16 Mesh BBQ ME
Rating
1521
peak 1521
Contests
22
in the data
First seen
2022-06-25
latest 2025-07-12
Best ToY finish
#309
Master 2023
Grand champs
1
0 reserve
Category wins
3
8 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
of 22 contests
Avg finish
top 52%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
663.77 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 665.14 (-1.37)
Walk rate
68%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±14.70
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 169.64 · weakest Brisket (161.28)
Road miles
4672
mi across 22 mapped stops · furthest 1290 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Let It Smoke Barbecue has finished one call ahead of 16 Mesh BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
New England Pitmasters has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 14 of their 15 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ in 6 of their 6 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
New Jersey State Barbecue Championship is their spot: an average finish in the top 18% across 3 visits.
📅 A July team
Something about July: average finish in the top 26% across 4 contests, versus top 52% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (2022-06-25) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 26-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, INSANE SWINE BBQ.
🐣 Announced themselves early
Finished 1 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (2022-06-25).
Teams like this (closest power rating, ME first)
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 | 180.0000 🔥 | 158.2516 | 167.19 | top 51% |
| Pork | 18 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 175.4172 | 154.2972 | 167.66 | top 47% |
| Brisket | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176.0000 | 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 state / province
| 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% |
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% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2024 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in ME (5 of 22 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (21 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff (2022-06-25)
- Wins it all in 5% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 665.14
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 677.6116 | 677.61 |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 677.1312 | 661.60 |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 686.2516 | 669.00 |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 696.0000 | 662.24 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-12 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 12 / 63 (677.6116) | 29 (165.0972) | 14 (169.6916) | 9 (171.4172) | 8 (171.4056) |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids Hiram, ME | 23 / 39 (662.7200) | 19 (169.1316) | 3 (174.2628) | 26 (162.8228) | 34 (156.5028) |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 1 (180.0000) | — | — |
| 2024-07-27 | Operation Up in Smoke Epping, NH | 10 / 19 (674.7884) | 12 (168.5484) | 13 (169.1200) | 8 (174.2628) | 14 (162.8572) |
| 2024-07-13 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 15 / 62 (670.7544) | 15 (170.8228) | 27 (164.5372) | 1 (174.2972) | 34 (161.0972) |
| 2024-06-22 | Frog Alley Brew-B-Que Cookoff Schenectady, NY | 20 / 21 (632.9712) | 19 (157.0972) | 18 (159.3600) | 16 (161.0856) | 16 (155.4284) |
| 2024-04-13 | 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 (176.0000) |
| 2024-04-12 | 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) |
| 2023-07-14 | New Jersey State Barbecue Championship North Wildwood, NJ | 6 / 64 (686.2516) | 12 (172.0000) | 2 (177.1544) | 8 (171.4172) | 17 (165.6800) |
| 2023-06-24 | Frog Alley BREW-B-QUE Cookoff Schenectady, NY | 13 / 19 (668.5028) | 8 (171.4056) | 12 (165.0972) | 5 (172.5600) | 16 (159.4400) |
| 2023-06-03 | 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) |
| 2023-05-20 | Somerset Sizzle Somerset, MA | 10 / 24 (665.6912) | 15 (165.1312) | 15 (164.0000) | 3 (175.4172) | 13 (161.1428) |
| 2023-05-06 | HOGS 4 HEROES Jamestown, RI | 11 / 50 (670.2972) | 32 (162.2856) | 12 (170.8800) | 7 (172.0000) | 15 (165.1316) |
| 2023-04-15 | 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) |
| 2023-04-15 | Southern New England Barbecue Throwdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) Bristol, CT | — | — | 15 (163.3828) | — | — |
| 2022-10-14 | Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series)(JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) Lynchburg, TN | 80 / 83 (647.9540) | 25 (172.0228) | 54 (168.5484) | 83 (154.2972) | 81 (153.0856) |
| 2022-10-01 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - SIDES Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022-09-29 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 208 / 249 (667.3144) | 41 (175.4172) | 138 (170.2972) | 208 (165.0972) | 239 (156.5028) |
| 2022-09-29 | 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) |
| 2022-08-27 | Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition Hiram, ME | 18 / 31 (649.7028) | 10 (170.8800) | 25 (158.2972) | 6 (169.1428) | 30 (151.3828) |
| 2022-08-27 | Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 8 (169.7716) | — | — |
| 2022-06-25 | Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff Skowhegan, ME | 1 / 25 (696.0000) | 2 (177.7372) | 1 (179.4400) | 12 (170.2744) | 10 (168.5484) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |