The heartbreaker
0.5828
points from the title
Came within 0.5828 points of the Grand Championship at Albany County Fair Smokin' BBQ Cook-Off (Jul 24, 2026).
Tuffy's BBQ
Tuffy's BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. They have won 2 Grand Championships, most recently at the NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship (2026), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #695 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1643
peak 1643 · rated over 30 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
32
in the data
First seen
Jun 9, 2023
latest Sep 30, 2026 · 3.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
2
2 reserve · wins it all 6% of the time
Category wins
8
19 podiums
Overall top-10s
13
41% of 32 contests
Best top-10 run
4
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 42%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
4 🔥
Current form
699.27 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 686.00 (+13.27)
Walk rate
78%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.23
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.50 · weakest Pork (170.21)
Road miles
13,350
across 32 mapped stops · furthest 1,442 mi
Schedule strength
71%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1590)
Purse competed for
$420K
listed at 30 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
2 🏅
won from 29 state-championship entries
Master avg
686.00 / 720
31 Master contests · 2 GCs
In the record book (on 1 all-time board)
Where this team sits in the all-time KCBS record book. A gold line is a record they hold outright; the rest are boards they are on.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #81 (1,492 pts) | #113 (1,404 pts) | #83 (1,549 pts) | #86 (1,407 pts) | #39 (1,777 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #222 (987 pts) | #248 (907 pts) | #248 (1,012 pts) | #327 (682 pts) | #183 (1,157 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #231 (946 pts) | #188 (1,086 pts) | #253 (971 pts) | #255 (871 pts) | #235 (931 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1604 (53 pts) | #1188 (93 pts) | #1310 (93 pts) | #1602 (53 pts) | #1601 (53 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Tuffy's BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
#697 of the rated field
- Contests
- 34
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1656
Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before Tuffy's BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#696 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1642
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 13 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#694 of the rated field
- Contests
- 32
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 41%
- Peak
- 1643
9–12 in 21 shared contests (43% to Tuffy's BBQ)
These two have cooked 21 of the same contests — SLINGIN MEATS ahead 12–9 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-head#699 of the rated field
- Contests
- 36
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 53%
- Peak
- 1671
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Tuffy's BBQ)
Careers of much the same size, 36 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#687 of the rated field
- Contests
- 51
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 24%
- Peak
- 1662
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to Tuffy's BBQ)
Their rating is built on 2 Grand Championships in 51 contests, alongside a 24% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-head#692 of the rated field
- Contests
- 31
- GCs
- 2
- Top-10s
- 35%
- Peak
- 1648
They were already cooking in 2014, 9 years before Tuffy's BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SinBin BBQ | 22 | 10 | 12 | 45% | ⚔ compare |
| SLINGIN MEATS | 21 | 9 | 12 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| 1 Bite BBQ | 19 | 12 | 7 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| Brinkerhoff BBQ | 18 | 7 | 11 | 39% | ⚔ compare |
| Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | 17 | 7 | 10 | 41% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' VOLTS BBQ | 15 | 5 | 10 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| Wild West BBQ | 14 | 11 | 3 | 79% | ⚔ compare |
| Meat Candy Q | 14 | 3 | 11 | 21% | ⚔ compare |
| Texas Smoke Whisperer | 13 | 4 | 9 | 31% | ⚔ compare |
| Heifers, Butts, & Clucks BBQ | 12 | 3 | 9 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| SMELLAQUE | 12 | 3 | 9 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Juicy BBQ | 11 | 8 | 3 | 73% | ⚔ compare |
| Bourbon & Blues BBQ | 11 | 6 | 5 | 55% | ⚔ compare |
| GIRLS CAN GRILL | 11 | 5 | 6 | 45% | ⚔ compare |
| CROOKED PIGS | 11 | 2 | 9 | 18% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 32 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 179.4400 | 163.9428 | 172.50 | top 45% |
| Pork Ribs | 32 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 178.8572 | 159.3828 | 171.72 | top 44% |
| Pork | 32 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 180 🔥 | 158.2172 | 170.21 | top 53% |
| Brisket | 32 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 180 🔥 | 149.6112 | 171.12 | top 40% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 5 | 1 | top 39% |
| Medium (20–39) | 21 | 1 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 6 | 0 | top 40% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Dam BBQ | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 37% | May 23, 2026 |
| Albany County Fair Smokin' BBQ Cook-Off | 2 | 2 | 0 | top 24% | Jul 24, 2026 |
| Smoke-N-Wings | 2 | 15 | 0 | top 53% | Jun 27, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
13 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
UT
7 of 32 contests · 9 states in all
Contests visited
29
3 of them more than once
First title
May 23, 2025
Best Dam BBQ
Opponents faced
696
finished ahead 990 times, behind 492
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- 25th tracked contest Smoke-N-Wings
- Career-best overall score716.5716 NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship
- Peak power rating (1643) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest
- Most recent contest American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest
20252 milestones
- First Grand Championship Best Dam BBQ
- First state championship Best Dam BBQ
20246 milestones
- First category win (Chicken) Best Dam Barbeque
- First multi-meat day Best Dam Barbeque
- First overall podium Smoke & Soul Fest
- First Reserve Championship Smoke & Soul Fest
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) Smoke & Soul Fest
- 10th tracked contest Veterans of Foreign Wars Colorado KCBS Pitmaster BBQ Contest
20234 milestones
- First tracked contest GMG NorUt State BBQ Championship
- First call GMG NorUt State BBQ Championship
- First overall top-10 GMG NorUt State BBQ Championship
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score690.8348 GMG NorUt State BBQ Championship
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.8 | Smoke & Soul Fest | Jul 12, 2024 |
| +17.2 | Best Dam BBQ | May 23, 2025 |
| +14.9 | Best Dam Barbeque | May 24, 2024 |
| +13.6 | NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship | Sep 18, 2026 |
| +13.1 | Albany County Fair Smokin' BBQ Cook-Off | Jul 24, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -9.5 | Smoke & Soul Fest | Oct 6, 2023 |
| -7.6 | Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition | Mar 27, 2026 |
| -6.6 | Best Dam BBQ | May 23, 2026 |
| -5.2 | Blaze of 47 | Jul 18, 2025 |
| -1.3 | Montana BBQ Cookoff | Jun 13, 2025 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 77% | top 32% | 99.5% | 96.2% |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 75% | top 50% | 97.8% | 94.9% |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 88% | top 41% | 96.8% | 94.9% |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67% | top 63% | 95.9% | 92.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS | 26 / 158 (697.0744) | 30 (176.5600) | 87 (170.8344) | 86 (171.9656) | 11 (177.7144) |
| Sep 30, 2026 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest Kansas City, KS | 38 / 360 (697.0972) | 87 (174.2628) | 36 (176.5944) | 41 (176.5600) | 164 (169.6800) |
| Sep 18, 2026 | NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 1 / 12 (716.5716) | 6 (177.7144) | 1 (178.8572) | 3 (180) | 1 (180) |
| Sep 4, 2026 | Meat & Tater BBQ Fest 🏅 Meridian, ID | 27 / 52 (687.9200) | 6 (178.2972) | 24 (172.5600) | 30 (170.8228) | 42 (166.2400) |
| Aug 28, 2026 | Montana Pitmaster Classic 🏅 Bozeman, MT | 6 / 39 (697.6800) | 15 (174.2628) | 21 (171.4056) | 14 (173.7144) | 3 (178.2972) |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Albany County Fair Smokin' BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Laramie, WY | 2 / 32 (699.3828) | 2 (178.8572) | 4 (174.8456) | 14 (169.1200) | 3 (176.5600) |
| Jul 3, 2026 | Dillon Days Blowin' Smoke BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Dillon, MT | 9 / 26 (696.5372) | 22 (166.2628) | 10 (174.8572) | 7 (176.5600) | 1 (178.8572) |
| Jun 26, 2026 | Smoke-N-Wings 🏅 Blackfoot, ID | 9 / 31 (698.8000) | 26 (170.2628) | 24 (171.9656) | 3 (178.8572) | 2 (177.7144) |
| May 23, 2026 | Best Dam BBQ 🏅 Boulder City, NV | 23 / 33 (680.4684) | 24 (167.9656) | 19 (170.2744) | 9 (175.4056) | 20 (166.8228) |
| May 1, 2026 | Blue Compass RV BBQ Bash 🏅 Marriott-Slaterville, UT | 6 / 19 (693.1316) | 11 (172) | 1 (177.1544) | 11 (171.9772) | 11 (172) |
| Apr 17, 2026 | The Downtown Grand Master BBQ Showdown 🏅 Las Vegas, NV | 8 / 29 (691.3712) | 2 (179.4400) | 17 (168.5600) | 4 (175.4056) | 17 (167.9656) |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Q's & Brews Bighorn BBQ Competition 🏅 Lake Havasu City, AZ | 27 / 33 (669.0056) | 12 (173.7028) | 17 (171.4172) | 29 (162.8000) | 28 (161.0856) |
| Jan 16, 2026 | 11th Annual Slab-O-Rama Barbeque Challenge 🏅 Bullhead City, AZ | 20 / 53 (683.3484) | 19 (173.1084) | 2 (177.7144) | 47 (162.2628) | 18 (170.2628) |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) unrated Lynchburg, TN | 79 / 90 (671.2796) | 82 (163.9428) | 66 (169.1084) | 84 (163.3828) | 16 (174.8456) |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Meat & Tater BBQ Fest 🏅 Meridian, ID | 12 / 39 (690.2520) | 15 (171.9888) | 4 (177.7144) | 34 (163.9772) | 6 (176.5716) |
| Jul 25, 2025 | Albany County Fair Smokin' BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Laramie, WY | 11 / 26 (677.5884) | 13 (168.5256) | 15 (167.3944) | 13 (169.6800) | 7 (171.9884) |
| Jul 18, 2025 | Blaze of 47 🏅 Salt Lake City, UT | 19 / 26 (682.7888) | 11 (174.2628) | 20 (170.2744) | 26 (165.1200) | 11 (173.1316) |
| Jun 27, 2025 | Smoke-N-Wings 🏅 Blackfoot, ID | 17 / 32 (682.7660) | 19 (166.2400) | 4 (176) | 23 (167.4060) | 12 (173.1200) |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Pitmaster's NorUt KCBS BBQ Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 8 / 16 (693.0972) | 13 (172.5600) | 11 (172) | 8 (175.4172) | 9 (173.1200) |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Montana BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Absarokee, MT | 19 / 33 (662.1256) | 14 (170.2628) | 21 (159.3828) | 24 (160.5028) | 9 (171.9772) |
| May 23, 2025 | Best Dam BBQ 🏅 Boulder City, NV | 1 / 29 (703.9656) | 4 (176.5600) | 6 (174.8572) | 12 (172.5484) | 2 (180) |
| Dec 6, 2024 | BBQ Jackpot 🏅 Las Vegas, NV | 28 / 74 (681.6344) | 27 (171.9656) | 42 (168.0116) | 22 (173.1200) | 39 (168.5372) |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Veterans of Foreign Wars Colorado KCBS Pitmaster BBQ Contest 🏅 Castle Rock, CO | 21 / 36 (673.5888) | 15 (171.9772) | 27 (162.8116) | 26 (164.5372) | 6 (174.2628) |
| Aug 16, 2024 | Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championships and Bluegrass Festival 🏅 Worland, WY | 11 / 29 (687.8972) | 8 (175.4172) | 14 (170.8344) | 15 (169.6800) | 12 (171.9656) |
| Jul 19, 2024 | The Blaze of 47 BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Salt Lake City, UT | 9 / 16 (677.0628) | 13 (168) | 8 (171.9888) | 11 (167.9656) | 9 (169.1084) |
| Jul 12, 2024 | Smoke & Soul Fest 🏅 Casper, WY | 2 / 26 (697.0628) | 12 (171.9656) | 3 (176.5600) | 14 (168.5372) | 1 (180) |
| Jun 28, 2024 | Smoke-N-Wings 🏅 Blackfoot, ID | 15 / 28 (679.2912) | 2 (177.7028) | 15 (169.6800) | 9 (171.9772) | 23 (159.9312) |
| Jun 21, 2024 | Pitmaster's NorUt State BBQ Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 18 / 29 (679.3600) | 21 (169.1200) | 1 (178.2972) | 22 (166.8228) | 20 (165.1200) |
| May 24, 2024 | Best Dam Barbeque 🏅 Boulder City, NV | 6 / 33 (689.6460) | 1 (177.7144) | 25 (165.0972) | 1 (179.4400) | 18 (167.3944) |
| Oct 6, 2023 | Smoke & Soul Fest 🏅 Casper, WY | 25 / 28 (637.9996) | 17 (165.0740) | 17 (165.0972) | 26 (158.2172) | 26 (149.6112) |
| Aug 5, 2023 | East Helena Smoke Show 🏅 East Helena, MT | 12 / 24 (670.7312) | 7 (174.2628) | 16 (166.2628) | 11 (168.5372) | 16 (161.6684) |
| Jun 9, 2023 | GMG NorUt State BBQ Championship 🏅 Ogden, UT | 8 / 16 (690.8348) | 14 (169.6800) | 5 (176.5716) | 8 (174.2972) | 7 (170.2860) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.