Pura Vida BBQ SJ
Rating
1489
peak 1489
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
2025-03-14
latest 2026-06-26
Best ToY finish
#173
Master 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 63%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
659.52 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 654.64 (+4.87)
Walk rate
100%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±22.62
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.09 · weakest Pork (160.36)
Road miles
585
mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Firehouse Jimat BBQ has finished one call ahead of Pura Vida BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
⚔️ A tough matchup
Justice BBQ has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
Teams like this (closest power rating, SJ first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 173.7144 | 157.1084 | 162.66 | top 64% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 175.4400 | 157.7144 | 166.09 | top 56% |
| Pork | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 170.2744 | 143.4172 | 160.36 | top 64% |
| Brisket | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 176.0344 | 158.8456 | 165.53 | top 37% |
“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 contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 0 | top 63% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 65% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2026 (5 contests)
- Cooks mostly in SJ (1 of 6 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (6 entries)
- All-time average overall score: 654.64
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 683.9316 | 659.52 |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 630.2856 | 630.29 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 Perez Zeldon, SJ | 5 / 19 (683.9316) | 3 (173.7144) | 8 (173.7144) | 11 (169.6800) | 9 (166.8228) |
| 2026-05-01 | BBQ Fest Parque Tempisque Guanacaste, 50101 | 11 / 14 (653.1432) | 6 (166.2744) | 12 (158.8572) | 9 (166.8572) | 10 (161.1544) |
| 2026-03-06 | Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge Play Jaco, 61101 | 6 / 16 (680.5832) | 16 (158.8344) | 3 (175.4400) | 7 (170.2744) | 4 (176.0344) |
| 2026-02-21 | BBQ Fest Costa Rica Alajuela, 10903 | 14 / 18 (655.9888) | 15 (159.4404) | 11 (166.2628) | 7 (165.1428) | 6 (165.1428) |
| 2026-01-24 | Chiriqui Grill Fest Internacional Chiriqui, +507 | 20 / 31 (623.9312) | 19 (157.1084) | 12 (164.5600) | 29 (143.4172) | 8 (158.8456) |
| 2025-03-14 | Masters BBQ Challenge CR San Jose, 10104 | 16 / 17 (630.2856) | 14 (160.5600) | 15 (157.7144) | 15 (146.8112) | 3 (165.2000) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #173 (613 pts) | #188 (638 pts) | #176 (693 pts) | #181 (588 pts) | #127 (743 pts) |