The heartbreaker
2.8572
points from the title
Came within 2.8572 points of the Grand Championship at 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026) (May 24, 2026).
Phantom Smoke & BBQ
Phantom Smoke & BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 19 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Smoke in the Valley (2025), and finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #1767 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1549
peak 1550 · rated over 14 contests4 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
19
in the data
First seen
Jun 16, 2023
latest Sep 30, 2026 · 3.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
1 reserve · wins it all 5% of the time
Category wins
3
9 podiums
Overall top-10s
10
53% of 19 contests
Best top-10 run
7
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 42%
overall standings
Best overall
707.9772 / 720
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
683.44 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 676.49 (+6.96)
Walk rate
74%
contests with a top-10 call
Best single call
180 🔥
Consistency
±15.31
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 170.00 · weakest Pork Ribs (168.35)
Road miles
5,971
across 19 mapped stops · furthest 1,941 mi
Schedule strength
40%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)
Purse competed for
$184K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
676.49 / 720
17 Master contests · 1 GC
Backyard avg
319.39 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #394 (500 pts) | #595 (300 pts) | #531 (395 pts) | #501 (375 pts) | #422 (475 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #228 (182 pts) | #232 (182 pts) | #247 (182 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #116 (1,509 pts) | #106 (1,524 pts) | #157 (1,339 pts) | #178 (1,169 pts) | #111 (1,489 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #946 (116 pts) | #1148 (86 pts) | #920 (151 pts) | #650 (271 pts) | #1077 (91 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #837 (157 pts) | #809 (192 pts) | #989 (157 pts) | #822 (177 pts) | #761 (212 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Phantom Smoke & BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
61 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,772 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 64%
- Peak
- 1549
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#1,762 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1550
Careers of much the same size, 14 contests to 19, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#1,769 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1552
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Phantom Smoke & BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,773 of the rated field
- Contests
- 13
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 23%
- Peak
- 1558
13 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 23% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#1,765 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 91%
- Peak
- 1559
4 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Compare careers#1,763 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1550
They were already cooking in 2014, 9 years before Phantom Smoke & BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMELLAQUE | 10 | 1 | 9 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| MOTLEY QUE | 9 | 6 | 3 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Brisket Butts | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44% | ⚔ compare |
| EFFIN'EH GRAY'S | 9 | 3 | 6 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Q Cartel | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| BIGG SMOAK BBQ | 9 | 2 | 7 | 22% | ⚔ compare |
| Mc Que It | 8 | 8 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Kreiser Barbecue | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| ROKER Q | 7 | 6 | 1 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| No Measurements BBQ | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| Bottle Hill BBQ | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| KillerbunnyBBQ | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Homestead Smoke Shack | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 19 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 176 | 161.1428 | 170.00 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 19 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 178.8572 | 154.2744 | 168.35 | top 45% |
| Pork | 18 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 178.8800 | 154.8684 | 169.55 | top 43% |
| Brisket | 18 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 180 🔥 | 155.4516 | 168.81 | top 43% |
“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) | 4 | 0 | top 54% |
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 1 | top 33% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 47% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
9 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
4.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AB
8 of 19 contests · 6 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
18
a different one every time
First title
Sep 27, 2025
Smoke in the Valley
Opponents faced
591
finished ahead 609 times, behind 536
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- First Reserve Championship 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026)
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026)
- Career-best overall score707.9772 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026)
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
20255 milestones
- First overall top-10 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- 10th tracked contest Summer Grillin' BBQ Festival
- First overall podium Smoke in the Valley
- First Grand Championship Smoke in the Valley
- Peak power rating (1550) Bean Town BBQ Cookoff
20241 milestone
- First category win (Pork) Smoke 'N the Valley
20233 milestones
- First tracked contest Father's Day Smoke n' Bones BBQ
- First call Father's Day Smoke n' Bones BBQ
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.4516 Smoke 'N the Valley
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.6 | Smoke in the Valley | Sep 27, 2025 |
| +12.1 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | May 24, 2025 |
| +11.9 | Bean Town BBQ Cookoff | Oct 11, 2025 |
| +11.1 | Didsbury Lions BBQ | Jul 26, 2025 |
| +10.2 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival | Aug 30, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.4 | Father's Day Smoke n' Bones BBQ | Jun 16, 2023 |
| -11.3 | Big Smoke Bonnyville | Sep 6, 2025 |
| -8.1 | Smoke 'N the Valley | Sep 23, 2023 |
| -1.8 | Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship Open (OPEN FORMAT) | May 2, 2026 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43% | top 47% | 98.3% | 95.3% |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 100% | top 28% | 96.5% | 94% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | top 52% | 92.9% | 92.9% |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 89% | 90.5% | 89.8% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS | 96 / 158 (682.1600) | 42 (174.2744) | 141 (165.0972) | 47 (174.2628) | 108 (168.5256) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 187 / 360 (678.7772) | 266 (166.2400) | 159 (170.8572) | 114 (173.1428) | 187 (168.5372) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 24, 2026 | 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Master Series Invitational and the Backyard Series Invitational (Sunday, May 24, 2026) unrated Lebanon, TN | 2 / 82 (707.9772) | 37 (174.8572) | 8 (178.8572) | 35 (174.2628) | 3 (180) |
| May 23, 2026 | 8th Annual KCBS World Invitational: Wells Cup, Cocktail Ancillary, Dessert Ancillary (Saturday, May 23, 2026) unrated Lebanon, TN | 104 / 117 (671.8512) | 110 (165.0740) | 95 (166.8344) | 57 (171.9656) | 79 (167.9772) |
| May 2, 2026 | Grand American Barbecue New York State Championship Open (OPEN FORMAT) 🏅 New Paltz, NY | 35 / 59 (676.4456) | 40 (169.6800) | 30 (169.6800) | 10 (174.2628) | 47 (162.8228) |
| May 1, 2026 | Grand American Barbecue World Championship Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated New Paltz, NY | 7 / 43 (699.4056) | 19 (173.7028) | 21 (171.4056) | 2 (178.2972) | 7 (176) |
| Oct 11, 2025 | Bean Town BBQ Cookoff Bow Island, AB | 3 / 15 (672.4680) | 1 (176) | 6 (167.3712) | 9 (163.4284) | 6 (165.6684) |
| Sep 27, 2025 | Smoke in the Valley Edmonton, AB | 1 / 23 (694.8916) | 4 (174.8572) | 8 (169.7144) | 3 (173.1772) | 3 (177.1428) |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Summer Grillin' BBQ Festival Leduc, AB | 7 / 16 (679.9316) | 6 (171.4172) | 4 (172.5600) | 10 (163.9772) | 3 (171.9772) |
| Sep 6, 2025 | Big Smoke Bonnyville Bonnyville, AB | 9 / 15 (677.6572) | 9 (170.8344) | 10 (169.7028) | 9 (169.1200) | 9 (168) |
| Aug 30, 2025 | Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB | 5 / 38 (686.7768) | 23 (167.4172) | 8 (171.9656) | 8 (171.9884) | 3 (175.4056) |
| Jul 26, 2025 | Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB | 7 / 32 (681.6456) | 1 (176) | 19 (165.1200) | 13 (170.8228) | 8 (169.7028) |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Blue Bombers BBQ Pit Master Showdown Winnipeg, MB | 12 / 24 (666.7656) | 11 (167.9772) | 7 (171.9772) | 18 (161.7028) | 14 (165.1084) |
| May 31, 2025 | Small Town Smoke Down Bassano, AB | 6 / 25 (694.8456) | 5 (174.8456) | 7 (173.7028) | 6 (174.2972) | 8 (172) |
| May 24, 2025 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 4 / 34 (319.3944) | 4 (165.1200) | 4 (154.2744) | 25 (158.2516) | 10 (170.2856) |
| Sep 21, 2024 | Smoke 'N the Valley Fort Qu'Appelle, SK | 11 / 21 (668.6400) | 17 (161.1428) | 7 (173.1656) | 1 (178.8800) | 16 (155.4516) |
| Sep 23, 2023 | Smoke 'N the Valley Lumsden, SK | 22 / 26 (651.4516) | 22 (162.8800) | 24 (156.0228) | 18 (165.1316) | 13 (167.4172) |
| Jun 16, 2023 | Father's Day Smoke n' Bones BBQ Regina, SK | 15 / 16 (641.7484) | 9 (169.1656) | 13 (161.1772) | 15 (154.8684) | 13 (156.5372) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.