High-water mark
683.9316
career-best overall
95.0% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 683.9316 at Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 — 95.0% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2026-06-26
Pura Vida BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1480
peak 1480 · rated over 7 contests ⓘ
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2025-03-14
latest 2026-07-24
Best ToY finish
#232
Master 2026
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 66%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
669.12 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 657.12 (+12.00)
Walk rate
100%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±21.80
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.69 · weakest Pork (161.04)
Road miles
632
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi
Schedule strength
15%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1522)
Master avg
657.12 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (5 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.
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Firehouse Jimat BBQ has finished one call ahead of Pura Vida BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
A tough matchup
7–0
behind in the head-to-head
Justice BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings
Justice BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.
The weak link
−5.6
points behind their best meat
Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.65 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 43% of the time against 43%.
- Pork avg 161.04
- Pork Ribs avg 166.69
- 3 calls in 7 entries
A strong matchup
3–0
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 100% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Tico BBQ Club in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
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.
140 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4117 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1514
No shared contest yet.
They've been 1514 at their best, 34 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-head#4110 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1515
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before Pura Vida BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#4090 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1511
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#4101 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1480
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 11 years before Pura Vida BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#4082 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1481
No shared contest yet.
Level with Pura Vida BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#4118 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1480
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 BBQ | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Smoke 44 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% | ⚔ compare |
| Justice BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Bros & Fire PTY | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| DrumQ BBQ Costa Rica | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Club Carbon CR | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Tiquicia Smokers BBQ | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176.5716 | 157.1084 | 164.64 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4400 | 157.7144 | 166.69 | top 56% |
| Pork | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 170.2744 | 143.4172 | 161.04 | top 70% |
| Brisket | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 176.0344 | 158.8456 | 164.74 | top 45% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 66% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 65% |
The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
1.4 yrs
2025-03-14 → 2026-07-24
Busiest season
2026
6 contests
Contests a season
3.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
SJ
1 of 7 contests
Contests visited
7
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
7 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 166.69 · weakest Pork (161.04)
Walk rate
100%
a top-10 call in 7 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
29%
2 of 7 contests
Master average
657.12
out of 720 · 7 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
65
46–79 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
632
7 mapped stops · furthest 137 mi
Schedule strength
1522
average field rating faced — tougher than 15% of rated contests
Power rating
1480
peak 1480 · #4102 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2025
- First tracked contest Masters BBQ Challenge CR
- First call Masters BBQ Challenge CR
- 2026
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.9888 BBQ Fest Costa Rica
- First overall top-10 Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge
- Career-best overall score683.9316 Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026
- Peak power rating (1489) Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026
- Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5716 ECP BBQ Challenge
- Most recent contest ECP BBQ Challenge
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.8 | Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 | 2026-06-26 |
| +8.4 | Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge | 2026-03-06 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.7 | Masters BBQ Challenge CR | 2025-03-14 |
| -8.4 | ECP BBQ Challenge | 2026-07-24 |
| -7.2 | BBQ Fest Costa Rica | 2026-02-21 |
| -6.9 | BBQ Fest Parque Tempisque | 2026-05-01 |
| -2.8 | Chiriqui Grill Fest Internacional | 2026-01-24 |
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)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 61% | 95% | 91.9% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 94% | 87.5% | 87.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-24 | ECP BBQ Challenge San Jose, 92701 | 14 / 17 (671.9432) | 4 (176.5716) | 10 (170.2744) | 17 (165.0972) | 16 (160.0000) |
| 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) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #232 (710 pts) | #214 (830 pts) | #238 (810 pts) | #256 (670 pts) | #199 (830 pts) |