MEL'S BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#5656

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1446

peak 1518 · rated over 29 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-03-15

latest 2019-05-31

Best ToY finish

#517

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 29 contests

Avg finish

top 63%

overall standings

Best overall

669.0860 / 720

Master · Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest

Perfect 180s

Current form

595.76 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 613.99 (-18.23)

Walk rate

21%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

176.5944

Pork Ribs · Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest

Consistency

±89.02

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 160.89 · weakest Brisket (152.59)

Road miles

2,651

mi across 29 mapped stops · furthest 236 mi

Schedule strength

37%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)

Purse competed for

$13K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 2 state-championship entries

Master avg

613.99 / 720

29 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (11 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.

High-water mark

669.0860 career-best overall

92.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 669.0860 at Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest — 92.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
2015-09-11

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

ROCK-N-ROLL RIB RUBBERS has finished one call ahead of MEL'S BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2013 their best year

2013 was the year it came together: 9 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 47%.

9 contests
2 overall top-10s
1 category wins
average top 47%

A tough matchup

15–1 behind in the head-to-head

THE SMOKING HILLS ahead in 94% of their meetings

THE SMOKING HILLS has come out ahead in 15 of their 16 shared contests.

The weak link

−8.3 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.31 points below their pork, and turns into a call 7% of the time against 10%.

Brisket avg 152.59
Pork avg 160.89
2 calls in 29 entries

A strong matchup

10–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 91% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of DUSTY ROADS BBQ in 10 of their 11 shared contests.

Pork nemesis

14 of 16 shared pork entries lost

THE SMOKING HILLS ahead 88% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, THE SMOKING HILLS has out-cooked them in 14 of 16 shared pork entries.

Going the wrong way

-25 rating points in a year

The rating has slipped 25 points across 4 contests since 2018-06-01 — from 1471 down to 1446.

4 contests since 2018-06-01
now 1446

Boom or bust

±12.36% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±12.36% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 85.3% of a perfect score
best 92.9%

An October team

Top 48% average finish in October

Something about October: average finish in the top 48% across 5 contests, versus top 63% the rest of the year.

5 October contests
top 63% the rest of the year

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Big Blue BBQ Championship every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 16th

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.

103 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Splitlog Smokers

#5667 of the rated field

1446 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1446

5–0 in 5 shared contests (100% to MEL'S BBQ)

These two have cooked 5 of the same contests — MEL'S BBQ ahead 5–0 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 17 contests
last seen 2025-11-05

⚔ Head-to-head

BURNT SIDE DOWN

#5668 of the rated field

1446 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1446

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 23 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 23 contests
last seen 2017-09-22

⚔ Head-to-head

Bulldog BBQ

#5672 of the rated field

1446 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1446

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 23 contests to 29, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 22 contests
last seen 2026-06-19

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN BARRELS

#5670 of the rated field

1446 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1446

No shared contest yet.

23 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 21 contests
last seen 2025-09-20

⚔ Head-to-head

UNCLE BUTCH BBQ

#5654 of the rated field

1446 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1446

No shared contest yet.

Level with MEL'S BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2019-07-26

⚔ Head-to-head

DESPERADO

#5661 of the rated field

1446 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1446

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 18 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2017-06-02

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
THE SMOKING HILLS	16	1	15	6%	⚔ compare
R BUTTS R SMOKIN	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
JAESTAR BBQ	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON WHEELS	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
B & C SMOKERS	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
Three Brothers Different Mothers	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
RED OAK BBQ	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
BURNT FINGER BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
DUSTY ROADS BBQ	11	10	1	91%	⚔ compare
MAD HOGS AND AN ENGLISHMAN	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
JP CUSTOM SMOKE	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
Lazy Butt BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
Theslabs.com	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
CLARK CREW BBQ	11	1	9	9%	⚔ compare
GETTIN' SAUCED	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	29	3	1	1	174.8800	142.8456	158.85	top 65%
Pork Ribs	29	2	1	1	176.5944	20.0000	154.80	top 60%
Pork	29	3	1	2	174.2628	146.2284	160.89	top 60%
Brisket	29	2	0	0	172.0000	20.0000	152.59	top 62%

“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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KS	20	top 68%
MO	8	top 50%
NE	1	top 49%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	13	0	top 62%
Large (40+)	16	0	top 63%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Big Blue BBQ Championship	6	16	top 79%	2019-05-31
*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2	48	top 95%	2018-07-13
Smoke in the Spring (WFC Quilfyer)	2	65	top 70%	2017-04-07
Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest	2	13	top 51%	2015-09-11
2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2	26	top 66%	2015-06-05

The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 6.2 yrs 2013-03-15 → 2019-05-31

Busiest season 2013 9 contests

Contests a season 4.1 across 7 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 20 of 29 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 20 5 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 29 entries · 1 win · 3 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 160.89 · weakest Brisket (152.59)

Walk rate 21% a top-10 call in 6 of 29 contests

Overall top-10 rate 7% 2 of 29 contests

Best top-10 run 2 straight contests

Master average 613.99 out of 720 · 29 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 1,850 1,755–2,387 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,651 29 mapped stops · furthest 236 mi

Schedule strength 1548 average field rating faced — tougher than 37% of rated contests

Purse competed for $13,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships 0 from 2 state-championship entries

Power rating 1446 peak 1518 · #5656 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Mar 15 First tracked contest NKC MO State BBQ Championship
Apr 12 First call The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake
Apr 12 First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.7140 The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake
Jul 26 First overall top-10 Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off
Jul 26 First overall podium Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off
Sep 13 First category win (Pork Ribs) Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest
Sep 13 Peak power rating (1518) Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest
2014
Jun 6 10th tracked contest Big Blue BBQ Championship
2015
Sep 11 Career-best overall score669.0860 Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest
Sep 11 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)176.5944 Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest
2017
Sep 1 25th tracked contest 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)
2019
May 31 Most recent contest Big Blue BBQ Championship

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+17.5	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open	2015-10-03
+13.9	Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off	2013-07-26
+8.8	Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest	2013-09-13
+5.1	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2013-06-07
+2.6	Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest	2014-09-12

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.7	2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2015-06-05
-11.8	*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2018-07-13
-10	*Big Blue BBQ Championship(TEAMS FULL)	2018-06-01
-8.5	*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest	2017-07-14
-8.1	HutchFest BBQ Cook-Off	2015-07-03

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 93%	86.5%	86.5%
2018	3	0	0	0%	top 92%	87.3%	79.7%
2017	4	0	0	0%	top 81%	89%	88%
2016	3	0	1	67%	top 53%	90.8%	89.6%
2015	5	0	0	20%	top 62%	92.9%	84.8%
2014	4	0	1	25%	top 59%	91.3%	88.9%
2013	9	2	1	22%	top 47%	91%	81.8%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019-05-31	Big Blue BBQ Championship 🏅 Marysville, KS	27 / 29 (622.7084)	24 (154.8344)	27 (154.8228)	29 (146.2284)	13 (166.8228)
2018-09-15	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	384 / 467 (628.4460)	434 (152.5144)	271 (164.5372)	324 (159.9884)	397 (151.4060)
2018-07-13	*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	48 / 48 (497.5768)	42 (157.6456)	48 (20.0000)	38 (162.2628)	35 (157.6684)
2018-06-01	*Big Blue BBQ Championship(TEAMS FULL) Marysville, KS	40 / 42 (595.8628)	40 (150.2284)	42 (136.4800)	27 (161.7600)	37 (147.3944)
2017-09-01	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	317 / 407 (634.2168)	382 (149.0628)	185 (166.2628)	183 (166.8684)	336 (152.0228)
2017-07-14	*Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	52 / 58 (633.0060)	32 (166.8572)	55 (154.8228)	19 (169.6800)	53 (141.6460)
2017-06-02	*Big Blue BBQ Championship(TEAM FULL) Marysville, KS	29 / 35 (625.5540)	35 (151.9656)	27 (157.6800)	29 (155.9656)	21 (159.9428)
2017-04-07	Smoke in the Spring (WFC Quilfyer) Osage City, KS	73 / 100 (641.0396)	61 (165.1200)	97 (141.6684)	69 (162.2512)	16 (172.0000)
2016-10-29	37th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue(OPEN) Kansas City, KS	290 / 557 (653.6572)	332 (162.2628)	95 (171.4400)	306 (163.4172)	372 (156.5372)
2016-09-16	Butler Chambers Barbeque & Huckster's Day Butler, MO	11 / 21 (636.5484)	18 (142.8456)	15 (153.7372)	1 (174.2628)	5 (165.7028)
2016-06-03	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	16 / 30 (645.1204)	9 (167.4172)	17 (156.6060)	21 (159.3944)	16 (161.7028)
2015-10-03	36th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbeque- Open Kansas City, MO	14 / 606 (512.0456)	494 (154.8456)	446 (157.0972)	404 (160.0000)	134 (169.1428)
2015-09-11	Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest Leavenworth, KS	16 / 28 (669.0860)	16 (168.5372)	5 (176.5944)	8 (172.0000)	27 (151.9544)
2015-07-03	HutchFest BBQ Cook-Off Hutchinson, KS	27 / 31 (622.2632)	25 (159.4288)	30 (145.1544)	28 (158.8456)	22 (158.8344)
2015-06-05	2015 Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	61 / 64 (612.3200)	64 (147.3140)	28 (163.9656)	59 (151.3944)	55 (149.6460)
2015-04-10	Smoke in the Spring Osage City, KS	65 / 97 (636.9600)	73 (157.6800)	58 (161.1200)	52 (162.8000)	63 (155.3600)
2014-10-02	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	394 / 552 (634.8572)	417 (158.3200)	336 (161.0972)	478 (151.4744)	231 (163.9656)
2014-09-12	Leavenworth Hog Wild BBQ Contest Leavenworth, KS	13 / 29 (657.7028)	1 (174.8800)	16 (162.8572)	26 (152.5600)	8 (167.4056)
2014-08-08	Cass County Weeping Water, NE	17 / 35 (642.8572)	22 (160.6056)	17 (162.8344)	23 (157.7600)	18 (161.6572)
2014-06-06	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	18 / 25 (624.4688)	18 (155.9428)	14 (162.8572)	18 (158.2628)	23 (147.4060)
2013-10-25	Bates County BBQ State Championship 🏅 Butler, MO	17 / 33 (646.1944)	22 (157.0856)	14 (163.3944)	20 (159.4172)	13 (166.2972)
2013-10-03	34th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	324 / 535 (631.8400)	97 (169.1084)	282 (158.8344)	375 (155.3712)	424 (148.5260)
2013-09-13	Leavenworth's Hog Wild West BBQ Contest Leavenworth, KS	9 / 34 (652.5484)	10 (162.8800)	1 (171.4056)	13 (163.4400)	21 (154.8228)
2013-07-26	Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off Dodge City, KS	3 / 47 (167.4172)	36 (147.9428)	20 (162.8228)	17 (164.5372)	47 (20.0000)
2013-06-07	Keepers of the Fire BBQ Contest Mayetta, KS	26 / 69 (654.8570)	18 (166.8572)	31 (165.1428)	49 (157.7140)	18 (165.1430)
2013-05-31	Big Blue BBQ Championship Marysville, KS	23 / 30 (630.2852)	25 (156.5712)	22 (157.1428)	22 (157.1428)	13 (159.4284)
2013-05-03	Apple Blossom Barbecue Contest St. Joseph, MO	25 / 39 (634.2860)	12 (168.0000)	20 (161.7144)	16 (165.7144)	38 (138.8572)
2013-04-12	The Best Dam BBQ Contest at Smithville Lake Smithville, MO	24 / 48 (649.7140)	28 (158.8570)	13 (167.4286)	3 (171.4284)	35 (152.0000)
2013-03-15	NKC MO State BBQ Championship N. Kansas City, MO	38 / 79 (636.5714)	35 (161.1428)	64 (149.7140)	20 (164.0000)	22 (161.7146)

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
2019 ↗	Master	#2549 (54 pts)	#2479 (59 pts)	#2553 (54 pts)	#2545 (54 pts)	#1678 (114 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1266 (180 pts)	#1319 (180 pts)	#1354 (180 pts)	#1342 (180 pts)	#1330 (180 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1392 (180 pts)	#1493 (180 pts)	#1506 (180 pts)	#1376 (210 pts)	#1246 (245 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1129 (276 pts)	#1180 (281 pts)	#1270 (251 pts)	#939 (406 pts)	#1038 (331 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#945 (334 pts)	#1000 (334 pts)	#868 (414 pts)	#935 (384 pts)	#1048 (304 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#888 (374 pts)	#732 (514 pts)	#943 (379 pts)	#1148 (284 pts)	#899 (379 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#517 (599 pts)	#498 (649 pts)	#365 (839 pts)	#393 (804 pts)	#491 (649 pts)