MEAT @ SLIMS

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

Power ranking

#483

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1681

peak 1681 · rated over 41 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-04-19

latest 2018-07-28

Best ToY finish

#187

Master 2015

Grand champs

3 reserve

Category wins

21 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 42 contests

Avg finish

top 30%

overall standings

Best overall

695.3944 / 720

Master · The River Grill before the Big Chill

Perfect 180s

Current form

656.81 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 660.06 (-3.25)

Walk rate

86%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

178.8572

Brisket · Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ

Consistency

±18.70

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.94 · weakest Brisket (163.00)

Road miles

25,895

mi across 42 mapped stops · furthest 3555 mi

Schedule strength

38%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1550)

Master avg

660.06 / 720

42 Master contests · 1 GC

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (13 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.

Among the elite

#483 of 6,413 rated teams

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

A power rating of 1681 puts them #483 of 6,413 rated teams — the top 8% of the field.

rating 1681
peak 1681
41 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 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown (2016-02-25) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 23-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, BUTCHER BBQ.

Giant slayer

42 teams beaten in one weekend

Took the Grand Championship over a 42-team field at Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown.

2016-02-25

They almost always walk

86% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 36 of 42 contests

A top-10 category call in 86% of their 42 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

695.3944 career-best overall

96.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 695.3944 at The River Grill before the Big Chill — 96.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-10-09

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

STUBBORN BULL BBQ has finished one call ahead of MEAT @ SLIMS 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

23–6 behind in the head-to-head

INSANE SWINE BBQ ahead in 79% of their meetings

INSANE SWINE BBQ has come out ahead in 23 of their 29 shared contests.

The drought

14 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown on 2016-02-25 — 14 contests and 10.5 years ago.

last GC 2016-02-25
10.5 years ago

A strong matchup

11–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 85% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ACK-QUE in 11 of their 13 shared contests.

Always the bridesmaid

3 reserve championships

Runner-up for the whole thing 3 times against 1 Grand Championship — close enough to touch it, over and over.

1 Grand Championship
42 contests

An October team

Top 21% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 21% across 5 contests, versus top 30% the rest of the year.

5 October contests
top 30% the rest of the year

The long haul

25,895 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 25,895 miles across 42 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 3,555 miles to Eastern BBQ Contest.

42 mapped stops
furthest 3,555 mi

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Sun BBQ Fest every year from 2014 to 2017 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 2nd

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.

SMOKIN O BBQ

#484 of the rated field

1681 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 74
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1711

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to MEAT @ SLIMS)

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

rated over 71 contests
last seen 2019-10-11

⚔ Head-to-head

Barbecoa BBQ Team

#485 of the rated field

1681 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 51
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 86%
Peak: 1698

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 51 contests to 42, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 49 contests
last seen 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN FOOLZ

#486 of the rated field

1681 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 52
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1681

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 52 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 52 contests
last seen 2019-10-04
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

MIDNIGHT STOKERS

#482 of the rated field

1682 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 47%
Peak: 1682

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 32 contests, alongside a 47% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 31 contests
last seen 2016-10-21

⚔ Head-to-head

WICKED QUE

#481 of the rated field

1682 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 58
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 47%
Peak: 1712

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 58 contests
last seen 2019-08-23

⚔ Head-to-head

SIMPLY MARVELOUS BBQ

#479 of the rated field

1682 ▲ 1 power rating

Contests: 184
GCs: 14
Top-10s: 62%
Peak: 1868

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to MEAT @ SLIMS)

Level with MEAT @ SLIMS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 182 contests
last seen 2026-08-08

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	30	10	20	33%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	29	12	17	41%	⚔ compare
INSANE SWINE BBQ	29	6	23	21%	⚔ compare
THE BASIC BBQ TEAM	26	12	14	46%	⚔ compare
BLAZIN' BUTTZ BBQ	19	7	12	37%	⚔ compare
QUE AND A HALF MEN	18	11	7	61%	⚔ compare
STUBBORN BULL BBQ	18	8	10	44%	⚔ compare
Q HAVEN BBQ	17	8	9	47%	⚔ compare
CAN U SMELL MY PITS BBQ	16	8	8	50%	⚔ compare
A MAZIE Q	15	11	4	73%	⚔ compare
Smokin Aces	14	11	3	79%	⚔ compare
Pork Butt Paradise	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
ACK-QUE	13	11	2	85%	⚔ compare
iQue	13	6	7	46%	⚔ compare
Chicken Chokers	12	10	2	83%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	42	19	1	7	176.0344	144.5484	166.94	top 36%
Pork Ribs	42	17	0	3	177.1544	147.3832	164.23	top 39%
Pork	42	17	2	5	177.1428	151.9544	165.63	top 35%
Brisket	42	15	2	6	178.8572	137.6800	163.00	top 39%

“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
CT	8	0	top 30%
VT	7	0	top 35%
TX	4	1	top 19%
NY	4	0	top 29%
NH	3	0	top 25%
ME	3	0	top 42%
RI	3	0	top 14%
KS	2	0	top 38%
AL	1	0	top 34%
OH	1	0	top 7%
MA	1	0	top 35%
NV	1	0	top 16%
VA	1	0	top 90%
NJ	1	0	top 5%
OK	1	0	top 68%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	0	top 32%
Medium (20–39)	19	0	top 38%
Large (40+)	21	1	top 23%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Sun BBQ Fest	4	2	top 29%	2017-06-03
The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	3	10	top 40%	2018-07-28
37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN)	2	55	top 38%	2016-10-29
Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival	2	2	top 29%	2016-04-30
Cedar Fest BBQ	2	4	top 34%	2016-04-01
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	8	top 37%	2015-08-14
Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ	2	7	top 30%	2015-07-25

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5.3 yrs 2013-04-19 → 2018-07-28

Busiest season 2016 10 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 7 across 6 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CT 8 of 42 contests · 15 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 32 7 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 42 entries · 1 win · 19 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 166.94 · weakest Brisket (163.00)

Walk rate 86% a top-10 call in 36 of 42 contests

Overall top-10 rate 55% 23 of 42 contests

Wins it all 2% 1 Grand Championship · 3 reserve

First title 2016-02-25 Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown

Best top-10 run 5 straight contests

Master average 660.06 out of 720 · 42 contests · 1 GC

Opponents faced 1,414 1,864–628 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 25,895 42 mapped stops · furthest 3,555 mi

Schedule strength 1550 average field rating faced — tougher than 38% of rated contests

Power rating 1681 peak 1681 · #483 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Apr 19 First tracked contest 8th Annual Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ
Jun 1 First overall top-10 Monadnock Up In Smoke BBQ Fest
Jun 1 First overall past 90% of a perfect score653.7142 Monadnock Up In Smoke BBQ Fest
Jun 21 First call Smokin @ the Ballpark BBQ Festival
Oct 5 First category win (Pork) DO AC Smokin' Hot Atlantic City BBQ Championship
Oct 5 10th tracked contest DO AC Smokin' Hot Atlantic City BBQ Championship
2014
Jul 18 First overall podium Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off & State BBQ Championships
2015
Jul 25 Career-best single call (Brisket)178.8572 Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ
Sep 5 First Reserve Championship Bear's Smokehouse New England BBQ Championships
Sep 5 25th tracked contest Bear's Smokehouse New England BBQ Championships
Oct 9 Career-best overall score695.3944 The River Grill before the Big Chill
2016
Feb 25 First Grand Championship Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
Feb 25 Biggest field won (42 teams) Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown
2018
Jul 28 Peak power rating (1681) The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival
Jul 28 Most recent contest The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.8	DO AC Smokin' Hot Atlantic City BBQ Championship	2013-10-05
+13.5	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival	2013-08-31
+13.2	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off & State BBQ Championships	2014-07-18
+12.7	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown	2016-02-25
+11.8	Roc City Rib Fest	2014-05-24

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.6	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)	2014-08-29
-9.6	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival	2016-07-23
-8.5	Cedar Fest BBQ	2016-04-01
-6.7	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest	2015-09-12
-5.7	8th Annual Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ	2013-04-19

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)
2018	1	0	1	0	100%	top 29%	91.5%	91.5%
2017	4	0	1	0	75%	top 33%	92.6%	91.2%
2016	10	1	3	2	90%	top 31%	95.6%	92.7%
2015	9	0	6	1	100%	top 21%	96.6%	93.2%
2014	8	0	5	1	88%	top 36%	95.1%	91.4%
2013	10	0	7	1	70%	top 31%	92.3%	89.7%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-07-28	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival WINDSOR, VT	10 / 34 (658.7084)	11 (167.3712)	8 (167.9772)	16 (163.3828)	16 (159.9772)
2017-07-29	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival WINDSOR, VT	13 / 30 (645.1088)	28 (153.1084)	3 (170.8572)	11 (163.4060)	15 (157.7372)
2017-06-10	Granite State BBQ Championship Hancock, NH	12 / 35 (652.9944)	23 (159.3828)	12 (166.2400)	14 (166.2516)	18 (161.1200)
2017-06-03	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	27 / 73 (660.4000)	6 (174.2972)	41 (160.4912)	37 (163.9544)	38 (161.6572)
2017-04-15	Eastern BBQ Contest Ninove, Belgium, g400	7 / 41 (666.8572)	31 (159.4284)	9 (169.1200)	18 (165.7372)	3 (172.5716)
2016-11-11	World Barbecue Championship Orange Beach, AL	30 / 89 (681.6800)	66 (166.8228)	5 (176.5828)	53 (165.7144)	27 (172.5600)
2016-10-29	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN) Kansas City, KS	55 / 557 (682.1712)	268 (165.0856)	292 (164.5256)	9 (177.1428)	30 (175.4172)
2016-10-28	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(INVITATIONAL) unrated Kansas City, KS	119 / 180 (670.1716)	36 (174.8572)	145 (162.8000)	49 (171.9772)	163 (160.5372)
2016-08-19	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour South Windsor, CT	13 / 26 (655.4292)	2 (175.4172)	14 (159.4516)	13 (164.6060)	16 (155.9544)
2016-07-23	The Harpoon Brewery BBQ Festival Windsor, VT	12 / 26 (669.6920)	12 (167.9656)	17 (164.0000)	13 (163.4288)	5 (169.7028)
2016-06-25	Green Mountain BBQ Championship Waterbury, VT	14 / 40 (660.9824)	2 (175.4056)	17 (163.4056)	24 (159.9312)	22 (162.2400)
2016-06-11	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	2 / 69 (687.9656)	25 (165.7028)	2 (173.7028)	9 (172.0000)	3 (176.5600)
2016-04-30	Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival Ridgefield, CT	2 / 39 (660.5260)	10 (166.8344)	21 (157.7144)	1 (172.5600)	9 (163.4172)
2016-04-01	Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX	40 / 67 (619.9424)	55 (144.5484)	6 (168.0000)	21 (163.4628)	55 (143.9312)
2016-02-25	Shotgun Fred BBQ Showdown Huntsville, TX	1 / 42 (685.1316)	31 (161.1544)	2 (177.1544)	3 (173.1200)	1 (173.7028)
2015-10-09	The River Grill before the Big Chill Cincinnati, OH	3 / 45 (695.3944)	7 (176.0000)	19 (169.1316)	7 (172.5600)	4 (177.7028)
2015-09-12	Harvard Fall Festival BBQ Contest Harvard, MA	13 / 37 (658.1716)	4 (172.5828)	25 (154.8116)	7 (172.5600)	21 (158.2172)
2015-09-05	Bear's Smokehouse New England BBQ Championships Hartford, CT	2 / 17 (680.5604)	2 (173.7372)	7 (165.6916)	3 (171.9772)	2 (169.1544)
2015-08-14	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Scarborough, ME	12 / 26 (659.3028)	4 (171.4056)	22 (155.9772)	10 (167.3828)	10 (164.5372)
2015-07-25	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	14 / 35 (662.7884)	16 (167.9884)	33 (153.6684)	17 (162.2744)	2 (178.8572)
2015-07-17	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off Kingston, RI	4 / 37 (679.4056)	1 (175.4628)	5 (172.5600)	10 (166.2628)	21 (165.1200)
2015-06-13	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	8 / 52 (674.2744)	3 (176.0344)	33 (161.6800)	20 (166.2972)	9 (170.2628)
2015-05-29	Monadnock Up in Smoke BBQ Fest Swanzey, NH	8 / 49 (670.2056)	8 (170.8800)	4 (170.2744)	20 (165.6800)	20 (163.3712)
2015-04-10	Cedar Fest BBQ Cedar Park, TX	4 / 53 (659.8512)	13 (165.6684)	18 (164.5256)	9 (164.5372)	11 (165.1200)
2014-10-30	USA Barbecue Championship Laughlin, NV	13 / 79 (684.5600)	52 (165.1544)	16 (172.5600)	14 (173.1200)	14 (173.7256)
2014-08-29	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Richmond, VA	27 / 30 (646.1368)	20 (167.9656)	30 (151.9200)	14 (161.7028)	9 (164.5484)
2014-08-08	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Scarborough, ME	8 / 28 (655.4176)	11 (164.5944)	7 (165.7372)	7 (166.2744)	11 (158.8116)
2014-07-25	Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	7 / 34 (654.1828)	7 (166.8456)	26 (153.6572)	3 (168.0000)	10 (165.6800)
2014-07-18	Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off & State BBQ Championships Kingston, RI	3 / 33 (678.9028)	13 (166.8456)	15 (166.2856)	8 (167.4516)	1 (178.3200)
2014-06-20	Sun BBQ Fest Uncasville, CT	20 / 32 (640.3884)	29 (156.5140)	10 (166.2860)	21 (158.8000)	22 (158.7884)
2014-05-24	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	7 / 86 (665.6000)	39 (162.2284)	10 (167.9772)	5 (172.5716)	30 (162.8228)
2014-05-03	Ridgefield Gone Country BBQ Festival Ridgefield, CT	9 / 17 (638.1716)	3 (172.0000)	13 (149.1200)	9 (159.4060)	9 (157.6456)
2013-10-05	DO AC Smokin' Hot Atlantic City BBQ Championship Atlantic City, NJ	4 / 85 (659.9428)	8 (168.0000)	34 (155.9656)	1 (172.5600)	11 (163.4172)
2013-08-31	City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival Bedford, TX	5 / 89 (664.5716)	4 (173.1544)	13 (165.7372)	14 (168.5372)	42 (157.1428)
2013-08-16	Hudson Valley Ribfest New Paltz, NY	9 / 51 (650.7768)	16 (164.0000)	6 (169.1200)	28 (158.8112)	15 (158.8456)
2013-08-09	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Medford, NY	18 / 27 (591.2460)	16 (154.2284)	19 (147.3832)	15 (151.9544)	20 (137.6800)
2013-07-26	The Harpoon Championships of New England BBQ Windsor, VT	9 / 31 (656.5144)	9 (168.0228)	7 (166.8456)	21 (156.5488)	7 (165.0972)
2013-07-20	Wakefield Rotary Campus CookOff & State BBQ Championships Kingston, RI	10 / 46 (656.5256)	2 (173.7028)	21 (160.0000)	6 (167.9656)	28 (154.8572)
2013-07-13	Troy Pig Out Troy, NY	8 / 32 (634.7888)	5 (165.7028)	4 (164.5600)	12 (159.4860)	21 (145.0400)
2013-06-21	Smokin @ the Ballpark BBQ Festival Old Orchard Beach, ME	14 / 28 (655.4288)	4 (173.1430)	5 (172.5716)	22 (157.7140)	24 (152.0002)
2013-06-01	Monadnock Up In Smoke BBQ Fest Swanzey, NH	10 / 43 (653.7142)	13 (168.0000)	17 (161.7144)	14 (162.8568)	14 (161.1430)
2013-04-19	8th Annual Smokin' Red Dirt BBQ Enid, OK	43 / 63 (631.4284)	49 (154.2856)	11 (169.7144)	50 (156.5714)	47 (150.8570)

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
2017 ↗	Master	#807 (465 pts)	#1026 (360 pts)	#715 (560 pts)	#944 (395 pts)	#783 (495 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#235 (1382 pts)	#321 (1122 pts)	#223 (1377 pts)	#249 (1297 pts)	#266 (1252 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#187 (1558 pts)	#113 (1718 pts)	#378 (973 pts)	#250 (1223 pts)	#233 (1358 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#318 (1124 pts)	#416 (909 pts)	#445 (884 pts)	#285 (1189 pts)	#331 (1084 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#188 (1437 pts)	#118 (1612 pts)	#185 (1372 pts)	#208 (1257 pts)	#310 (987 pts)