MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ

MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2017 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 47 at the Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 (2021), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #2305 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Manhattan Jacks BBQ”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,305

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1527

peak 1579 · rated over 24 contests3 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 9, 2017

latest May 19, 2023 · 5.9 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#401

Master 2023 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

8 podiums

Overall top-10s

38% of 32 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

671.3028 / 720

Master · New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)

Perfect 180s

Current form

322.91 ▼

last 5 Backyard vs avg 327.63 (-4.73)

Walk rate

66%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

176.5828

Chicken · Smoke in the Grove

Consistency

±10.23

spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 165.98 · weakest Pork (160.06)

Road miles

5,045

across 31 mapped stops · furthest 1,028 mi

Schedule strength

54%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1570)

Purse competed for

$180K

listed at 24 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 23 state-championship entries

Master avg

634.06 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

327.63 / 360

16 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

Backyard (3-meat) avg

505.11 / 540

2 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (13 found in their record)

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

The heartbreaker

2.8116 points from the title

Came within 2.8116 points of the Grand Championship at Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 (Apr 16, 2021).

They almost always walk

66% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 21 of 32 contests

A top-10 category call in 66% of their 32 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

671.3028 career-best overall

93.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 671.3028 at New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) — 93.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 22, 2023

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Top Gun Barbecue has finished one call ahead of MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 their best year

2019 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 23%.

5 contests
4 overall top-10s
2 category wins
average top 23%

The weak link

−5.9 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.91 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 25% of the time against 39%.

Pork avg 160.06
Chicken avg 165.98
3 calls in 12 entries

A strong matchup

13–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 87% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BIG BOB'S SMOKIN QUE in 13 of their 15 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

Chicken nemesis

13 of 20 shared chicken entries lost

Zoni-Q ahead 65% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Zoni-Q has out-cooked them in 13 of 20 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

5th at their very first contest

Finished 5 of 23 at their very first tracked contest, Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY) ().

23-team field

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

MRC_Barbecue has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A July team

Top 24% average finish in July

Something about July: average finish in the top 24% across 5 contests, versus top 43% the rest of the year.

5 July contests
top 43% the rest of the year

The long haul

5,045 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 5,045 miles across 31 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,028 miles to Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition.

31 mapped stops
furthest 1,028 mi

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) every year from 2019 to 2022 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 6th

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
2023 ↗	Backyard	—	#271 (115 pts)	#229 (165 pts)	—	—
2023 ↗	Master	#401 (494 pts)	#438 (504 pts)	#347 (734 pts)	#468 (444 pts)	#350 (614 pts)
2022 ↗	Backyard	—	#118 (377 pts)	#106 (427 pts)	—	—
2021 ↗	Backyard	—	#52 (689 pts)	#84 (399 pts)	—	—
2020 ↗	Backyard	—	#15 (678 pts)	#21 (548 pts)	—	—
2019 ↗	Master	#1955 (60 pts)	#2049 (60 pts)	#2026 (60 pts)	#2029 (60 pts)	#2010 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#2212 (60 pts)	#2286 (60 pts)	#2304 (60 pts)	#2260 (60 pts)	#2266 (60 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

BUTSY-Q

#2,300 of the rated field

1527 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1549

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 27 contests
last seen Oct 11, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

GOOBY'S BBQ

#2,307 of the rated field

1527 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1533

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 16 contests

⚔ Compare careers

MOTLEY QUE CREW

#2,301 of the rated field

1527 power rating

Contests: 41
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 24%
Peak: 1608

They've been 1608 at their best, 81 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 40 contests
last seen Oct 30, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

XTREME TEXAS COOKERS

#2,303 of the rated field

1527 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1560

Fewer contests behind them than MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ has cooked, 18 to 32, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Oct 30, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

Smokin Colt

#2,312 of the rated field

1526 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 36%
Peak: 1526

They turned up 6 years after MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 11 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Pops BBQ 22

#2,304 of the rated field

1527 power rating

Contests: 58
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 17%
Peak: 1556

58 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 17% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 57 contests
last seen Aug 8, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	23	6	16	26%	⚔ compare
Zoni-Q	20	8	12	40%	⚔ compare
Top Gun Barbecue	20	3	16	15%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	19	9	10	47%	⚔ compare
MRC_Barbecue	18	9	9	50%	⚔ compare
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ	17	6	10	35%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	16	3	13	19%	⚔ compare
BIG BOB'S SMOKIN QUE	15	13	2	87%	⚔ compare
SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE	15	10	5	67%	⚔ compare
BOGGS HOG BBQ	15	8	7	53%	⚔ compare
Weber's Backyard BBQ	15	7	8	47%	⚔ compare
BAD AZZ MULE BBQ	15	3	12	20%	⚔ compare
Ham Squad	15	3	12	20%	⚔ compare
DRILLING & GRILLING	14	8	6	57%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	28	11	4	5	176.5828	140.5028	165.98	top 38%
Pork Ribs	28	14	1	3	174.2972	142.8000	162.83	top 38%
Pork	12	3	0	0	169.7144	145.1084	160.06	top 68%
Brisket	10	2	0	0	172.5600	154.9028	163.30	top 63%

“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)	3	top 58%
Medium (20–39)	8	top 45%
Large (40+)	17	top 39%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
PA	10	top 26%
DE	5	top 55%
NJ	4	top 53%
VA	4	top 72%
AL	2	top 48%
MD	2	top 21%
KS	1	top 24%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke in the Grove (Day 2)	5	6	top 24%	Jul 30, 2022
Twin Valley Fire and Smoke	3	3	top 32%	May 19, 2023
Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)	2	15	top 82%	May 6, 2023
New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)	2	17	top 56%	Apr 22, 2023
York County BBQ Festival	2	5	top 22%	Jun 17, 2022
BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	2	47	top 97%	Mar 26, 2022

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 7 contests

Contests a season 4 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in PA 11 of 32 contests · 7 states in all

Contests visited 18 6 of them more than once

Opponents faced 623 finished ahead 939 times, behind 779

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

20232 milestones

Apr 22 Career-best overall score671.3028 New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)
May 19 Most recent contest Twin Valley Fire and Smoke

20221 milestone

Jul 30 25th tracked contest Smoke in the Grove (Day 2)

20212 milestones

Apr 16 First Reserve Championship Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1
Apr 17 Peak power rating (1579) Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2

20201 milestone

Jul 24 Career-best single call (Chicken)176.5828 Smoke in the Grove

20193 milestones

May 17 First overall podium Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
May 17 First overall past 90% of a perfect score332.5144 Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
Jul 26 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Grove

—4 milestones

First tracked contest Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY)
First call Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY)
First category win (Chicken) Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY)
First overall top-10 Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.1	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke	May 17, 2019
+14.4	Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1	Apr 16, 2021
+13.9	Boo-B-Que	Oct 18, 2019
+13.8	Separation Colonial BBQ Competition	Jun 7, 2019
+13.2	York County BBQ Festival	Jun 26, 2020

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.6	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard)	Mar 25, 2022
-12.6	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	Mar 26, 2022
-12.2	Historic New Castle Colonial BBQ Competition	Jun 9, 2017
-12.2	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1)	May 5, 2023
-10.1	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2)	May 6, 2023

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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)
—	1	1	1	100%	top 22%	87.8%	87.8%
2023	5	0	0	100%	top 67%	93.2%	92%
2022	7	2	0	57%	top 52%	96.2%	89.4%
2021	4	1	1	75%	top 32%	95.4%	90.3%
2020	5	4	1	80%	top 28%	94.1%	91.9%
2019	5	4	2	80%	top 23%	92.4%	89.3%
2018	3	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2017	2	0	0	0%	top 96%	82.8%	82.8%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
May 19, 2023	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	22 / 37 (650.6628)	25 (161.6572)	22 (165.0856)	33 (154.2172)	10 (169.7028)
May 6, 2023	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Lincoln, DE	15 / 19 (669.6692)	14 (169.7260)	12 (166.2516)	9 (169.7144)	16 (163.9772)
May 5, 2023	Delaware Bay-B-Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Lincoln, DE	17 / 20 (660.5376)	9 (171.4400)	14 (166.2976)	18 (160.5372)	14 (162.2628)
Apr 22, 2023	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	17 / 30 (671.3028)	19 (167.3828)	10 (171.4172)	26 (159.9428)	6 (172.5600)
Apr 21, 2023	New Jersey KnoQ-out - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Blairstown, NJ	20 / 36 (661.0172)	23 (163.9772)	2 (174.2972)	30 (161.6456)	25 (161.0972)
Nov 12, 2022	4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - BACKYARD SERIES INVITATIONAL unrated Gadsden, AL	9 / 49 (346.2516)	14 (174.2744)	7 (171.9772)	—	—
Nov 11, 2022	4th Annual KCBS World Invitational - OPEN unrated Gadsden, AL	70 / 91 (666.7084)	42 (171.4172)	84 (158.8000)	56 (168.5256)	51 (167.9656)
Jul 30, 2022	Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	11 / 42 (502.8116)	18 (168.5372)	10 (168)	10 (166.2744)	—
Jul 29, 2022	Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	7 / 54 (507.4176)	6 (174.8688)	6 (170.8572)	21 (161.6916)	—
Jun 17, 2022	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	12 / 34 (328.5144)	12 (163.9772)	10 (164.5372)	—	—
Mar 26, 2022	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	47 / 50 (654.1144)	30 (169.6800)	37 (167.9772)	49 (155.3600)	42 (161.0972)
Mar 25, 2022	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	53 / 53 (487.8628)	35 (168.5140)	52 (154.8000)	—	42 (164.5488)
Jul 30, 2021	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	29 / 54 (309.6000)	22 (161.6800)	33 (147.9200)	5 (167.4744)	—
May 14, 2021	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	14 / 46 (314.2056)	15 (153.1200)	12 (161.0856)	—	—
Apr 17, 2021	Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 🏅 Hagerstown, MD	13 / 34 (333.7140)	2 (175.4628)	17 (158.2512)	—	—
Apr 16, 2021	Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 🏅 Hagerstown, MD	2 / 47 (343.4400)	1 (176.0228)	8 (167.4172)	—	—
Nov 13, 2020	Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition 🏅 unrated Mayetta, KS	23 / 94 (329.0744)	23 (166.2400)	21 (162.8344)	—	—
Aug 8, 2020	BBQ WYTHE US DAY 2 🏅 Wythe, VA	8 / 17 (338.8804)	7 (169.1544)	7 (169.7260)	—	—
Aug 7, 2020	BBQ WYTHE US DAY 1 🏅 Wythe, VA	9 / 19 (325.6000)	12 (161.6456)	4 (163.9544)	—	—
Jul 24, 2020	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	8 / 59 (329.6572)	1 (176.5828)	21 (153.0744)	—	—
Jun 26, 2020	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	5 / 53 (331.4172)	7 (166.8572)	8 (164.5600)	—	—
Oct 18, 2019	Boo-B-Que 🏅 Rehoboth Beach, DE	4 / 63 (317.1200)	13 (149.7028)	2 (167.4172)	—	—
Jul 26, 2019	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	6 / 53 (317.0516)	7 (158.2172)	8 (158.8344)	—	—
Jun 7, 2019	Separation Colonial BBQ Competition 🏅 New Castle, DE	4 / 36 (329.0972)	5 (163.9428)	1 (165.1544)	—	—
May 17, 2019	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	3 / 44 (332.5144)	1 (174.2628)	6 (158.2516)	—	—
Mar 8, 2019	Mid Atlantic BBQ Expo Atlantic City, NJ	52 / 66 (622.7772)	47 (155.3484)	29 (162.2744)	57 (150.2516)	42 (154.9028)
Oct 19, 2018	Boo-B-Que Rehoboth Beach, DE	—	—	—	—	—
Jun 8, 2018	Historic New Castle Colonial BBQ Competition New Castle, DE	—	—	—	—	—
May 18, 2018	Twin Valley Fire And Smoke Morgantown, PA	—	—	—	—	—
Oct 20, 2017	Boo-B-Que Rehobeth Beach, DE	—	—	—	—	—
Jun 9, 2017	Historic New Castle Colonial BBQ Competition New Castle, DE	44 / 46 (595.9312)	46 (140.5028)	28 (155.4172)	46 (145.1084)	36 (154.9028)
—	Fire In the Sky BBQ Lite'N Up Broadway (BACKYARD ONLY) Broadway Westville, NJ	5 / 23 (315.9544)	1 (173.1544)	16 (142.8000)	—	—

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

MANHATTAN JACK'S 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

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Announced themselves early

Looking over their shoulder

A July team

The long haul

A standing appointment

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, averaged over 5 contests — 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)