They almost always walk
89%
of contests with a top-10 call
A call in 8 of 9 contests
A top-10 category call in 89% of their 9 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
Pura Vida BBQ
Pura Vida BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2025 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 19 at the Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 (2026). They are ranked #4390 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1475
peak 1475 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Mar 14, 2025
latest Sep 25, 2026 · 1.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
22% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 67%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
669.43 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 657.17 (+12.26)
Walk rate
89%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±20.40
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 166.06 · weakest Pork (162.26)
Road miles
2,712
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 2,106 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1532)
Purse competed for
$5,000
listed at 1 contest — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
657.17 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 | #260 (770 pts) | #189 (1,044 pts) | #271 (870 pts) | #264 (795 pts) | #229 (890 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Pura Vida BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
146 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,394 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1503
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Pura Vida BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Pura Vida BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,392 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1475
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Pura Vida BBQ)
Fewer contests behind them than Pura Vida BBQ has cooked, 5 to 9, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#4,371 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1476
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#4,376 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Pura Vida BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,409 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1503
They were already cooking in 2013, 12 years before Pura Vida BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#4,397 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1502
Level with Pura Vida BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar 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 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 176.5716 | 157.1084 | 164.94 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 175.4400 | 157.7144 | 166.06 | top 59% |
| Pork | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 170.8228 | 143.4172 | 162.26 | top 65% |
| Brisket | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 176.0344 | 158.8456 | 164.29 | top 49% |
“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) | 6 | 0 | top 66% |
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 69% |
By state / province (where the contests were held)
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1 | 0 | top 74% |
| SJ | 1 | 0 | top 26% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
8 contests
Contests a season
4.5
across 2 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
DE
1 of 9 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Chicken
9 entries · 0 wins · 4 calls
Opponents faced
118
finished ahead 56 times, behind 122
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20266 milestones
- 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 First State BBQ Bash
20252 milestones
- First tracked contest Masters BBQ Challenge CR
- First call Masters BBQ Challenge CR
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.8 | Pz al Carbon, Festival BBQ 2026 | Jun 26, 2026 |
| +8.4 | Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge | Mar 6, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.7 | Masters BBQ Challenge CR | Mar 14, 2025 |
| -8.4 | ECP BBQ Challenge | Jul 24, 2026 |
| -7.2 | BBQ Fest Costa Rica | Feb 21, 2026 |
| -6.9 | BBQ Fest Parque Tempisque | May 1, 2026 |
| -5 | First State BBQ Bash | Sep 25, 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 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 88% | top 63% | 95% | 91.8% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2026 | First State BBQ Bash 🏅 Milford, DE | 29 / 39 (657.5656) | 27 (163.9772) | 30 (161.6800) | 12 (170.8228) | 30 (161.0856) |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Camino del Fuego 2026 (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) San Rafael, Alajuela, Costa Rica | — | 6 (168) | — | — | — |
| Jul 24, 2026 | ECP BBQ Challenge San Jose | 14 / 17 (671.9432) | 4 (176.5716) | 10 (170.2744) | 17 (165.0972) | 16 (160) |
| Jun 26, 2026 | 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) |
| May 1, 2026 | BBQ Fest Parque Tempisque Guanacaste | 11 / 14 (653.1432) | 6 (166.2744) | 12 (158.8572) | 9 (166.8572) | 10 (161.1544) |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Jaco Beach BBQ Challenge Play Jaco | 6 / 16 (680.5832) | 16 (158.8344) | 3 (175.4400) | 7 (170.2744) | 4 (176.0344) |
| Feb 21, 2026 | BBQ Fest Costa Rica Alajuela | 14 / 18 (655.9888) | 15 (159.4404) | 11 (166.2628) | 7 (165.1428) | 6 (165.1428) |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Chiriqui Grill Fest Internacional Chiriqui | 20 / 31 (623.9312) | 19 (157.1084) | 12 (164.5600) | 29 (143.4172) | 8 (158.8456) |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Masters BBQ Challenge CR San Jose | 16 / 17 (630.2856) | 14 (160.5600) | 15 (157.7144) | 15 (146.8112) | 3 (165.2000) |