BLACK DAWG BBQ

BLACK DAWG BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 24 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2018. Their best overall finish is 6th of 17 at the Warren All American BBQ Festival (2013). They are ranked #1776 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,776

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1549

peak 1569 · rated over 24 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 25, 2013

latest Jun 15, 2018 · 5.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#665

Master 2013 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

7 podiums

Overall top-10s

25% of 24 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 45%

overall standings

Best overall

662.2858 / 720

Master · Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

644.10 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 647.96 (-3.86)

Walk rate

58%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

175.4400

Chicken · Roc City Rib Fest

Consistency

±11.43

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 165.06 · weakest Pork Ribs (160.39)

Road miles

4,159

across 24 mapped stops · furthest 374 mi

Schedule strength

35%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1546)

Master avg

647.96 / 720

24 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (7 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SMOKIN' AIN'T EASY has finished one call ahead of BLACK DAWG BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2013 their best year

2013 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 21%.

6 contests
4 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 21%

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

GOOD SMOKE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

GOOD SMOKE BBQ has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.7 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.67 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 21% of the time against 38%.

Pork Ribs avg 160.39
Chicken avg 165.06
5 calls in 24 entries

A strong matchup

10–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 77% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of KISS MY BBQ in 10 of their 13 shared contests.

The long haul

4,159 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,159 miles across 24 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 374 miles to Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional).

24 mapped stops
furthest 374 mi

The metronome

±1.59% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.59% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.0% of a perfect score
24 contests

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1368 (160 pts)	#1598 (120 pts)	#1614 (120 pts)	#1140 (245 pts)	#1214 (225 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1528 (164 pts)	#1463 (189 pts)	#977 (384 pts)	#1689 (139 pts)	#1552 (174 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1375 (200 pts)	#844 (450 pts)	#1542 (180 pts)	#1564 (180 pts)	#1119 (295 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#806 (427 pts)	#765 (482 pts)	#678 (567 pts)	#1025 (332 pts)	#852 (422 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1384 (197 pts)	#866 (417 pts)	#1719 (147 pts)	#1600 (167 pts)	#1615 (162 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#665 (464 pts)	#832 (389 pts)	#784 (424 pts)	#514 (639 pts)	#910 (339 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BLACK DAWG BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

SMOKEY DOG BBQ

#1,770 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1552

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 25 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Jan 28, 2022

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American Barbecue Company

#1,775 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1568

Careers of much the same size, 26 contests to 24, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 26 contests
last seen Sep 19, 2026

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BRISKETS-BONES & BREWS BBQ

#1,774 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1549

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 17 contests, alongside a 29% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Apr 29, 2022
on a 3-contest top-10 run

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BIG ROCK BBQ

#1,779 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1549

Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2013.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jun 1, 2019

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Porkasaurus Rex BBQ

#1,772 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 64%
Peak: 1549

4 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Oct 2, 2026

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SWEET ASH BBQ

#1,769 of the rated field

1549 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1552

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

rated over 13 contests
last seen Sep 24, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
RED VALLEY BBQ	16	7	9	44%	⚔ compare
SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS	15	5	10	33%	⚔ compare
KISS MY BBQ	13	10	3	77%	⚔ compare
THREE DOGS BBQ	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
THE GOOD CUE CREW	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' AIN'T EASY	13	9	4	69%	⚔ compare
Sweet Heat BBQ	12	9	3	75%	⚔ compare
BEHIND BBQ	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
TRANQUIL CARNIVORES	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
BIG BELLY BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
GOOD SMOKE BBQ	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
Big Pappa's Smokin' BBQ	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
THE 5TH ARTERY	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BARRELS	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	24	9	1	2	175.4400	153.0628	165.06	top 42%
Pork Ribs	24	5	1	2	173.1428	149.7144	160.39	top 51%
Pork	24	5	0	2	170.8800	140.4572	161.43	top 47%
Brisket	24	5	0	1	173.1428	144.5714	161.07	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 field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 47%
Medium (20–39)	9	top 57%
Large (40+)	13	top 36%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
NY	13	top 40%
PA	4	top 45%
WV	3	top 46%
MD	2	top 37%
VA	1	top 97%
OH	1	top 59%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Oinktoberfest	3	10	top 35%	Sep 22, 2017
Roc City Rib Fest	2	18	top 32%	May 28, 2016
Roc City Rib Fest	2	18	top 26%	May 23, 2015

More numbers

Busiest season 2013 6 contests

Contests a season 4 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NY 13 of 24 contests · 6 states in all

Contests visited 20 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 467 finished ahead 658 times, behind 400

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

20181 milestone

Jun 15 Most recent contest Almost Heaven BBQ Bash

20162 milestones

May 28 First category win (Chicken) Roc City Rib Fest
May 28 Career-best single call (Chicken)175.4400 Roc City Rib Fest

20151 milestone

Aug 21 Peak power rating (1569) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

20141 milestone

Aug 8 10th tracked contest Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival

20135 milestones

May 25 First tracked contest Roc City Rib Fest
May 25 First call Roc City Rib Fest
Jun 14 First overall top-10 Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival
Jun 14 First overall past 90% of a perfect score662.2858 Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival
Jun 14 Career-best overall score662.2858 Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.3	Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival	Jun 14, 2013
+10.1	Oinktoberfest	Sep 20, 2013
+9.7	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Aug 21, 2015
+9.1	Roc City Rib Fest	May 25, 2013
+9	Pickin' in the Panhandle	Sep 6, 2013

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-10.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)	Sep 4, 2015
-8.1	BBQ In the Valley	May 5, 2017
-7.9	Warren County All American BBQ Festival	Jul 18, 2014
-5.4	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash	Jun 17, 2016
-3.6	Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest	Aug 12, 2016

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2018	2	0	0	50%	top 46%	91.5%	91.4%
2017	3	0	1	33%	top 66%	90.4%	88.2%
2016	4	0	1	25%	top 56%	90.9%	89.9%
2015	4	2	0	75%	top 53%	91.4%	90.7%
2014	5	0	0	60%	top 44%	90.5%	89%
2013	6	4	0	83%	top 21%	92%	90.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jun 15, 2018	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Weston, WV	26 / 59 (657.5428)	27 (165.0972)	31 (159.9544)	14 (169.1084)	31 (163.3828)
May 25, 2018	Gettysburg BBQ Festival (JUDGES FULL) Gettysburg, PA	17 / 35 (658.8000)	27 (159.4172)	26 (158.8344)	11 (167.4056)	7 (173.1428)
Sep 22, 2017	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	30 / 53 (622.6632)	41 (156.5260)	27 (160.0116)	29 (156.5028)	38 (149.6228)
Jun 2, 2017	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Laurel, MD	18 / 28 (650.7540)	15 (166.2856)	1 (173.1428)	18 (159.9428)	23 (151.3828)
May 5, 2017	BBQ In the Valley Jamestown, NY	20 / 26 (630.7204)	18 (160.5600)	14 (165.1316)	25 (140.4572)	13 (164.5716)
Sep 23, 2016	Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff Clarence, NY	25 / 54 (637.1428)	23 (162.3084)	29 (155.9772)	37 (154.8344)	17 (164.0228)
Aug 12, 2016	Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest Salamanca, NY	17 / 28 (649.6796)	14 (161.7256)	19 (159.9772)	11 (165.7256)	14 (162.2512)
Jun 17, 2016	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash Buckhannon, WV	31 / 42 (647.8632)	18 (170.2628)	33 (159.3600)	36 (154.2516)	23 (163.9888)
May 28, 2016	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	21 / 50 (654.8232)	1 (175.4400)	47 (150.2860)	30 (162.2400)	12 (166.8572)
Sep 4, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Richmond, VA	29 / 30 (639.2916)	9 (173.1428)	22 (163.3944)	27 (157.0972)	28 (145.6572)
Aug 21, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Harrisburg, PA	7 / 30 (657.1772)	20 (160.0112)	2 (171.4744)	10 (161.1428)	8 (164.5488)
Jun 12, 2015	Marietta River City BBQ Marietta, OH	10 / 17 (658.0916)	7 (171.9656)	10 (163.9544)	16 (158.2172)	12 (163.9544)
May 23, 2015	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	18 / 57 (658.2972)	14 (169.1428)	12 (166.3200)	41 (156.5600)	15 (166.2744)
Sep 20, 2014	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	23 / 66 (636.0232)	25 (160.6172)	48 (149.7144)	19 (163.4172)	19 (162.2744)
Aug 8, 2014	Smokin' Eagles International BBQ Festival N. Tonawanda, NY	18 / 39 (648.5828)	19 (166.2284)	27 (157.2116)	20 (163.4056)	15 (161.7372)
Jul 18, 2014	Warren County All American BBQ Festival Pittsfield, PA	15 / 21 (627.3260)	19 (153.1200)	16 (153.6800)	7 (161.1316)	10 (159.3944)
Jun 13, 2014	Crossborder Blues, Brews & Que Wilson, NY	22 / 47 (639.8744)	8 (168.5484)	39 (150.8116)	26 (160)	22 (160.5144)
May 24, 2014	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	18 / 86 (651.9428)	3 (173.1772)	39 (157.6572)	21 (163.9884)	48 (157.1200)
Sep 20, 2013	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	10 / 71 (658.3084)	9 (168.0228)	14 (163.9884)	3 (170.3200)	32 (155.9772)
Sep 6, 2013	Pickin' in the Panhandle Inwood, WV	8 / 37 (653.0516)	32 (153.0628)	6 (165.7144)	9 (169.1544)	14 (165.1200)
Jul 19, 2013	Warren All American BBQ Festival Warren, PA	6 / 17 (658.7544)	5 (166.2400)	10 (157.6688)	2 (170.8800)	7 (163.9656)
Jun 28, 2013	Boston Hill BBQ Fest Hamburg, NY	11 / 49 (658.8570)	9 (168)	24 (157.7144)	19 (162.8570)	2 (170.2856)
Jun 14, 2013	Central MD Swinetastic BBQ Festival Frederick, MD	6 / 63 (662.2858)	18 (165.1428)	14 (164.5714)	11 (167.4286)	13 (165.1430)
May 25, 2013	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	18 / 80 (633.1428)	10 (167.4286)	14 (162.8572)	27 (158.2856)	54 (144.5714)

BLACK DAWG BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Master avg

Storylines (7 found in their record)

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The long haul

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)