against the odds

23-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 77 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Smokin' On The River (Jun 13, 2014) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 23-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, QUE'N STEW'N & BREW'N.

Giant slayer

52 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 52-team field at Smokin' On The River.

  • Jun 13, 2014

Happy hunting ground

Top 6% average finish here

Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival is their spot: an average finish in the top 6% across 2 visits.

  • 2 visits
  • best finish 3rd
  • average top 6%

A multi-meat day

1 contest with 2+ category wins

They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at Smokin' On The River (Jun 12, 2015).

  • Pork 1st
  • Brisket 1st

They almost always walk

87% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 40 of 46 contests

A top-10 category call in 87% of their 46 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

Show 13 more storylines

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

QUBED has finished one call ahead of HUG HOGS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2014 1 Grand Championship

2014 was the year it came together: 11 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 3 category wins, at an average finish in the top 19%.

  • 11 contests
  • 8 overall top-10s
  • 3 category wins
  • average top 19%

A tough matchup

12–3 behind in the head-to-head

One2BBQ ahead in 80% of their meetings

One2BBQ has come out ahead in 12 of their 15 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.4 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.37 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 26% of the time against 43%.

  • Brisket avg 165.73
  • Chicken avg 170.10
  • 12 calls in 46 entries

The drought

22 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour on Jul 10, 2015 — 22 contests and 11.3 years ago.

  • last GC Jul 10, 2015
  • 11.3 years ago

A strong matchup

25–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 89% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ACME BBQ in 25 of their 28 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

18 of 27 shared chicken entries lost

BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BLUE CHIP BBQ has out-cooked them in 18 of 27 shared chicken entries.

Going the wrong way

-27 rating points in a year

The rating has slipped 27 points across 4 contests since Oct 6, 2017 — from 1706 down to 1678.

  • 4 contests since Oct 6, 2017
  • now 1678

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

BLUE CHIP BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.

The long haul

5,680 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,680 miles across 46 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 493 miles to Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Championship.

  • 46 mapped stops
  • furthest 493 mi

The metronome

±2.07% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.07% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

  • averages 93.5% of a perfect score
  • 46 contests

A standing appointment

6 years running at one contest

They've cooked Jim Beam BBQ Classic every year from 2013 to 2018 — the contest they never miss.

  • 6 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
2018 ↗ Master #1331 (175 pts) #1598 (120 pts) #1019 (310 pts) #1380 (175 pts) #1586 (120 pts)
2017 ↗ Master #481 (781 pts) #438 (876 pts) #620 (656 pts) #556 (711 pts) #643 (616 pts)
2016 ↗ Master #408 (964 pts) #355 (1,054 pts) #353 (1,049 pts) #458 (894 pts) #449 (899 pts)
2015 ↗ Master #158 (1,703 pts) #178 (1,503 pts) #112 (1,766 pts) #138 (1,633 pts) #276 (1,214 pts)
2014 ↗ Master #127 (1,897 pts) #203 (1,417 pts) #137 (1,687 pts) #143 (1,612 pts) #245 (1,362 pts)
2013 ↗ Master #355 (861 pts) #372 (831 pts) #343 (891 pts) #487 (676 pts) #370 (846 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to HUG HOGS, each with one reason worth a look.

Skinny Pig BBQ
#491 of the rated field
1679 power rating
Contests
42
GCs
0
Top-10s
57%
Peak
1679

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 41 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

  • rated over 41 contests
  • last seen Sep 19, 2026
⚔ Compare careers
SUPER SWINE
#492 of the rated field
1679 power rating
Contests
82
GCs
1
Top-10s
48%
Peak
1722

A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 82 contests to 46.

  • rated over 79 contests
  • last seen Aug 21, 2026
⚔ Compare careers
SCOTTS BBQ SHACK
#495 of the rated field
1678 power rating
Contests
86
GCs
1
Top-10s
23%
Peak
1700

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 86 contests, alongside a 23% overall top-10 rate.

  • rated over 84 contests
  • last seen Apr 22, 2022
⚔ Compare careers
SIN CIRCLE BBQ
#494 of the rated field
1678 power rating
Contests
106
GCs
2
Top-10s
45%
Peak
1750

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

  • rated over 101 contests
  • last seen Sep 4, 2026
⚔ Compare careers
WINK'S BARBEQUE
#498 of the rated field
1677 ▼ 1 power rating
Contests
44
GCs
1
Top-10s
41%
Peak
1731
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to HUG HOGS)

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

  • rated over 42 contests
  • last seen Jul 12, 2019
⚔ Head-to-head
DUCE'S WILD
#496 of the rated field
1678 ▼ 1 power rating
Contests
24
GCs
0
Top-10s
46%
Peak
1682
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to HUG HOGS)

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

  • rated over 23 contests
  • last seen Aug 24, 2018
⚔ Head-to-head

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

OpponentMeetingsAheadBehindWin rate
WeQ4U 31 22 9 71% ⚔ compare
GREY STREET BBQ 29 10 19 34% ⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ 29 9 20 31% ⚔ compare
ACME BBQ 28 25 3 89% ⚔ compare
BLUE CHIP BBQ 27 12 15 44% ⚔ compare
Pappy Q 26 16 10 62% ⚔ compare
BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ 26 11 15 42% ⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ 24 19 5 79% ⚔ compare
SQUEALERS AWARD WINNING BARBEQUE 24 11 13 46% ⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ 21 11 10 52% ⚔ compare
Bluedog BBQ 20 19 1 95% ⚔ compare
FARMER'S RETREAT SMOKIN BARBEQUE 20 14 6 70% ⚔ compare
SMOKE-N-PEPPERS 18 14 4 78% ⚔ compare
FRIENDS OF OBR 18 10 8 56% ⚔ compare
LITTLE BOB'S BBQ 17 16 1 94% ⚔ compare

By meat

CategoryEntriesCallsWinsPodiumsBestWorstAverageAvg finish
Chicken 46 20 5 5 177.7372 150.8570 170.10 top 36%
Pork Ribs 46 24 4 9 179.4400 153.0860 168.62 top 33%
Pork 46 21 2 4 177.7028 153.0628 168.58 top 37%
Brisket 46 12 2 5 178.8572 149.6344 165.73 top 44%

“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)271top 28%
Large (40+)191top 32%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

WhereContestsGCsAvg finish
IN282top 29%
KY130top 29%
OH30top 25%
AR10top 80%
WI10top 30%

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

ContestVisitsBestGCsAvg finishLast visit
Jim Beam BBQ Classic 6 5 0 top 30% Oct 5, 2018
Bands & BBQ at the Point 5 4 0 top 27% Sep 15, 2017
Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness 5 2 0 top 31% Jun 16, 2017
Buckeye State BBQ Championship 3 7 0 top 25% May 15, 2015
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour 2 6 0 top 26% Jul 14, 2017
Smokin For Garrett 2 3 0 top 35% Jun 2, 2017
Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival 2 3 0 top 6% Aug 21, 2015
Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! 2 20 0 top 48% Jul 17, 2015
Smokin' On The Water 2 12 0 top 38% May 3, 2014

More numbers

Busiest season 2015 12 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season 7.7 across 6 seasons in the data
Most contests held in IN 28 of 46 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited 26 9 of them more than once
First title Jun 13, 2014 Smokin' On The River
Opponents faced 553 finished ahead 1,284 times, behind 505

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

20182 milestones
  1. Peak power rating (1708) CCS Fest
  2. Most recent contest Jim Beam BBQ Classic
20162 milestones
  1. Career-best overall score694.8228 Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness
  2. 10th category win Jim Beam BBQ Classic
20152 milestones
  1. First multi-meat day Smokin' On The River
  2. 25th tracked contest Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too!
20147 milestones
  1. First category win (Chicken) Buckeye State BBQ Championship
  2. 10th tracked contest Buckeye State BBQ Championship
  3. First overall podium Smokin' On The River
  4. First Grand Championship Smokin' On The River
  5. Biggest field won (52 teams) Smokin' On The River
  6. First Reserve Championship Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness
  7. Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)179.4400 Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness
20134 milestones
  1. First tracked contest Smokin' on the Water
  2. First call Smokin' on the Water
  3. First overall past 90% of a perfect score657.7140 Smokin' on the Water
  4. First overall top-10 Buckeye State BBQ Championship

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

SwingContestDate
+14.3Smokin' On The RiverJun 13, 2014
+12.3Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David HarnessJun 27, 2014
+12.1Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues FestivalAug 15, 2014
+12.1CCS Spring Festival & BBQ CompetitionApr 10, 2015
+11.3Jim Beam BBQ ClassicOct 4, 2013

📉 Toughest weekends

SwingContestDate
-18.1Jim Beam BBQ ClassicOct 5, 2018
-11.8Smokin For GarrettApr 27, 2018
-8Sam's Club National BBQ Tour ChampionshipOct 9, 2015
-6.3Smokin' for GarrettMay 20, 2016
-6.3CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ CompetitionApr 22, 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)
20183000 67% top 65% 93% 89.7%
20175042 100% top 28% 96.1% 94%
20168033 75% top 37% 96.5% 93.5%
201512175 75% top 29% 95.6% 94.4%
201411183 100% top 19% 96.3% 94.1%
20137040 100% top 29% 95.2% 92.2%

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

DateEventOverallChickenRibsPorkBrisket
Oct 5, 2018 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 40 / 42 (625.4856) 34 (162.2628) 34 (160.5256) 41 (153.0628) 41 (149.6344)
Apr 27, 2018 Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN 27 / 38 (641.5656) 28 (159.4400) 10 (168.5256) 29 (155.9428) 27 (157.6572)
Apr 6, 2018 CCS Fest Indianapolis, IN 14 / 49 (669.5996) 29 (165.1084) 6 (172.5600) 14 (168.5600) 28 (163.3712)
Oct 6, 2017 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 7 / 44 (691.9200) 7 (177.1428) 19 (169.6800) 6 (175.4172) 18 (169.6800)
Sep 15, 2017 Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY 14 / 33 (665.0512) 7 (173.7028) 20 (165.6800) 5 (173.7028) 30 (151.9656)
Jul 14, 2017 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour South Bend, IN 8 / 27 (667.3600) 1 (177.1428) 20 (162.2972) 8 (168.5372) 17 (159.3828)
Jun 16, 2017 Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness Franklin, IN 10 / 25 (672.9828) 15 (166.2400) 1 (176.5600) 17 (162.8000) 12 (167.3828)
Jun 2, 2017 Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN 3 / 31 (688.0228) 6 (174.8800) 10 (167.9772) 13 (169.1428) 2 (176.0228)
Oct 14, 2016 Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cookoff Munfordville, KY 16 / 34 (681.0628) 1 (177.7372) 21 (165.0972) 16 (169.6800) 20 (168.5484)
Sep 30, 2016 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 5 / 43 (690.7772) 9 (175.4172) 1 (178.2972) 17 (168.5256) 23 (168.5372)
Sep 16, 2016 Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY 11 / 31 (674.7432) 14 (171.4172) 9 (169.6916) 9 (171.9772) 20 (161.6572)
Aug 19, 2016 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festisval Madison, IN 30 / 63 (667.9084) 24 (170.2972) 39 (163.4056) 8 (173.1200) 40 (161.0856)
Jul 15, 2016 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour South Bend, IN 6 / 28 (665.6000) 8 (169.6800) 4 (168.5372) 16 (162.2744) 11 (165.1084)
Jun 24, 2016 Smoke on the Square: In memory of David Harness Franklin, IN 5 / 31 (694.8228) 5 (175.4172) 14 (170.2628) 8 (172.5600) 1 (176.5828)
May 20, 2016 Smokin' for Garrett Boonville, IN 21 / 35 (655.8740) 27 (161.1200) 15 (166.2628) 29 (161.0740) 17 (167.4172)
Apr 22, 2016 CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN 27 / 49 (655.7940) 25 (166.2284) 39 (154.7656) 20 (167.9656) 17 (166.8344)
Oct 9, 2015 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Championship Bentonville, AR 40 / 50 (682.7884) 25 (172) 14 (175.4400) 41 (169.1200) 46 (166.2284)
Oct 2, 2015 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 14 / 45 (682.2172) 13 (173.1200) 11 (174.2628) 24 (168) 23 (166.8344)
Sep 11, 2015 Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY 6 / 29 (682.2172) 11 (171.4172) 3 (175.4288) 8 (171.9656) 17 (163.4056)
Aug 21, 2015 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN 4 / 64 (686.2972) 12 (172.0344) 1 (175.4172) 15 (172.5828) 22 (166.2628)
Aug 7, 2015 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Madison, WI 9 / 30 (683.9200) 14 (170.8572) 5 (174.2628) 5 (172.5600) 16 (166.2400)
Jul 17, 2015 Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN 25 / 44 (673.6112) 24 (168.5256) 19 (169.1544) 15 (173.1084) 31 (162.8228)
Jul 10, 2015 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Indianapolis, IN 1 / 28 (687.9772) 1 (174.2972) 2 (171.9772) 2 (174.8800) 9 (166.8228)
Jun 26, 2015 Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN 12 / 34 (667.3600) 7 (171.9772) 6 (169.7144) 14 (168.5600) 25 (157.1084)
Jun 12, 2015 Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN 10 / 59 (679.3716) 16 (171.4284) 50 (153.0860) 1 (176) 1 (178.8572)
May 15, 2015 Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH 12 / 36 (676.5024) 27 (165.6800) 6 (172.5484) 6 (172.5484) 17 (165.7256)
May 8, 2015 Rockin' BBQ for Riley Warsaw, IN 8 / 27 (664.5028) 10 (166.8344) 20 (161.1200) 10 (168.5484) 9 (168)
Apr 10, 2015 CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN 2 / 39 (685.0856) 1 (177.1428) 10 (168.5600) 11 (167.9656) 8 (171.4172)
Oct 17, 2014 Big Buffalo Crossing BBQ Cook-Off Munfordville, KY 4 / 32 (679.3484) 8 (170.8456) 3 (173.1200) 1 (174.2856) 21 (161.0972)
Oct 3, 2014 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 5 / 44 (692.4796) 23 (169.6684) 23 (169.7028) 2 (177.7028) 9 (175.4056)
Sep 5, 2014 Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY 4 / 36 (681.6688) 19 (167.9656) 6 (170.8688) 16 (168.5372) 2 (174.2972)
Aug 30, 2014 Thunder in the Park BBQ Connersville, IN 8 / 29 (672.4800) 14 (167.4172) 10 (168.5372) 6 (171.4400) 11 (165.0856)
Aug 15, 2014 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN 3 / 60 (683.9200) 32 (166.2628) 5 (173.1316) 5 (173.1200) 11 (171.4056)
Jul 18, 2014 Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN 20 / 51 (668.4800) 8 (174.2628) 17 (168.0116) 20 (167.4172) 36 (158.7884)
Jun 27, 2014 Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN 2 / 34 (688.5144) 14 (170.8344) 1 (179.4400) 5 (173.7144) 20 (164.5256)
Jun 13, 2014 Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN 1 / 52 (693.6688) 6 (174.2628) 3 (172.5716) 4 (174.8572) 7 (171.9772)
May 16, 2014 Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH 8 / 38 (666.2860) 1 (175.4744) 19 (161.6800) 17 (165.7372) 20 (163.3944)
May 3, 2014 Smokin' On The Water Liberty, IN 19 / 43 (662.6852) 26 (165.1200) 6 (173.1084) 37 (154.7884) 8 (169.6684)
Apr 3, 2014 2nd Annual Parkinson's Smoke Out Evansville, IN 16 / 64 (660.4228) 6 (172.5600) 44 (158.8000) 40 (161.6800) 13 (167.3828)
Oct 4, 2013 Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY 7 / 41 (685.0856) 17 (170.2972) 2 (176.5600) 17 (168.5256) 11 (169.7028)
Sep 20, 2013 Marshall County Plymouth, IN 6 / 27 (667.8744) 6 (169.6800) 14 (165.7032) 6 (168.5256) 8 (163.9656)
Sep 6, 2013 Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY 9 / 34 (675.3712) 4 (177.7028) 7 (170.8572) 22 (161.1312) 13 (165.6800)
Aug 16, 2013 Madison Ribberfest: Barbeque & Blues Madison, IN 14 / 60 (665.0856) 14 (168.5600) 13 (166.8572) 5 (172.5944) 34 (157.0740)
Jun 28, 2013 Smoke on the Square: In Memory of David Harness Franklin, IN 19 / 32 (634.2852) 30 (150.8570) 21 (153.1426) 8 (169.1430) 15 (161.1426)
May 17, 2013 Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH 7 / 35 (663.4282) 12 (165.7142) 9 (166.2858) 16 (160.5712) 3 (170.8570)
May 4, 2013 Smokin' on the Water Liberty, IN 12 / 37 (657.7140) 7 (168.5714) 11 (166.8570) 23 (160.5712) 17 (161.7144)

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

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