BARK BROTHERS BBQ

BARK BROTHERS BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 33 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2018. They have won 2 Grand Championships, most recently at the Bands & BBQ at the Point (2015). They are ranked #1347 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,347

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1576

peak 1579 · rated over 32 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 17, 2013

latest Jun 29, 2018 · 5.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#290

Master 2015 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve · wins it all 6% of the time

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

24% of 33 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s · 2 straight GCs

Avg finish

top 46%

overall standings

Best overall

694.2856 / 720

Master · Bands & BBQ at the Point

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

671.78 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 665.91 (+5.86)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork Ribs · The River Grill before the Big Chill

Consistency

±17.85

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.65 · weakest Pork (164.36)

Road miles

3,843

across 33 mapped stops · furthest 598 mi

Schedule strength

40%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)

State championships

0 🏅

won from 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

665.91 / 720

33 Master contests · 2 GCs

Storylines (17 found in their record)

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

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 pork ribs.

Pork Ribs ×1

Against the odds

7-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 93 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival (Aug 21, 2015) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 7-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ.

Giant slayer

64 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 64-team field at Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival.

Aug 21, 2015

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championship here

Bands & BBQ at the Point is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 1st
average top 13%

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 21 of 33 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 33 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

694.2856 career-best overall

96.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 694.2856 at Bands & BBQ at the Point — 96.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 11, 2015

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Smitty's Real Pit BBQ has finished one call ahead of BARK BROTHERS BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Show 10 more storylines

Their season

2015 2 Grand Championships

2015 was the year it came together: 7 contests, 2 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 26%.

7 contests
4 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 26%

A tough matchup

17–2 behind in the head-to-head

SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ ahead in 89% of their meetings

SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ has come out ahead in 17 of their 19 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.3 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.29 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 12% of the time against 39%.

Pork avg 164.36
Chicken avg 168.65
4 calls in 33 entries

The drought

19 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Bands & BBQ at the Point on Sep 11, 2015 — 19 contests and 11.1 years ago.

last GC Sep 11, 2015
11.1 years ago

A strong matchup

11–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BUCKEYE BBQ TROY OH in 11 of their 11 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

12 of 17 shared chicken entries lost

WeQ4U ahead 71% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, WeQ4U has out-cooked them in 12 of 17 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

HISTORIC BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.

A September team

Top 30% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 30% across 4 contests, versus top 46% the rest of the year.

4 September contests
top 46% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,843 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,843 miles across 33 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 598 miles to 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL).

33 mapped stops
furthest 598 mi

The metronome

±2.48% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.48% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.5% of a perfect score
33 contests

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1836 (83 pts)	#2514 (58 pts)	#1760 (113 pts)	#1797 (108 pts)	#1572 (123 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#652 (588 pts)	#407 (928 pts)	#787 (513 pts)	#728 (563 pts)	#616 (643 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#428 (923 pts)	#265 (1,233 pts)	#464 (873 pts)	#493 (823 pts)	#263 (1,263 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#290 (1,196 pts)	#318 (1,121 pts)	#345 (1,041 pts)	#626 (616 pts)	#331 (1,066 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#679 (534 pts)	#756 (494 pts)	#592 (654 pts)	#903 (404 pts)	#571 (644 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#918 (321 pts)	#873 (371 pts)	#900 (351 pts)	#665 (501 pts)	#904 (341 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BARK BROTHERS BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

AWESOME Q

#1,353 of the rated field

1575 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 30%
Peak: 1581

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to BARK BROTHERS BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team BARK BROTHERS BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Sep 1, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

Berkee Raes BBQ

#1,345 of the rated field

1576 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 54%
Peak: 1576

0–2 in 2 shared contests (0% to BARK BROTHERS BBQ)

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Jun 14, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

WALLY BBQ

#1,348 of the rated field

1576 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1576

Careers of much the same size, 31 contests to 33, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 31 contests
last seen Sep 7, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

OFF THE CHAIN

#1,343 of the rated field

1576 power rating

Contests: 36
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1586

36 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 28% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 34 contests
last seen Jul 9, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

BUTTS A'BLAZE BATESVILLE

#1,346 of the rated field

1576 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1576

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

rated over 25 contests
last seen Oct 6, 2017

⚔ Compare careers

BACON & WHISKEY

#1,344 of the rated field

1576 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 42%
Peak: 1578

Level with BARK BROTHERS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Jun 18, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
HISTORIC BBQ	21	8	13	38%	⚔ compare
GREY STREET BBQ	19	3	16	16%	⚔ compare
SLIPPERY PETE'S BBQ	19	2	17	11%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' 4-PLAY BBQ	18	9	9	50%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	17	4	13	24%	⚔ compare
Velvet Smoke	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
Bluedog BBQ	15	10	5	67%	⚔ compare
SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM	14	6	8	43%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
TEAM RINE-O	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
BUCKEYE BBQ TROY OH	11	11	0	100%	⚔ compare
BRUTUS AND COMPANY	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	33	13	0	5	178.8572	149.6228	168.65	top 40%
Pork Ribs	33	6	2	2	180 🔥	146.2172	164.75	top 49%
Pork	33	4	0	1	174.2628	151.4172	164.36	top 57%
Brisket	33	12	0	3	178.2972	156	168.15	top 37%

“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
Small (<20 teams)	1	0	top 69%
Medium (20–39)	19	1	top 46%
Large (40+)	13	1	top 45%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
OH	20	0	top 47%
IN	8	1	top 52%
KY	3	1	top 17%
KS	2	0	top 49%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival	3	7	0	top 24%	Oct 14, 2016
Buckeye State BBQ Championship	3	15	0	top 46%	May 15, 2015
Bands & BBQ at the Point	2	1	1	top 13%	Sep 16, 2016
37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	2	66	0	top 49%	Oct 29, 2016
The River Grill before the Big Chill	2	6	0	top 19%	Oct 9, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2016 10 contests

Contests a season 5.5 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in OH 20 of 33 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 26 5 of them more than once

First title Aug 21, 2015 Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival

Opponents faced 943 finished ahead 987 times, behind 903

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

20181 milestone

Jun 29 Most recent contest PigMania Hilliard State Championship BBQ & Music Festival

20171 milestone

Oct 6 Peak power rating (1579) Jim Beam BBQ Classic

20161 milestone

Oct 28 25th tracked contest 37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL)

20155 milestones

May 15 10th tracked contest Buckeye State BBQ Championship
Aug 21 First overall podium Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
Aug 21 First Grand Championship Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
Aug 21 Biggest field won (64 teams) Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival
Sep 11 Career-best overall score694.2856 Bands & BBQ at the Point

20143 milestones

Oct 10 First category win (Pork Ribs) The River Grill before the Big Chill
Oct 10 First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) The River Grill before the Big Chill
Oct 17 First overall top-10 Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival

20133 milestones

May 17 First tracked contest Buckeye State BBQ Championship
May 17 First call Buckeye State BBQ Championship
Sep 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.3716 Ohio Veteran Battle of the Barbecue

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+18.2	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival	Aug 21, 2015
+16.8	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 11, 2015
+12.2	The River Grill before the Big Chill	Oct 9, 2015
+11.6	Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival	Oct 17, 2014
+10.5	The River Grill before the Big Chill	Oct 10, 2014

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.6	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition	Apr 22, 2016
-7.5	Thunder in the Park BBQ	Aug 30, 2014
-7	Ohio Smoke Meat Festival	Oct 18, 2013
-6.4	Marietta River City BBQ	Jun 9, 2017
-6.3	8th Annual Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff	Jul 11, 2014

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

Season	Contests	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	1	0	0	0	0%	top 61%	93%	93%
2017	6	0	0	0	67%	top 48%	95.4%	92.8%
2016	10	0	3	0	50%	top 49%	95.2%	92.6%
2015	7	2	4	1	86%	top 26%	96.4%	94.7%
2014	5	0	1	1	60%	top 50%	95.3%	91.1%
2013	4	0	0	0	75%	top 60%	91%	89.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 29, 2018	PigMania Hilliard State Championship BBQ & Music Festival 🏅 Hilliard, OH	20 / 33 (669.6228)	25 (161.0856)	14 (170.2628)	15 (167.4172)	12 (170.8572)
Oct 6, 2017	Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY	11 / 44 (686.7888)	4 (177.7144)	27 (165.0972)	27 (168.5372)	7 (175.4400)
Sep 1, 2017	PigMania Lebanon State Championship BBQ & Music Festival ( TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) 🏅 Lebanon, OH	18 / 40 (672.5028)	2 (177.1428)	21 (166.2400)	25 (164.5600)	21 (164.5600)
Aug 18, 2017	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN	28 / 55 (666.7084)	15 (172.5600)	28 (165.0972)	28 (163.9540)	27 (165.0972)
Aug 4, 2017	Our Lady of Victory Holy Smokes BBQ Competition Cincinnati, OH	16 / 32 (663.2688)	18 (166.2284)	15 (166.2516)	29 (155.3716)	6 (175.4172)
Jul 7, 2017	Ohio Veterans Barbecue Cook-Off Kettering, OH	19 / 41 (664.9940)	13 (168.5256)	14 (168.5600)	15 (166.2284)	24 (161.6800)
Jun 9, 2017	Marietta River City BBQ Marietta, OH	11 / 16 (652.9940)	8 (167.4056)	15 (151.9544)	3 (171.9884)	13 (161.6456)
Oct 29, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	346 / 557 (645.6456)	178 (168)	524 (146.2172)	402 (159.4400)	77 (171.9884)
Oct 28, 2016	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue (INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS	66 / 180 (682.2056)	59 (173.7144)	39 (173.7028)	130 (165.6684)	85 (169.1200)
Oct 14, 2016	Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival Nelsonville, OH	10 / 37 (681.0512)	8 (172.5600)	11 (170.8344)	23 (165.1084)	8 (172.5484)
Sep 16, 2016	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	7 / 31 (685.1088)	23 (166.8344)	8 (169.7144)	4 (174.2628)	6 (174.2972)
Aug 19, 2016	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festisval Madison, IN	26 / 63 (671.8284)	5 (175.4172)	38 (163.9428)	41 (161.6456)	20 (170.8228)
Jul 16, 2016	Wine,Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! Day 2 New Palestine, IN	26 / 33 (666.1828)	23 (168.5256)	24 (164.5372)	23 (164)	20 (169.1200)
Jul 15, 2016	Wine,Brew & Bar-B-Que Too! New Palestine, IN	16 / 39 (678.7544)	6 (173.1200)	19 (168.5372)	36 (158.8000)	2 (178.2972)
Jul 8, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Indianapolis, IN	9 / 30 (668.5256)	2 (175.4172)	14 (164.5600)	27 (154.8228)	2 (173.7256)
May 27, 2016	PigMaina Lima Lima, OH	19 / 29 (654.1372)	20 (163.9544)	18 (162.8456)	11 (166.2400)	22 (161.0972)
Apr 22, 2016	CCS Fest: CCS Spring Festival & BBQ Competition Indianapolis, IN	44 / 49 (635.2456)	11 (171.9656)	46 (147.9200)	47 (151.4172)	24 (163.9428)
Oct 16, 2015	Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival Nelsonville, OH	9 / 36 (690.2172)	2 (178.8572)	8 (174.2628)	27 (164.5372)	10 (172.5600)
Oct 9, 2015	The River Grill before the Big Chill Cincinnati, OH	6 / 45 (686.2056)	17 (169.1084)	12 (171.4172)	20 (167.9656)	2 (177.7144)
Sep 11, 2015	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	1 / 29 (694.2856)	3 (176.5828)	1 (177.7372)	12 (170.2856)	10 (169.6800)
Aug 21, 2015	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival Madison, IN	1 / 64 (691.3484)	7 (174.2628)	10 (171.9772)	14 (173.1084)	11 (172)
Jul 10, 2015	9th Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff Kettering, OH	18 / 39 (668.4456)	6 (173.7028)	6 (171.9772)	35 (154.7884)	11 (167.9772)
May 29, 2015	PigMania Lima Lima, OH	14 / 27 (671.3256)	13 (167.9884)	20 (162.7884)	12 (171.4288)	12 (169.1200)
May 15, 2015	Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH	15 / 36 (670.7656)	21 (168.5256)	18 (166.2628)	26 (163.3828)	7 (172.5944)
Oct 17, 2014	Ohio Smoked Meat & BBQ Festival Nelsonville, OH	7 / 36 (676.4108)	3 (175.4056)	15 (165.1084)	23 (163.9312)	5 (171.9656)
Oct 10, 2014	The River Grill before the Big Chill Cincinnati, OH	12 / 49 (686.2400)	26 (166.8112)	1 (180)	25 (168.5716)	11 (170.8572)
Aug 30, 2014	Thunder in the Park BBQ Connersville, IN	24 / 29 (639.8060)	26 (160.5372)	26 (151.9432)	16 (167.3828)	18 (159.9428)
Jul 11, 2014	8th Annual Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff Kettering, OH	32 / 42 (634.1600)	36 (149.6228)	16 (165.1428)	23 (162.2972)	30 (157.0972)
May 16, 2014	Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH	17 / 38 (643.8516)	27 (155.9200)	22 (157.0972)	21 (162.2744)	8 (168.5600)
Oct 18, 2013	Ohio Smoke Meat Festival Nelsonville, OH	26 / 35 (641.6916)	21 (162.8572)	32 (153.7488)	9 (168.5256)	25 (156.5600)
Sep 27, 2013	Ohio Veteran Battle of the Barbecue Xenia, OH	17 / 35 (655.3716)	27 (160.5372)	13 (164.0116)	6 (170.8800)	23 (159.9428)
Jul 12, 2013	Ohio Veterans Barbeque Cook-off Kettering, OH	27 / 41 (640.5944)	32 (158.2628)	16 (161.1316)	33 (154.3316)	12 (166.8684)
May 17, 2013	Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH	18 / 35 (638.8574)	7 (166.2858)	26 (156)	14 (160.5716)	21 (156)

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

BARK BROTHERS BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (17 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

Against the odds

Giant slayer

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The long haul

The metronome

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

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

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

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

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