MAN MEAT FIRE

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

Power ranking

#2881

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1508

peak 1511 · rated over 8 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-09-06

latest 2018-10-12

Best ToY finish

#1954

Master 2018

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 8 contests

Avg finish

top 54%

overall standings

Best overall

678.2284 / 720

Master · *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

658.03 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 657.46 (+0.58)

Walk rate

63%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7028

Brisket · *Anchor City Cook Off

Consistency

±11.29

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 166.12 · weakest Chicken (162.89)

Road miles

2,991

mi across 8 mapped stops · furthest 1375 mi

Schedule strength

40%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1552)

Master avg

657.46 / 720

8 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

63% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 5 of 8 contests

A top-10 category call in 63% of their 8 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

678.2284 career-best overall

94.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 678.2284 at *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ — 94.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
2018-10-05

A tough matchup

4–1 behind in the head-to-head

Sons of a Brisket ahead in 80% of their meetings

Sons of a Brisket has come out ahead in 4 of their 5 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of A SLEW OF SOWS AND A SMOKER in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

The comeback

3 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3 years, then back at 2016 Greenbriar Blaze Off and Senior Q (2016-10-21).

last seen 2013-10-04
back 2016-10-21

Brisket nemesis

3 of 5 shared brisket entries lost

Sons of a Brisket ahead 60% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Sons of a Brisket has out-cooked them in 3 of 5 shared brisket entries.

The metronome

±1.57% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.57% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.3% of a perfect score
8 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.

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

SHOW ME THE QUE!

#2883 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1508

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to MAN MEAT FIRE)

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

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2021-09-16

⚔ Head-to-head

Daddy & Me BBQ

#2889 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1521

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

TORINO RIBS

#2896 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1511

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.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2018-06-09
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

Cross Cut BBQ

#2897 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1516

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 9 years after MAN MEAT FIRE did, first appearing in 2022.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2026-07-10

⚔ Head-to-head

LV Bucketlist BBQ

#2887 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

Level with MAN MEAT FIRE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2026-04-17

⚔ Head-to-head

SOUTHERN BRED BARBEQUE

#2886 of the rated field

1508 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1508

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 3 years before MAN MEAT FIRE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 7 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Sons of a Brisket	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	8	2	0	173.1084	151.9200	162.89	top 56%
Pork Ribs	8	1	0	171.4056	158.8228	163.76	top 52%
Pork	8	0	0	170.8684	157.6340	164.68	top 54%
Brisket	8	4	2	177.7028	149.6572	166.12	top 37%

“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
MO	6	top 50%
KS	1	top 78%
CA	1	top 49%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 67%
Medium (20–39)	3	top 72%
Large (40+)	4	top 37%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ	2	15	0	top 34%	2018-10-05

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 5.1 yrs 2013-09-06 → 2018-10-12

Busiest season 2018 4 contests

Contests a season 2 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MO 6 of 8 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 7 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 8 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Brisket averages 166.12 · weakest Chicken (162.89)

Walk rate 63% a top-10 call in 5 of 8 contests

Overall top-10 rate 13% 1 of 8 contests

Master average 657.46 out of 720 · 8 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 330 217–186 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 2,991 8 mapped stops · furthest 1,375 mi

Schedule strength 1552 average field rating faced — tougher than 40% of rated contests

Longest layoff 3 yrs 2013-10-04 → 2016-10-21

Power rating 1508 peak 1511 · #2881 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
Sep 6 First tracked contest Blue Springs Barbeque Blaze-Off
Sep 6 First overall past 90% of a perfect score669.6228 Blue Springs Barbeque Blaze-Off
2016
Oct 21 First call 2016 Greenbriar Blaze Off and Senior Q
Oct 21 First overall top-10 2016 Greenbriar Blaze Off and Senior Q
2017
Oct 6 Peak power rating (1511) *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ
2018
Oct 5 Career-best overall score678.2284 *Independence Fire & Ice BBQ
Oct 12 Career-best single call (Brisket)177.7028 *Anchor City Cook Off
Oct 12 Most recent contest *Anchor City Cook Off

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.1	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ	2018-10-05
+7.8	Blue Springs Barbeque Blaze-Off	2013-09-06
+4.9	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ	2017-10-06
+0.9	Dana Point State BBQ Championship	2013-10-04

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.5	McLouth BBQ Blowout 27th Annual( JUDGES FULL)	2018-06-01
-3.2	*1st Annual Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off(JUDGES FULL)	2018-07-13
-2.8	2016 Greenbriar Blaze Off and Senior Q	2016-10-21
-1.9	*Anchor City Cook Off	2018-10-12

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)
2018	4	0	75%	top 61%	94.2%	91.2%
2017	1	0	100%	top 42%	92%	92%
2016	1	1	100%	top 67%	90.9%	90.9%
2013	2	0	0%	top 39%	93%	91.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018-10-12	*Anchor City Cook Off Centralia, MO	22 / 33 (656.9596)	25 (160.5028)	24 (161.1200)	30 (157.6340)	2 (177.7028)
2018-10-05	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO	15 / 56 (678.2284)	23 (164.5372)	20 (167.4056)	16 (170.8684)	3 (175.4172)
2018-07-13	*1st Annual Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off(JUDGES FULL) Cameron, MO	17 / 24 (647.8284)	20 (155.3944)	15 (164.5256)	16 (158.7884)	8 (169.1200)
2018-06-01	McLouth BBQ Blowout 27th Annual( JUDGES FULL) McLouth, KS	28 / 36 (644.4112)	35 (151.9200)	29 (158.8228)	20 (165.1084)	11 (168.5600)
2017-10-06	*Independence Fire & Ice BBQ Independence, MO	32 / 76 (662.7424)	9 (173.1084)	12 (171.4056)	49 (162.2628)	52 (155.9656)
2016-10-21	2016 Greenbriar Blaze Off and Senior Q Independence, MO	10 / 15 (654.2052)	10 (164.5256)	10 (159.4056)	11 (164.5484)	7 (165.7256)
2013-10-04	Dana Point State BBQ Championship Dana Point, CA	49 / 99 (645.6572)	46 (163.4516)	46 (161.7028)	13 (170.8456)	83 (149.6572)
2013-09-06	Blue Springs Barbeque Blaze-Off Blue Springs, MO	21 / 72 (669.6228)	19 (169.6800)	27 (165.6800)	29 (167.4172)	14 (166.8456)

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#1901 (85 pts)	#1539 (130 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1970 (75 pts)	#2073 (75 pts)	#2043 (75 pts)	#1726 (135 pts)	#2034 (75 pts)