FIREBREATHERS BARBECUE

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

Power ranking

#3996

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1483

peak 1483 · rated over 11 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-04-26

latest 2015-05-08

Best ToY finish

#719

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 11 contests

Avg finish

top 62%

overall standings

Best overall

670.8000 / 720

Master · Cowley County BBQ Contest

Perfect 180s

Current form

655.00 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 650.57 (+4.42)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

179.4286

Chicken · Ol' Glory BBQ Bash

Consistency

±13.35

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 164.13 · weakest Pork (161.13)

Road miles

848

mi across 11 mapped stops · furthest 80 mi

Schedule strength

23%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)

Master avg

650.57 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 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.

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 7 of 11 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 11 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

670.8000 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 670.8000 at Cowley County BBQ Contest — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2014-07-11

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

SMOKE N HOGS BBQ KS has finished one call ahead of FIREBREATHERS BARBECUE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

10–0 behind in the head-to-head

RUBBING BUTTS BBQ KS ahead in 100% of their meetings

RUBBING BUTTS BBQ KS has come out ahead in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

A strong matchup

5–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 71% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SMOKE 'N' RUB in 5 of their 7 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

9 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

GREAT PLAINS BBQ ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, GREAT PLAINS BBQ has out-cooked them in 9 of 11 shared chicken entries.

The metronome

±1.85% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.85% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 90.4% of a perfect score
11 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.

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

Disco Balls BBQ

#4005 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1505

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to FIREBREATHERS BARBECUE)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team FIREBREATHERS BARBECUE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2019-06-22

⚔ Head-to-head

Nobody

#4009 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1504

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2025-05-09

⚔ Head-to-head

WHITE DOG BBQ

#4000 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1514

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1514 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2018-08-24

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKIN DOPES BBQ

#3993 of the rated field

1483 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1483

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2018-02-02

⚔ Head-to-head

FATBOYSBBQ

#4008 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1513

No shared contest yet.

12 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 33% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2021-07-17

⚔ Head-to-head

BULLETS AND BUTTS

#4003 of the rated field

1483 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

Level with FIREBREATHERS BARBECUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 12 contests
last seen 2017-10-13

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
GREAT PLAINS BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
RUBBING BUTTS BBQ KS	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE N HOGS BBQ KS	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
POK N DA RIBS	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
Lucky D's BBQ	8	2	6	25%	⚔ compare
WICHITA SWINEMEN	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
ROUGHNECKS BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
SMOKE 'N' RUB	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
NAUGHTY NURSES BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
JP CUSTOM SMOKE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
CHIP ON OUR SHOULDER	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
LONGBONE BBQ	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare
BUTCHER BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare
Smoke-A-Holics	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	11	2	1	179.4286	153.6572	164.13	top 57%
Pork Ribs	11	4	2	174.8572	139.9428	163.93	top 48%
Pork	11	2	0	167.9772	145.1428	161.13	top 64%
Brisket	11	3	0	169.6800	153.0628	161.38	top 58%

“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.

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
When Pigs Fly BBQ Contest & Fly In	2	19	0	top 60%	2014-08-22

The story so far (14 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 2 yrs 2013-04-26 → 2015-05-08

Busiest season 2014 5 contests

Contests a season 3.7 across 3 seasons in the data

Cooks most in KS 11 of 11 contests

Contests visited 10 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 11 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 164.13 · weakest Pork (161.13)

Walk rate 64% a top-10 call in 7 of 11 contests

Overall top-10 rate 9% 1 of 11 contests

Master average 650.57 out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 168 130–197 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 848 11 mapped stops · furthest 80 mi

Schedule strength 1531 average field rating faced — tougher than 23% of rated contests

Power rating 1483 peak 1483 · #3996 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Apr 26 First tracked contest R'Kansas City State BBQ Championship
Apr 26 First call R'Kansas City State BBQ Championship
Apr 26 Peak power rating (1490) R'Kansas City State BBQ Championship
May 31 First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.9996 Valley Center Spring Fling
Jun 14 Career-best single call (Chicken)179.4286 Ol' Glory BBQ Bash
Sep 6 First overall top-10 National Bar-B-Que Derby
2014
Jul 11 Career-best overall score670.8000 Cowley County BBQ Contest
Oct 17 10th tracked contest Harper County Bullseye BBQ
2015
May 8 Most recent contest Wheatstock Grill Off

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.3	National Bar-B-Que Derby	2013-09-06
+2.6	When Pigs Fly BBQ Contest & Fly In	2014-08-22
+2.5	Cowley County BBQ Contest	2014-07-11

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.9	R'Kansas City State BBQ Championship	2013-04-26
-6.4	Wheatstock Grill-Off: Peace, Love & BBQ	2014-05-16
-6.2	Ol' Glory BBQ Bash	2013-06-14
-3.4	Valley Center Spring Fling	2013-05-31
-2.3	When Pigs Fly BBQ Contest & Fly In	2013-08-23

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	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2015	1	0	0%	top 63%	90.9%	90.9%
2014	5	0	40%	top 62%	93.2%	90.5%
2013	5	1	100%	top 63%	92.4%	90.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2015-05-08	Wheatstock Grill Off Abilene, KS	20 / 32 (654.1712)	14 (169.1200)	23 (163.9772)	18 (165.1312)	25 (155.9428)
2014-10-17	Harper County Bullseye BBQ Harper, KS	19 / 30 (626.1712)	12 (162.2628)	28 (139.9428)	14 (158.8572)	11 (165.1084)
2014-09-12	Derby BBQ Festival Derby, KS	23 / 38 (657.6116)	31 (161.0972)	17 (169.1316)	24 (164.5600)	25 (162.8228)
2014-08-22	When Pigs Fly BBQ Contest & Fly In McPherson, KS	19 / 36 (666.2400)	16 (167.9772)	11 (170.2972)	27 (162.2628)	20 (165.7028)
2014-07-11	Cowley County BBQ Contest Winfield, KS	11 / 20 (670.8000)	9 (169.1200)	8 (169.1428)	16 (162.8572)	8 (169.6800)
2014-05-16	Wheatstock Grill-Off: Peace, Love & BBQ Abilene, KS	21 / 27 (638.1716)	27 (153.6572)	15 (162.8344)	8 (167.9772)	23 (153.7028)
2013-09-06	National Bar-B-Que Derby Derby, KS	9 / 35 (665.0400)	19 (162.8228)	3 (172.0000)	18 (162.8228)	7 (167.3944)
2013-08-23	When Pigs Fly BBQ Contest & Fly In McPherson, KS	20 / 30 (635.8284)	18 (161.0856)	8 (165.6684)	27 (156.0116)	25 (153.0628)
2013-06-14	Ol' Glory BBQ Bash Fredonia, KS	23 / 31 (643.4284)	2 (179.4286)	28 (151.4286)	28 (145.1428)	7 (167.4284)
2013-05-31	Valley Center Spring Fling Valley Center, KS	22 / 34 (651.9996)	19 (164.0000)	18 (164.0000)	10 (167.4286)	21 (156.5710)
2013-04-26	R'Kansas City State BBQ Championship Arkansas City, KS	21 / 25 (646.8566)	25 (154.8568)	2 (174.8572)	22 (159.4284)	21 (157.7142)

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
2015 ↗	Master	#2022 (82 pts)	#1925 (112 pts)	#2164 (67 pts)	#2053 (92 pts)	#2764 (57 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#782 (436 pts)	#780 (471 pts)	#710 (531 pts)	#779 (476 pts)	#761 (476 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#719 (435 pts)	#567 (575 pts)	#401 (785 pts)	#811 (405 pts)	#610 (530 pts)