The heartbreaker
Came within 2.8800 points of the Grand Championship at Maryland State BBQ Bash (2016-08-12).
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Came within 2.8800 points of the Grand Championship at Maryland State BBQ Bash (2016-08-12).
In the top 10% of every rated team in the data
A power rating of 1656 puts them #613 of 6,413 rated teams — the top 10% of the field.
Keystone Classic Barbeque is their spot: an average finish in the top 17% across 3 visits.
They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at Keystone Classic Barbeque (2013-10-04).
A call in 46 of 54 contests
A top-10 category call in 85% of their 54 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
94.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 681.0740 at Maryland State BBQ Bash — 94.6% of a perfect 720.
QUEGASM has finished one call ahead of HAWG NATION BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ ahead in 77% of their meetings
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ has come out ahead in 34 of their 44 shared contests.
Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.34 points below their brisket, and turns into a call 31% of the time against 55%.
Ahead in 73% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM in 19 of their 26 shared contests.
Off the trail for 2.6 years, then back at Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (2022-05-13).
LO' -N- SLO' BBQ ahead 60% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, LO' -N- SLO' BBQ has out-cooked them in 26 of 43 shared brisket entries.
Runner-up for the whole thing 4 times against 0 Grand Championships — close enough to touch it, over and over.
DRILLING & GRILLING has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Something about October: average finish in the top 25% across 8 contests, versus top 34% the rest of the year.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,525 miles across 54 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 907 miles to Lakeland Pig Festival.
They've cooked New Holland Summer Fest every year from 2013 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.
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.
They've been 1702 at their best, 46 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headCareers of much the same size, 40 contests to 54, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 33 contests, alongside a 67% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headThese two have cooked 3 of the same contests — HAWG NATION BBQ ahead 3–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 6 years after HAWG NATION BBQ did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with HAWG NATION BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | 44 | 10 | 34 | 23% | ⚔ compare |
| DRILLING & GRILLING | 33 | 13 | 20 | 39% | ⚔ compare |
| Smokestack Redemption | 32 | 19 | 13 | 59% | ⚔ compare |
| ROCKIN ROBYNS BBQ | 30 | 15 | 15 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| PIGHEADED BBQ | 30 | 11 | 19 | 37% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 28 | 14 | 14 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| WILBUR'S REVENGE | 27 | 14 | 13 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| BAR-B-QUE MAYHAM | 26 | 19 | 7 | 73% | ⚔ compare |
| CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | 25 | 7 | 18 | 28% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN FOOLZ | 24 | 16 | 8 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| APORKALYPSE NOW | 23 | 3 | 20 | 13% | ⚔ compare |
| SIR-PORK'S-ALOT BBQ | 22 | 19 | 3 | 86% | ⚔ compare |
| 3 EYZ BBQ | 22 | 2 | 20 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| FLYING PORKERS | 21 | 12 | 9 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ | 21 | 11 | 10 | 52% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 54 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 176.5600 | 145.0972 | 163.90 | top 41% |
| Pork Ribs | 54 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 174.3088 | 138.8570 | 160.94 | top 45% |
| Pork | 54 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 174.2972 | 140.5028 | 162.30 | top 41% |
| Brisket | 53 | 29 | 5 | 10 | 176.5600 | 150.2854 | 166.28 | top 25% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 38 | 0 | top 35% |
| MD | 8 | 0 | top 27% |
| DE | 5 | 0 | top 22% |
| NJ | 1 | 0 | top 31% |
| VA | 1 | 0 | top 93% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 37% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 0 | top 47% |
| Medium (20–39) | 16 | 0 | top 34% |
| Large (40+) | 36 | 0 | top 33% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Holland Summer Fest | 7 | 8 | 0 | top 45% | 2019-08-23 |
| Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship | 3 | 6 | 0 | top 31% | 2019-10-04 |
| Smoke in the Park | 3 | 3 | 0 | top 34% | 2017-09-22 |
| Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 25% | 2017-06-09 |
| Que for the Troops | 3 | 15 | 0 | top 39% | 2017-06-02 |
| Keystone Classic Barbeque | 3 | 2 | 0 | top 17% | 2015-10-02 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +13.6 | Keystone Classic Barbeque | 2013-10-04 |
| +13.3 | The Gettysburg Cook-off North vs South | 2013-07-12 |
| +12.5 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 2015-08-21 |
| +11.8 | Middletown BBQ Cook Off | 2013-05-17 |
| +11.4 | Maryland State BBQ Bash | 2016-08-12 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -21.8 | New Holland Summer Fest | 2016-08-26 |
| -13.8 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) | 2013-09-06 |
| -9.7 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke | 2022-05-13 |
| -9.1 | *Smoke in the Grove(JUDGES FULL) | 2017-07-28 |
| -7.5 | New Holland Summer Fest | 2013-08-23 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 51% | 92.7% | 92.7% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 44% | 91.2% | 91.2% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 25% | 92.9% | 91.3% |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 89% | top 37% | 93.2% | 91.2% |
| 2016 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 90% | top 38% | 94.6% | 89.3% |
| 2015 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 100% | top 28% | 93.1% | 91.9% |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 88% | top 27% | 92.9% | 90.3% |
| 2013 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 77% | top 34% | 93.1% | 89% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-05-13 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 20 / 39 (667.2572) | 32 (162.8000) | 9 (170.8228) | 27 (161.6572) | 8 (171.9772) |
| 2019-10-04 | Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA | 17 / 36 (656.4572) | 13 (166.8688) | 16 (165.6684) | 30 (154.8000) | 7 (169.1200) |
| 2019-08-23 | New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA | 27 / 65 (656.3996) | 23 (166.2744) | 17 (169.7028) | 51 (153.0396) | 19 (167.3828) |
| 2018-10-05 | Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA | 6 / 42 (668.5256) | 6 (170.8572) | 28 (157.6800) | 8 (168.5828) | 4 (171.4056) |
| 2018-08-24 | New Holland Summer Fest(JUDGES FULL) New Holland, PA | 25 / 71 (645.4968) | 35 (159.9428) | 35 (158.2056) | 18 (162.8228) | 19 (164.5256) |
| 2017-10-06 | Keystone Classic BBQ Harrisburg, PA | 8 / 39 (665.7028) | 9 (169.1200) | 32 (154.2744) | 11 (168.5828) | 1 (173.7256) |
| 2017-09-22 | Smoke in the Park Lemoyne, PA | 25 / 44 (647.3256) | 36 (157.0856) | 37 (153.7144) | 5 (168.5600) | 12 (167.9656) |
| 2017-09-15 | Smoke on the Water New Jersey State Barbecue Championship Atlantic City, NJ | 13 / 42 (662.8116) | 42 (145.0972) | 1 (174.3088) | 3 (174.2972) | 9 (169.1084) |
| 2017-08-25 | New Holland Summer Fest New Holland, PA | 30 / 69 (649.0288) | 2 (172.5600) | 31 (161.6916) | 26 (161.6800) | 50 (153.0972) |
| 2017-08-04 | *Pit at the Park Macungie, PA | 6 / 32 (662.8232) | 8 (170.2972) | 3 (169.1200) | 30 (151.9888) | 2 (171.4172) |
| 2017-07-28 | *Smoke in the Grove(JUDGES FULL) Spring Grove, PA | 34 / 51 (638.1596) | 44 (154.2628) | 47 (144.4912) | 3 (171.9884) | 12 (167.4172) |
| 2017-06-09 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA | 13 / 29 (653.0168) | 11 (168.0228) | 20 (159.3944) | 20 (158.7884) | 10 (166.8112) |
| 2017-06-02 | Que for the Troops Levittown, PA | 16 / 63 (656.9940) | 42 (160.5028) | 31 (161.0972) | 11 (168.5484) | 12 (166.8456) |
| 2017-04-14 | *Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD | 16 / 58 (671.3484) | 20 (168.0000) | 20 (167.4172) | 9 (170.8456) | 26 (165.0856) |
| 2016-10-21 | Boo-B-Que Rehobeth Beach, DE | 23 / 67 (649.5656) | 6 (171.4172) | 53 (149.6456) | 38 (156.5372) | 4 (171.9656) |
| 2016-10-07 | Keystone Classic BBQ State Championship 🏅 Harrisburg, PA | 15 / 47 (662.2744) | 22 (166.2972) | 3 (171.4172) | 32 (160.0116) | 14 (164.5484) |
| 2016-09-23 | Smoke in the Park Lemoyne, PA | 14 / 38 (660.5488) | 13 (166.8800) | 26 (158.2744) | 8 (167.4172) | 8 (167.9772) |
| 2016-09-10 | Philadelphia's Inaugural Fire Up HOPE Devon, PA | 16 / 33 (653.6456) | 13 (166.8572) | 20 (162.2744) | 13 (163.9656) | 21 (160.5484) |
| 2016-08-26 | New Holland Summer Fest New Holland, PA | 66 / 66 (490.7428) | 5 (173.1200) | 37 (160.5372) | 44 (157.0856) | — |
| 2016-08-12 | Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | 2 / 42 (681.0740) | 5 (176.5600) | 13 (169.7372) | 19 (165.1084) | 8 (169.6684) |
| 2016-06-10 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA | 7 / 29 (661.6456) | 6 (169.6912) | 14 (159.4288) | 13 (165.1428) | 6 (167.3828) |
| 2016-06-03 | Que for the Troops Levittown, PA | 2 / 67 (670.2968) | 10 (168.0000) | 7 (167.4628) | 18 (162.2856) | 5 (172.5484) |
| 2016-05-06 | Smoke in the Valley BBQ competition Greenlane, PA | 23 / 47 (648.4456) | 7 (172.5600) | 26 (159.9772) | 38 (153.6800) | 21 (162.2284) |
| 2016-04-15 | *Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD | 19 / 41 (652.4112) | 9 (171.4056) | 26 (157.6916) | 27 (160.5256) | 19 (162.7884) |
| 2015-10-02 | Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA | 22 / 57 (655.2684) | 9 (169.6800) | 34 (158.2744) | 31 (161.0856) | 17 (166.2284) |
| 2015-09-25 | Smoke in the Park Lemoyne, PA | 3 / 34 (669.6228) | 4 (171.9772) | 13 (162.2856) | 5 (169.1200) | 7 (166.2400) |
| 2015-08-28 | New Holland Summer Fest New Holland, PA | 17 / 70 (655.3484) | 21 (166.8228) | 55 (148.5256) | 18 (164.5828) | 3 (175.4172) |
| 2015-08-21 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA | 2 / 30 (670.2516) | 9 (169.7144) | 5 (166.8572) | 12 (160.5256) | 1 (173.1544) |
| 2015-08-14 | 14th Annual Maryland State BBQ Bash Bel Air, MD | 18 / 46 (662.7312) | 26 (163.3712) | 34 (154.2744) | 13 (168.5256) | 1 (176.5600) |
| 2015-06-27 | Ribs & Rides BBQ Festival at Dorney Park Allentown, PA | 11 / 17 (651.3372) | 16 (155.3828) | 10 (161.1544) | 11 (162.8344) | 3 (171.9656) |
| 2015-06-05 | Que for the Troops Levittown, PA | 24 / 54 (658.7772) | 26 (165.1200) | 49 (151.3944) | 16 (169.1428) | 5 (173.1200) |
| 2015-05-08 | Smoke in the Valley BBQ Competition & Festival Green Lane, PA | 5 / 57 (662.8572) | 23 (163.9656) | 7 (169.1772) | 15 (165.7600) | 12 (163.9544) |
| 2015-04-10 | Triple Threat BBQ Beer and Music Festival Harrington, DE | 12 / 99 (666.2288) | 44 (162.2400) | 37 (161.7144) | 2 (174.2972) | 17 (167.9772) |
| 2014-10-03 | Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA | 5 / 53 (669.1656) | 4 (172.0228) | 27 (159.9656) | 19 (164.5600) | 3 (172.6172) |
| 2014-09-12 | Coal Cracker Smoke & Stoke BBQ Competition Scranton, PA | 10 / 25 (641.7488) | 18 (153.1544) | 6 (164.0116) | 11 (158.2628) | 5 (166.3200) |
| 2014-09-05 | 6th Annual Southern York County BBQ Cook-off York, PA | 22 / 39 (642.7772) | 34 (150.8456) | 7 (167.9772) | 14 (163.9428) | 15 (160.0116) |
| 2014-08-22 | New Holland Summer Fest New Holland, PA | 8 / 70 (656.0116) | 50 (152.5600) | 9 (168.0116) | 4 (171.4284) | 12 (164.0116) |
| 2014-08-08 | MD State BBQ Bash, Presented by Mars Super Markets Bel Air, MD | 11 / 54 (654.1372) | 34 (158.2400) | 13 (166.2400) | 6 (168.5600) | 16 (161.0972) |
| 2014-07-18 | Warren County All American BBQ Festival Pittsfield, PA | 5 / 21 (657.1316) | 9 (162.8800) | 4 (164.5716) | 6 (162.8344) | 7 (166.8456) |
| 2014-06-06 | Que for the Troops Levittown, PA | 15 / 65 (641.7144) | 22 (161.1544) | 47 (150.8572) | 9 (165.1428) | 9 (164.5600) |
| 2014-04-11 | Delaware's Triple Threat BBQ Festival at the Fair Harrington, DE | 30 / 109 (637.0056) | 29 (161.6800) | 67 (150.2628) | 31 (161.0856) | 21 (163.9772) |
| 2013-10-04 | Keystone Classic Barbeque Harrisburg, PA | 2 / 55 (670.2972) | 29 (156.5600) | 1 (172.0000) | 7 (166.2972) | 1 (175.4400) |
| 2013-09-20 | Hogs & Hops Dover Dover, DE | 10 / 45 (654.8800) | 15 (164.0000) | 7 (166.8572) | 19 (162.8800) | 13 (161.1428) |
| 2013-09-06 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Chesapeake, VA | 28 / 30 (622.7204) | 29 (151.9544) | 20 (160.5944) | 30 (150.2172) | 16 (159.9544) |
| 2013-08-23 | New Holland Summer Fest New Holland, PA | 44 / 71 (618.2284) | 38 (157.7372) | 47 (151.4400) | 65 (140.5028) | 7 (168.5484) |
| 2013-08-16 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Laurel, MD | 4 / 29 (669.6568) | 2 (174.2856) | 21 (158.2628) | 16 (161.1084) | 1 (176.0000) |
| 2013-07-19 | Warren All American BBQ Festival Warren, PA | 5 / 17 (658.8000) | 4 (167.4400) | 5 (165.1200) | 8 (164.5372) | 9 (161.7028) |
| 2013-07-12 | The Gettysburg Cook-off North vs South Gettysburg, PA | 3 / 29 (658.2628) | 2 (169.7372) | 1 (169.1772) | 21 (153.0628) | 3 (166.2856) |
| 2013-06-14 | Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival Frederick, MD | 29 / 63 (633.7134) | 47 (154.2854) | 23 (161.1428) | 10 (167.9998) | 45 (150.2854) |
| 2013-05-31 | Que for the Troops Levittown, PA | 31 / 46 (598.8570) | 27 (154.2858) | 41 (138.8570) | 35 (144.5714) | 8 (161.1428) |
| 2013-05-17 | Middletown BBQ Cook Off Middletown, DE | 7 / 56 (645.7144) | 36 (151.4284) | 3 (166.2858) | 20 (158.8572) | 4 (169.1430) |
| 2013-05-10 | Green Lane Fire CO's Green Lane, PA | 17 / 58 (625.7144) | 12 (162.2856) | 22 (153.7144) | 14 (157.1430) | 29 (152.5714) |
| 2013-04-19 | Pork in the Park Barbeque Festival Salisbury, MD | 22 / 106 (634.8572) | 35 (160.5714) | 14 (163.4290) | 40 (157.7142) | 57 (153.1426) |
| 2013-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | 26 / 70 (642.2854) | 5 (170.8570) | 46 (154.2858) | 32 (159.4284) | 35 (157.7142) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #1207 (85 pts) | #1341 (60 pts) | #1022 (145 pts) | #1348 (60 pts) | #916 (155 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #1124 (235 pts) | #1174 (235 pts) | #1614 (120 pts) | #1126 (250 pts) | #994 (300 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #389 (951 pts) | #372 (1006 pts) | #388 (981 pts) | #258 (1256 pts) | #254 (1311 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #258 (1297 pts) | #182 (1472 pts) | #375 (1012 pts) | #469 (872 pts) | #271 (1237 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #267 (1246 pts) | #418 (911 pts) | #423 (881 pts) | #279 (1166 pts) | #154 (1691 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #330 (1090 pts) | #507 (756 pts) | #448 (881 pts) | #354 (1036 pts) | #328 (1091 pts) |
| 2013 ↗ | Master | #203 (1397 pts) | #203 (1277 pts) | #168 (1417 pts) | #251 (1117 pts) | #154 (1527 pts) |