16 Mesh BBQ

16 Mesh BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 22 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2025. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (2022). They are ranked #1988 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,988

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1539

peak 1539 · rated over 16 contests2 invitational or side-series contests not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 25, 2022

latest Jul 12, 2025 · 3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#309

Master 2023 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve · wins it all 5% of the time

Category wins

8 podiums

Overall top-10s

18% of 22 contests

Avg finish

top 52%

overall standings

Best overall

696 / 720

Master · Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

663.77 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 665.14 (-1.37)

Walk rate

68%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Pork Ribs · Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS)

Consistency

±14.70

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 169.64 · weakest Brisket (161.28)

Road miles

4,672

across 22 mapped stops · furthest 1,290 mi

Schedule strength

40%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)

Purse competed for

$98K

listed at 16 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

1 🏅

won from 15 state-championship entries

Master avg

665.14 / 720

18 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (17 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.

Pork Ribs ×1

Against the odds

12-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 88 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (Jun 25, 2022) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 12-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, INSANE SWINE BBQ.

Happy hunting ground

Top 18% average finish here

New Jersey State Barbecue Championship is their spot: an average finish in the top 18% across 3 visits.

3 visits
best finish 6th
average top 18%

They almost always walk

68% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 15 of 22 contests

A top-10 category call in 68% of their 22 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

696.0000 career-best overall

96.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 696.0000 at Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff — 96.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 25, 2022

State champions

1 state championship won

They've taken 1 state championship from 15 entries at contests carrying the title.

15 state-championship entries

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Let It Smoke Barbecue has finished one call ahead of 16 Mesh BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Show 10 more storylines

A tough matchup

14–1 behind in the head-to-head

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 93% of their meetings

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 14 of their 15 shared contests.

The weak link

−8.4 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 8.37 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 17% of the time against 28%.

Brisket avg 161.28
Chicken avg 169.64
3 calls in 18 entries

The drought

21 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff on Jun 25, 2022 — 21 contests and 4.3 years ago.

last GC Jun 25, 2022
4.3 years ago

A strong matchup

6–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

10 of 15 shared chicken entries lost

SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead 67% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has out-cooked them in 10 of 15 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

1st at their very first contest

Finished 1 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (Jun 25, 2022).

Jun 25, 2022
25-team field

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Angry Cock BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A July team

Top 26% average finish in July

Something about July: average finish in the top 26% across 4 contests, versus top 52% the rest of the year.

4 July contests
top 52% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,672 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,672 miles across 22 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,290 miles to American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST.

22 mapped stops
furthest 1,290 mi

The metronome

±2.04% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.04% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.4% of a perfect score
22 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
2025 ↗	Master	#856 (125 pts)	#1221 (60 pts)	#1085 (115 pts)	#868 (145 pts)	#830 (155 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#389 (539 pts)	#352 (659 pts)	#274 (904 pts)	#320 (694 pts)	#368 (614 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#309 (688 pts)	#322 (708 pts)	#303 (825 pts)	#239 (908 pts)	#396 (528 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#756 (211 pts)	#722 (251 pts)	#680 (315 pts)	#663 (291 pts)	#861 (176 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to 16 Mesh BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Que or be Qued

#1,977 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1553

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to 16 Mesh BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team 16 Mesh BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Belly Buss Barbeque

#1,974 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1539

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2021
on a 6-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

TASTY LICKS BBQ SUPPLY

#1,983 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1539

Their last contest in the data was back in 2014, 11 years before 16 Mesh BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 16 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Jack9 BBQ-CA

#1,992 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 12%
Peak: 1552

Careers of much the same size, 17 contests to 22, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Apr 28, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

C & J BACKYARD SMOKERS

#1,985 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1540

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 21% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Sep 27, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

PORK N' CIDER

#1,981 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1539

They were already cooking in 2014, 8 years before 16 Mesh BBQ's first contest.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Jun 24, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
PADDY MCQ'S	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Matt's Backyard BBQ	12	7	5	58%	⚔ compare
ELJEFE SMOKE	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Mullen It Over BBQ	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ	10	2	8	20%	⚔ compare
Let It Smoke Barbecue	9	2	7	22%	⚔ compare
Up-2 BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
CHUNKY BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
Big Bobby's Q	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
FOUR SMOKING GUYS	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
CIDER BOYS BBQ	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare
INSANE SWINE BBQ	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
LG bbq	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	5	0	1	177.7372	157.0972	169.64	top 40%
Pork Ribs	21	5	2	4	180 🔥	158.2516	167.19	top 51%
Pork	18	9	1	2	175.4172	154.2972	167.66	top 47%
Brisket	18	3	0	1	176	151.3828	161.28	top 62%

“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)	2	0	top 61%
Medium (20–39)	8	1	top 53%
Large (40+)	8	0	top 49%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
NJ	3	0	top 18%
ME	3	1	top 40%
CT	3	0	top 63%
NH	2	0	top 49%
NY	2	0	top 82%
KS	2	0	top 77%
MA	1	0	top 42%
RI	1	0	top 22%
TN	1	0	top 96%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	3	6	top 18%	Jul 12, 2025
Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2)	3	18	top 63%	Apr 13, 2024
Frog Alley Brew-B-Que Cookoff	2	13	top 82%	Jun 22, 2024

More numbers

Busiest season 2024 7 contests

Contests a season 5.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in ME 5 of 22 contests · 9 states in all

Contests visited 13 3 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 21 entries · 2 wins · 5 calls

First title Jun 25, 2022 Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff

Opponents faced 755 finished ahead 530 times, behind 854

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

20251 milestone

Jul 12 Most recent contest New Jersey State Barbecue Championship

20241 milestone

Aug 17 First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS)

20232 milestones

May 6 10th tracked contest HOGS 4 HEROES
Jul 14 Peak power rating (1539) New Jersey State Barbecue Championship

20229 milestones

Jun 25 First tracked contest Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First call Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First category win (Pork Ribs) Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First overall top-10 Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First overall podium Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First Grand Championship Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First state championship Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 First overall past 90% of a perfect score696 Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff
Jun 25 Career-best overall score696 Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+18.4	Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff	Jun 25, 2022
+13.3	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	Jul 14, 2023
+10.4	HOGS 4 HEROES	May 6, 2023
+10.1	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	Jul 12, 2025
+8.8	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship	Jul 13, 2024

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.4	Frog Alley Brew-B-Que Cookoff	Jun 22, 2024
-6.2	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)	Apr 12, 2024
-3.9	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST	Sep 29, 2022
-3.4	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES	Apr 15, 2023
-2.6	Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff	Jun 24, 2023

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	GCs	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2025	1	0	0	0	100%	top 19%	94.1%	94.1%
2024	7	0	1	2	71%	top 59%	94%	91.9%
2023	7	0	2	0	86%	top 43%	95.3%	92.9%
2022	7	1	1	1	43%	top 63%	96.7%	92%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jul 12, 2025	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	12 / 63 (677.6116)	29 (165.0972)	14 (169.6916)	9 (171.4172)	8 (171.4056)
Aug 17, 2024	Kora Kares for Kids 🏅 Hiram, ME	23 / 39 (662.7200)	19 (169.1316)	3 (174.2628)	26 (162.8228)	34 (156.5028)
Aug 17, 2024	Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME	—	—	1 (180)	—	—
Jul 27, 2024	Operation Up in Smoke 🏅 Epping, NH	10 / 19 (674.7884)	12 (168.5484)	13 (169.1200)	8 (174.2628)	14 (162.8572)
Jul 13, 2024	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	15 / 62 (670.7544)	15 (170.8228)	27 (164.5372)	1 (174.2972)	34 (161.0972)
Jun 22, 2024	Frog Alley Brew-B-Que Cookoff 🏅 Schenectady, NY	20 / 21 (632.9712)	19 (157.0972)	18 (159.3600)	16 (161.0856)	16 (155.4284)
Apr 13, 2024	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 2) 🏅 Bristol, CT	18 / 37 (677.1312)	7 (175.4628)	32 (161.6456)	31 (164.0228)	3 (176)
Apr 12, 2024	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) 🏅 Bristol, CT	21 / 29 (651.2568)	14 (169.6684)	20 (162.2628)	24 (159.9656)	22 (159.3600)
Jul 14, 2023	New Jersey State Barbecue Championship 🏅 North Wildwood, NJ	6 / 64 (686.2516)	12 (172)	2 (177.1544)	8 (171.4172)	17 (165.6800)
Jun 24, 2023	Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff Schenectady, NY	13 / 19 (668.5028)	8 (171.4056)	12 (165.0972)	5 (172.5600)	16 (159.4400)
Jun 3, 2023	Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH	18 / 39 (663.9200)	17 (169.1312)	22 (165.1088)	10 (170.8456)	28 (158.8344)
May 20, 2023	Somerset Sizzle 🏅 Somerset, MA	10 / 24 (665.6912)	15 (165.1312)	15 (164)	3 (175.4172)	13 (161.1428)
May 6, 2023	HOGS 4 HEROES 🏅 Jamestown, RI	11 / 50 (670.2972)	32 (162.2856)	12 (170.8800)	7 (172)	15 (165.1316)
Apr 15, 2023	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Bristol, CT	29 / 43 (659.3484)	5 (176.0572)	33 (159.9428)	25 (167.3828)	37 (155.9656)
Apr 15, 2023	Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) Bristol, CT	—	—	15 (163.3828)	—	—
Oct 14, 2022	Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) unrated Lynchburg, TN	80 / 83 (647.9540)	25 (172.0228)	54 (168.5484)	83 (154.2972)	81 (153.0856)
Oct 1, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS	359 / 505 (650.2176)	297 (165.7032)	426 (158.2516)	371 (161.6572)	259 (164.6056)
Sep 29, 2022	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST unrated Kansas City, KS	208 / 249 (667.3144)	41 (175.4172)	138 (170.2972)	208 (165.0972)	239 (156.5028)
Aug 27, 2022	Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME	18 / 31 (649.7028)	10 (170.8800)	25 (158.2972)	6 (169.1428)	30 (151.3828)
Aug 27, 2022	Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME	—	—	8 (169.7716)	—	—
Jun 25, 2022	Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Skowhegan, ME	1 / 25 (696)	2 (177.7372)	1 (179.4400)	12 (170.2744)	10 (168.5484)

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

16 Mesh BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

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

Storylines (17 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

Against the odds

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

State champions

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

The drought

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Announced themselves early

Looking over their shoulder

A July team

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)