GRILLKUNST

GRILLKUNST is a competition barbecue team with 34 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2018. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival (2016). They are ranked #1721 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “*Grillkunst”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,721

of 6,485 rated · rankings

Rating

1551

peak 1573 · rated over 32 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Sep 12, 2015

latest Aug 11, 2018 · 2.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#206

Master 2017 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve · wins it all 3% of the time

Category wins

16 podiums

Overall top-10s

47% of 34 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 48%

overall standings

Best overall

702.8344 / 720

Master · Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

643.32 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 657.33 (-14.01)

Walk rate

76%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8800

Pork Ribs · Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016

Consistency

±18.93

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.13 · weakest Brisket (161.57)

Road miles

30,053

across 34 mapped stops · furthest 5,312 mi

Schedule strength

23%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)

Master avg

657.33 / 720

34 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (12 found in their record)

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

Against the odds

25-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 75 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival (Jul 23, 2016) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 25-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, MISS PIGGY'S U.K..

They almost always walk

76% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 26 of 34 contests

A top-10 category call in 76% of their 34 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

702.8344 career-best overall

97.6% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 702.8344 at Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival — 97.6% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jul 23, 2016

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ has finished one call ahead of GRILLKUNST 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2016 1 Grand Championship

2016 was the year it came together: 10 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 35%.

10 contests
5 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 35%

A tough matchup

19–6 behind in the head-to-head

White Squirrel BBQ ahead in 76% of their meetings

White Squirrel BBQ has come out ahead in 19 of their 25 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.6 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.56 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 38% of the time against 50%.

Brisket avg 161.57
Chicken avg 166.13
13 calls in 34 entries

Show 5 more storylines

The drought

26 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival on Jul 23, 2016 — 26 contests and 10.2 years ago.

last GC Jul 23, 2016
10.2 years ago

A strong matchup

10–4 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of OMERTA BBQ in 10 of their 14 shared contests.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BRIGBOYS BBQ TEAM has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 35% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 35% across 3 contests, versus top 48% the rest of the year.

3 August contests
top 48% the rest of the year

The long haul

30,053 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 30,053 miles across 34 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 5,312 miles to Cook-in Camargue.

34 mapped stops
furthest 5,312 mi

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	#535 (665 pts)	#506 (725 pts)	#592 (610 pts)	#374 (930 pts)	#535 (695 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#206 (1,461 pts)	#116 (1,751 pts)	#230 (1,336 pts)	#173 (1,490 pts)	#186 (1,491 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#223 (1,440 pts)	#377 (1,015 pts)	#176 (1,505 pts)	#187 (1,480 pts)	#256 (1,295 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

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

FREE RANGE BBQ

#1,728 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1581

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to GRILLKUNST)

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

rated over 24 contests
last seen Aug 24, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

FLAMING PIG BBQ (SE)

#1,720 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 53%
Peak: 1560

2–5 in 7 shared contests (29% to GRILLKUNST)

Fewer contests behind them than GRILLKUNST has cooked, 17 to 34, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

EUREKA SMOKE

#1,727 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 56%
Peak: 1560

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to GRILLKUNST)

Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 9 contests, alongside a 56% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Nov 5, 2018

⚔ Head-to-head

Dead Last BBQ

#1,724 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 47
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1638

They've been 1638 at their best, 87 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 46 contests
last seen Apr 10, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

MOO COW

#1,732 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 35%
Peak: 1566

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

rated over 17 contests
last seen Jun 1, 2018

⚔ Compare careers

HERDING SMOKE

#1,730 of the rated field

1551 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 40%
Peak: 1552

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 3 years before GRILLKUNST's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 15 contests

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
White Squirrel BBQ	25	6	19	24%	⚔ compare
DRAGON BBQ	20	6	14	30%	⚔ compare
BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS	19	3	16	16%	⚔ compare
SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
THE BARKTENDERS	15	7	8	47%	⚔ compare
OMERTA BBQ	14	10	4	71%	⚔ compare
MISS PIGGY'S U.K.	14	3	11	21%	⚔ compare
BUNCH OF SWINES	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
SCHLUCHTENGRILLER BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
BALDICUE	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
DE FILOUS	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
BOHEMIAN BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
ROKENDE REGAHS	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
BBQ WIESEL	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
STICKY FINGERS BARBECUE TEAM	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	34	17	0	3	176.5828	150.8000	166.13	top 50%
Pork Ribs	34	14	1	4	178.8800	147.3944	163.63	top 52%
Pork	34	17	2	4	177.7144	144.5600	166.00	top 44%
Brisket	34	13	0	5	178.8572	147.3600	161.57	top 53%

“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)	9	0	top 51%
Medium (20–39)	15	1	top 42%
Large (40+)	10	0	top 53%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
IT	3	0	top 51%
NL	2	0	top 51%
DE	2	1	top 14%
TN	1	0	top 85%
NR	1	0	top 21%
CZ	1	0	top 27%
AT	1	0	top 19%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Vienna BBQ Days	2	6	top 45%	Jul 14, 2018
Italian Barbecue Championship 2017	2	8	top 46%	Sep 9, 2017
Brew N Q (OPEN)	2	23	top 82%	May 27, 2017

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 16 contests

Contests a season 8.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IT 3 of 34 contests · 7 states and provinces in all

Contests visited 31 3 of them more than once

First title Jul 23, 2016 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

Opponents faced 446 finished ahead 556 times, behind 517

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

20181 milestone

Aug 11 Most recent contest Wild West Fest On Fire

20172 milestones

Sep 16 25th tracked contest Slovenia BBQ Open
Sep 16 Peak power rating (1573) Slovenia BBQ Open

20167 milestones

Apr 23 First category win (Pork Ribs) Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016
Apr 23 First overall podium Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016
Apr 23 First overall past 90% of a perfect score676.0228 Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016
Apr 23 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)178.8800 Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016
Jul 23 First Grand Championship Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
Jul 23 Career-best overall score702.8344 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
Sep 10 10th tracked contest Brixia 4 Star Championship

20153 milestones

Sep 12 First tracked contest Bohemian Bluegrass & BBQ
Sep 12 First call Bohemian Bluegrass & BBQ
Sep 12 First overall top-10 Bohemian Bluegrass & BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.4	Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival	Jul 23, 2016
+13	Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016	Apr 23, 2016
+11.7	EUregio Barbeque Festival	Aug 19, 2017
+9.8	EUregio Barbecue Festival	Aug 20, 2016
+9.1	Bohemian BBQ	May 21, 2016

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-8.8	4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off	Oct 8, 2016
-7.7	Brew N Q (OPEN)	May 27, 2017
-7.5	Wild West Fest On Fire	Aug 11, 2018
-7.4	Brixia 4 Star Championship	Sep 10, 2016
-7.1	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitation Barbecue (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY)	Oct 27, 2017

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	6	0	2	1	83%	top 54%	91.3%	89.4%
2017	16	0	8	1	75%	top 51%	95.4%	91.7%
2016	10	1	5	1	80%	top 35%	97.6%	92.8%
2015	2	0	1	0	50%	top 71%	86.4%	86.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 11, 2018	Wild West Fest On Fire Zbilje, Medvode	15 / 21 (638.1488)	7 (168.5600)	15 (158.8460)	14 (158.8228)	19 (151.9200)
Jul 21, 2018	3rd Black Forest Smoke & Wine Festival Bad Bellingen	25 / 48 (642.2172)	31 (160.5484)	13 (163.9772)	30 (159.9772)	23 (157.7144)
Jul 14, 2018	Vienna BBQ Days Vienna	9 / 15 (647.3720)	11 (163.4056)	10 (160.5604)	9 (163.9888)	7 (159.4172)
Apr 28, 2018	4th Barbecue Bulls Championship Salzburg 2018 Salzburg Austria	11 / 24 (657.0284)	7 (172.5484)	10 (164.5716)	7 (167.9656)	17 (151.9428)
Apr 14, 2018	Wild King BBQ Competition Tirol	13 / 23 (631.8172)	7 (167.4056)	21 (147.3944)	1 (168.5372)	15 (148.4800)
Apr 7, 2018	2nd Meat Smoke and Beer BBQ Competition Wels 2018 Wels	6 / 17 (646.7196)	14 (155.3940)	16 (150.8000)	3 (171.4056)	3 (169.1200)
Oct 27, 2017	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitation Barbecue (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN	81 / 95 (651.8856)	58 (168.5256)	55 (168.5600)	87 (158.8228)	85 (155.9772)
Oct 14, 2017	Tallya BBQ Fesztival Tallya	15 / 40 (652.4456)	28 (156.5028)	5 (173.7028)	22 (160)	15 (162.2400)
Sep 22, 2017	4th Ruhrpott BBQ 2017 Waltrop NRW, Germany	38 / 66 (635.8856)	53 (155.3712)	36 (159.4516)	58 (148.5028)	4 (172.5600)
Sep 16, 2017	Slovenia BBQ Open Medvode	9 / 25 (666.2512)	8 (169.6684)	13 (162.2628)	9 (168.0228)	7 (166.2972)
Sep 9, 2017	Italian Barbecue Championship 2017 Perugia	8 / 15 (659.3144)	9 (165.1084)	7 (166.8688)	9 (166.2400)	7 (161.0972)
Aug 19, 2017	EUregio Barbeque Festival Waldfeucht-Haaren/NRW	4 / 31 (686.7884)	14 (167.9656)	7 (170.2628)	5 (172.5600)	3 (176)
Jul 22, 2017	2nd Black Forest Smoke & Wine Festival Bad Bellingen	17 / 40 (667.3140)	4 (175.4056)	28 (161.6800)	27 (163.9656)	17 (166.2628)
Jul 8, 2017	Vienna BBQ Days Vienna	6 / 20 (658.0912)	4 (175.4056)	10 (160.5028)	11 (162.2400)	10 (159.9428)
Jul 1, 2017	Prime UVE INVITATIONAL BARBECUE CHAMPIONSHIP unrated Gaiarine	17 / 18 (651.9084)	17 (162.2856)	17 (160.5372)	15 (167.9884)	17 (161.0972)
Jun 24, 2017	Cook-in Camargue Saint Maries	6 / 15 (686.8344)	2 (176.5828)	3 (176.5944)	1 (177.7144)	13 (155.9428)
May 27, 2017	Brew N Q (OPEN) Burton Upon Trent	26 / 34 (646.7544)	22 (165.1316)	34 (149.6456)	12 (168.5828)	20 (163.3944)
May 26, 2017	Brew N Q (INVITATIONAL) unrated Burton Upon Trent	23 / 26 (640.4912)	21 (165.1428)	23 (154.8000)	12 (166.8684)	24 (153.6800)
Apr 29, 2017	3rd Barbecue Bulls Championship Salzburg 2017 Salzburg Austria	7 / 28 (675.4176)	16 (166.8572)	17 (163.9888)	5 (174.2972)	4 (170.2744)
Apr 22, 2017	Bardo-Q BBQ Competition Bardonecchia	9 / 28 (683.3484)	4 (175.4172)	17 (168)	10 (171.4172)	14 (168.5140)
Apr 15, 2017	Eastern BBQ Contest Ninove, Belgium	28 / 41 (632.4344)	4 (175.4056)	37 (147.9544)	22 (161.7144)	34 (147.3600)
Apr 8, 2017	Meat Smoke and Beer Festival 2017 Wels	5 / 14 (663.8856)	3 (171.4056)	6 (164.5372)	5 (166.8456)	11 (161.0972)
Oct 8, 2016	4th Annual BBQ Society Cook-off Hoofddorp. Netherlands, NL	34 / 46 (642.7656)	45 (150.8000)	21 (165.1200)	19 (165.7256)	26 (161.1200)
Sep 24, 2016	3rd Ruhrpott BBQ 2016 Waltrop NRW, DE	16 / 67 (655.9656)	18 (167.4284)	22 (165.1428)	24 (163.4172)	33 (159.9772)
Sep 10, 2016	Brixia 4 Star Championship Brescia, Italy	18 / 26 (657.1316)	9 (170.2972)	13 (165.7028)	19 (162.8572)	26 (158.2744)
Aug 20, 2016	EUregio Barbecue Festival Waldfeutch-Haaren/NRW, NR	6 / 28 (677.0284)	9 (168.5256)	2 (173.1428)	12 (169.6800)	12 (165.6800)
Jul 23, 2016	Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival Millheim, DE	1 / 29 (702.8344)	16 (170.8228)	3 (176.5600)	4 (176.5944)	2 (178.8572)
Jun 25, 2016	Rugby Sound BBQ Competition Parabiago, Italy	7 / 15 (668.4688)	9 (169.1200)	7 (170.2744)	6 (168.5372)	10 (160.5372)
Jun 11, 2016	Italian Barbecue Championship 2016 Perugia, Italy	11 / 29 (681.0740)	26 (163.4056)	8 (173.7028)	5 (174.8572)	13 (169.1084)
May 21, 2016	Bohemian BBQ Prague, Czech Republic	6 / 22 (661.6344)	9 (164.5372)	18 (158.2516)	4 (171.9656)	3 (166.8800)
May 14, 2016	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp Netherlands, NL	18 / 65 (659.3828)	41 (161.6800)	14 (168.0344)	3 (175.4056)	47 (154.2628)
Apr 23, 2016	Barbecue Bulls Championship 2016 Salzburg, Austria	3 / 16 (676.0228)	10 (158.2628)	1 (178.8800)	6 (164.0228)	2 (174.8572)
Sep 25, 2015	2nd Ruhrpott BBQ 2015 Herten, NRW	43 / 67 (622.2172)	49 (155.9428)	38 (156.6288)	32 (159.9656)	51 (149.6800)
Sep 12, 2015	Bohemian Bluegrass & BBQ Naplavka, Prague	10 / 13 (622.2172)	3 (167.4400)	8 (156.5488)	13 (144.5600)	8 (153.6684)

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

GRILLKUNST

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

Master avg

Storylines (12 found in their record)

Against the odds

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

Looking over their shoulder

An August team

The long haul

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)