The Specialists AL
Rating
1584
peak 1599
Contests
19
in the data
First seen
2019-02-08
latest 2022-05-05
Best ToY finish
#61
Master 2018
Grand champs
2
1 reserve
Category wins
2
13 podiums
Overall top-10s
10
of 19 contests
Avg finish
top 32%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
673.39 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 680.27 (-6.89)
Walk rate
79%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
5
best run (overall)
Consistency
±10.80
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 171.76 · weakest Pork (168.22)
Road miles
3053
mi across 19 mapped stops · furthest 341 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
BEER PRESSURE has finished one call ahead of The Specialists 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
BUSH LEAGUE BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
CONTAGIOUS Q has come out ahead in 8 of their 8 shared contests.
Teams like this (closest power rating, AL first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 19 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 180.0000 🔥 | 163.9656 | 171.76 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 19 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 178.8572 | 159.9544 | 169.54 | top 41% |
| Pork | 19 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 157.0856 | 168.22 | top 43% |
| Brisket | 19 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 176.0228 | 157.6684 | 170.75 | top 33% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 10 | 1 | top 31% |
| TN | 4 | 0 | top 49% |
| MS | 2 | 1 | top 12% |
| GA | 1 | 0 | top 11% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 6% |
| AR | 1 | 0 | top 63% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 40% |
| Medium (20–39) | 12 | 2 | top 26% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 43% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2019 (17 contests)
- Cooks mostly in AL (10 of 19 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (19 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off (2019-02-22)
- Wins it all in 11% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 680.27
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 654.6852 | 654.69 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 680.5256 | 680.53 |
| 2019 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 701.0972 | 681.77 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-05-05 | Poosa Q Montgomery, AL | 62 / 72 (654.6852) | 55 (163.9656) | 33 (169.6800) | 57 (163.3712) | 67 (157.6684) |
| 2020-02-21 | Capital City Cook Off Montgomery, AL | 6 / 25 (680.5256) | 3 (174.2628) | 15 (165.7028) | 8 (170.8572) | 9 (169.7028) |
| 2019-12-06 | COTR BBQ Demopolis, AL | 10 / 25 (673.0056) | 3 (169.6912) | 9 (168.5372) | 11 (165.0972) | 10 (169.6800) |
| 2019-10-25 | 31st Annual Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue(JUDGES FULL)(COMPETITORS SERIES) Lynchburg, TN | 62 / 97 (667.9196) | 45 (170.8228) | 73 (165.1084) | 82 (160.5256) | 25 (171.4628) |
| 2019-10-04 | Roast N Boast Columbus, MS | 5 / 25 (690.8000) | 7 (173.1200) | 9 (172.0116) | 9 (170.8228) | 4 (174.8456) |
| 2019-09-13 | RiverFest Decatur, AL | 12 / 37 (673.5540) | 22 (164.5256) | 14 (168.5256) | 6 (171.9772) | 14 (168.5256) |
| 2019-08-23 | Great Americana BBQ Festival Franklin, TN | 11 / 39 (679.9312) | 16 (169.6684) | 16 (169.1428) | 8 (170.2972) | 9 (170.8228) |
| 2019-08-02 | Hometown BBQ Bash Hoover, AL | 6 / 15 (681.0284) | 3 (171.9656) | 6 (172.5484) | 9 (166.2400) | 7 (170.2744) |
| 2019-07-26 | Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-Off Hartselle, AL | 5 / 27 (679.3712) | 16 (167.3712) | 3 (170.8572) | 13 (165.7028) | 4 (175.4400) |
| 2019-07-19 | Downtown BBQ Showdown Hattiesburg, MS | 1 / 28 (699.9656) | 3 (177.7028) | 1 (178.8572) | 2 (174.8572) | 12 (168.5484) |
| 2019-06-14 | Poosa-Q Montgomery, AL | 3 / 48 (691.3944) | 2 (179.4400) | 18 (169.7144) | 30 (166.8228) | 3 (175.4172) |
| 2019-05-24 | Papa Joe's Banjo-B-Que & Music Festival Evans, GA | 8 / 72 (688.4684) | 18 (173.1084) | 44 (166.8228) | 4 (176.5600) | 19 (171.9772) |
| 2019-05-03 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ Huntsville, AL | 14 / 54 (678.1484) | 18 (169.6800) | 17 (169.6800) | 23 (167.3828) | 13 (171.4056) |
| 2019-04-19 | High on the Hog Festival Winchester, TN | 21 / 39 (674.7428) | 24 (169.6684) | 13 (171.4172) | 32 (162.2516) | 12 (171.4056) |
| 2019-04-12 | Smoke on the Falls Gadsden, AL | 11 / 30 (674.7656) | 4 (174.2628) | 6 (171.9772) | 26 (157.0856) | 8 (171.4400) |
| 2019-03-29 | TN River BBQ Battle & Music Fest Savannah, TN | 14 / 29 (679.3600) | 15 (170.2628) | 25 (161.6456) | 11 (171.4288) | 5 (176.0228) |
| 2019-03-15 | Smokin In the Square Pensacola, FL | 2 / 35 (685.6800) | 17 (168.5372) | 5 (171.4172) | 7 (171.4400) | 3 (174.2856) |
| 2019-02-22 | Bama Q Capital City Cook-Off Montgomery, AL | 1 / 27 (701.0972) | 2 (175.4056) | 3 (177.7144) | 7 (172.5600) | 6 (175.4172) |
| 2019-02-08 | KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship Little Rock, AR | 58 / 92 (670.7772) | 1 (180.0000) | 90 (159.9544) | 25 (170.8572) | 86 (159.9656) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #377 (290 pts) | #273 (450 pts) | #490 (235 pts) | #435 (265 pts) | #447 (260 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #80 (1967 pts) | #74 (1849 pts) | #94 (1747 pts) | #116 (1619 pts) | #88 (1783 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #61 (2136 pts) | #31 (2234 pts) | #168 (1474 pts) | #115 (1641 pts) | #101 (1798 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #119 (1841 pts) | #129 (1640 pts) | #161 (1577 pts) | #163 (1530 pts) | #53 (2094 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #76 (2122 pts) | #47 (2138 pts) | #145 (1623 pts) | #143 (1605 pts) | #114 (1803 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #66 (2181 pts) | #43 (2099 pts) | #145 (1639 pts) | #86 (1834 pts) | #159 (1671 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #173 (1626 pts) | #305 (1126 pts) | #95 (1891 pts) | #181 (1461 pts) | #165 (1606 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #321 (955 pts) | #541 (600 pts) | #338 (895 pts) | #437 (735 pts) | #236 (1195 pts) |