MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ

MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 24 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 5th of 28 at the Harvest on Fire at the Winery (2022). They are ranked #4552 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#4,552

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1472

peak 1472 · rated over 22 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jul 22, 2016

latest Mar 20, 2026 · 9.7 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#516

Master 2022 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

4% of 24 contests

Avg finish

top 67%

overall standings

Best overall

695.9428 / 720

Master · Harvest on Fire at the Winery

Perfect 180s

Current form

682.54 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 661.47 (+21.07)

Walk rate

46%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7144

Pork Ribs · American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest

Consistency

±19.56

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.63 · weakest Pork Ribs (163.07)

Road miles

1,686

across 24 mapped stops · furthest 335 mi

Schedule strength

81%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1605)

Purse competed for

$216K

listed at 18 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 16 state-championship entries

Master avg

661.47 / 720

23 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

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

High-water mark

695.9428 career-best overall

96.7% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 695.9428 at Harvest on Fire at the Winery — 96.7% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jul 8, 2022

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Risky Brisket has finished one call ahead of MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

15–2 behind in the head-to-head

JANKY LEG BBQ ahead in 88% of their meetings

JANKY LEG BBQ has come out ahead in 15 of their 17 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of High Voltage BBQ in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

14 of 17 shared chicken entries lost

JANKY LEG BBQ ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, JANKY LEG BBQ has out-cooked them in 14 of 17 shared chicken entries.

They cook the hard rooms

1605 average field rating faced

A tougher draw than 81% of rated fields

The fields they enter average a 1605 power rating — a tougher draw than 81% of every rated contest in the data.

22 rated contests

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

DB BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Show 1 more storyline

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked EffingHAM-JAM every year from 2016 to 2019 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 21st

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	#1020 (60 pts)	#1093 (60 pts)	#1161 (60 pts)	#1067 (60 pts)	#1051 (60 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#546 (309 pts)	#509 (429 pts)	#491 (464 pts)	#642 (259 pts)	#460 (454 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#1182 (60 pts)	#1242 (60 pts)	#997 (125 pts)	#1089 (95 pts)	#1204 (60 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#1062 (111 pts)	#938 (146 pts)	#1365 (76 pts)	#847 (166 pts)	#1066 (116 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#516 (395 pts)	#385 (615 pts)	#670 (320 pts)	#611 (325 pts)	#435 (530 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#880 (134 pts)	#789 (189 pts)	#1100 (114 pts)	#668 (239 pts)	#763 (194 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#856 (60 pts)	#896 (60 pts)	#913 (60 pts)	#899 (60 pts)	#883 (60 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#1207 (187 pts)	#1270 (187 pts)	#1319 (177 pts)	#1101 (242 pts)	#1059 (262 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1398 (151 pts)	#1173 (236 pts)	#1392 (176 pts)	#1507 (141 pts)	#1057 (276 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1443 (179 pts)	#1649 (154 pts)	#1614 (164 pts)	#1370 (214 pts)	#1182 (269 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2353 (60 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#2345 (60 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

Deans Rockn Rednecks

#4,556 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1503

They've been 1503 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Jul 29, 2023

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LOS NERDS

#4,529 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1472

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 28 contests

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OLD SCHOOL BBQ ARIZONA

#4,570 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1472

Careers of much the same size, 17 contests to 24, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Dec 27, 2019

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The Meat Rubbers BBQ

#4,544 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1472

16 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 13% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jul 20, 2023

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Can't Beat Our Meat

#4,567 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1518

Level with MESS-IN-A ROUND BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Jun 26, 2026

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FEEL THE BURN BBQ

#4,521 of the rated field

1472 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1511

They've been 1511 at their best, 38 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2016

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
JANKY LEG BBQ	17	2	15	12%	⚔ compare
SmokinGhost BBQ	15	4	11	27%	⚔ compare
JaBs BBQ	14	3	11	21%	⚔ compare
TRIPLE H BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Heavy Smoke BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
DB BBQ	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
HIGH ON THE HAWG	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
Carrol Lou's Smokehouse	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
THE BBQ BUS	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
Rusty Pig BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
AWESOME RACKS COOKIN CREW	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	23	9	0	0	177.7144	150.1944	166.63	top 56%
Pork Ribs	23	2	0	0	177.7144	149.1088	163.07	top 65%
Pork	23	2	0	0	177.7028	153.6228	165.89	top 61%
Brisket	23	5	1	2	177.7144	150.2172	165.88	top 54%

“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)	1	top 88%
Medium (20–39)	15	top 66%
Large (40+)	7	top 68%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
IL	19	top 68%
KS	2	top 59%
TN	1	top 65%
IN	1	top 69%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
EffingHAM-JAM	6	21	top 77%	Jul 22, 2022
Harvest on Fire at the Winery	3	5	top 64%	Jul 8, 2022
Trekking for CDH	2	20	top 76%	Sep 13, 2025
Smokin' for Garrett	2	13	top 58%	Oct 6, 2023

More numbers

Busiest season 2025 5 contests

Contests a season 2.2 across 11 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IL 19 of 24 contests · 4 states in all

Contests visited 14 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 796 finished ahead 500 times, behind 962

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs Sep 16, 2022 → Oct 6, 2023

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

20261 milestone

Mar 20 Most recent contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship

20251 milestone

Nov 5 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.7144 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest

20223 milestones

Jul 8 First category win (Brisket) Harvest on Fire at the Winery
Jul 8 First overall top-10 Harvest on Fire at the Winery
Jul 8 Career-best overall score695.9428 Harvest on Fire at the Winery

20201 milestone

Jul 10 10th tracked contest Harvest On the Fire At the Winery

20171 milestone

Apr 28 Peak power rating (1500) Wabash Ribberfest BBQ Championship (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL)

20163 milestones

Jul 22 First tracked contest EffingHAM Jam
Jul 22 First call EffingHAM Jam
Oct 14 First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.8000 CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+18.4	Harvest on Fire at the Winery	Jul 8, 2022
+5.4	Wabash Ribberfest BBQ Championship (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL)	Apr 28, 2017
+5	Smoke N for the Kids	Aug 16, 2025
+3.5	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest	Nov 5, 2025
+1.8	Harvest On the Fire At the Winery	Jul 9, 2021

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-7.4	Harvest On Fire at The Winery (JUDGES FULL)	Sep 7, 2018
-6.9	Trekking for CDH	Sep 14, 2024
-6.7	Harvest On Fire at The Winery	Jul 12, 2019
-6.3	Harvest On the Fire At the Winery	Jul 10, 2020
-6.3	EffingHam-Jam	Jul 27, 2018

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	0	0	0%	top 65%	94%	94%
2025	5	0	0	40%	top 59%	96.5%	95%
2024	1	0	0	0%	top 77%	94.2%	94.2%
2023	1	0	0	100%	top 50%	94.4%	94.4%
2022	4	1	1	75%	top 59%	96.7%	93.5%
2021	2	0	0	50%	top 69%	91.9%	91.7%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 89%	88.5%	88.5%
2019	3	0	0	33%	top 80%	89.8%	89.1%
2018	2	0	0	50%	top 85%	89.7%	89.6%
2017	2	0	0	50%	top 57%	92.2%	89.7%
2016	2	0	0	50%	top 68%	90.9%	89.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Mar 20, 2026	Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN	81 / 125 (676.9940)	72 (170.8228)	34 (173.7144)	68 (170.8228)	110 (161.6340)
Nov 5, 2025	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS	—	—	—	—	—
Nov 5, 2025	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS	214 / 401 (675.9316)	311 (163.9656)	185 (169.7032)	171 (170.8572)	121 (171.4056)
Nov 5, 2025	American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Invitational Contest unrated Kansas City, KS	102 / 158 (681.0400)	121 (168.5256)	12 (177.7144)	141 (164.5372)	80 (170.2628)
Sep 13, 2025	Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL	20 / 27 (683.9196)	10 (175.4056)	14 (173.1200)	19 (167.9656)	20 (167.4284)
Aug 16, 2025	Smoke N for the Kids 🏅 Troy, IL	14 / 32 (694.8120)	5 (177.7144)	6 (176.5716)	29 (162.8116)	2 (177.7144)
Sep 14, 2024	Trekking for CDH 🏅 Pierron, IL	27 / 35 (678.2060)	33 (163.9772)	12 (173.1316)	18 (171.9772)	26 (169.1200)
Oct 6, 2023	Smokin' for Garrett 🏅 Mt. Carmel, IL	13 / 26 (679.8744)	8 (173.1200)	20 (160.5376)	6 (177.7028)	12 (168.5140)
Sep 16, 2022	Smokin' For Garrett 🏅 Mt. Carmel, IL	18 / 27 (666.7084)	6 (175.4172)	24 (158.2284)	18 (167.9656)	17 (165.0972)
Jul 22, 2022	EffingHAM-JAM 🏅 Effingham, IL	21 / 25 (659.8744)	5 (174.2744)	22 (156.5144)	20 (163.4056)	15 (165.6800)
Jul 8, 2022	Harvest on Fire at the Winery 🏅 Marshall, IL	5 / 28 (695.9428)	5 (175.4172)	9 (173.1200)	15 (169.7028)	1 (177.7028)
Apr 8, 2022	CCSFEST 🏅 Indianapolis, IN	29 / 42 (669.0400)	18 (172.5484)	25 (168.5600)	28 (166.8228)	36 (161.1088)
Jul 23, 2021	Effingham -Jam 🏅 Effingham, IL	21 / 29 (661.5660)	10 (170.8228)	26 (158.2172)	12 (168.5600)	17 (163.9660)
Jul 9, 2021	Harvest On the Fire At the Winery 🏅 Marshall, IL	25 / 38 (658.6740)	28 (165.0856)	34 (155.9660)	13 (169.6684)	17 (167.9540)
Jul 10, 2020	Harvest On the Fire At the Winery 🏅 Marshall, IL	47 / 53 (636.9720)	53 (150.1944)	43 (158.2172)	29 (166.8572)	42 (161.7032)
Oct 11, 2019	Central Illinois Bragging Rights (CIBR-BBQ) 🏅 Arthur, IL	31 / 43 (646.7200)	33 (163.3712)	33 (158.2516)	24 (164.5828)	34 (160.5144)
Jul 26, 2019	Effingham -Jam 🏅 Effingham, IL	21 / 26 (645.0632)	21 (156.5372)	23 (156.5372)	20 (161.1200)	8 (170.8688)
Jul 12, 2019	Harvest On Fire at The Winery 🏅 Marshall, IL	27 / 31 (632.9028)	29 (155.9428)	25 (158.8000)	16 (167.3828)	26 (150.7772)
Sep 7, 2018	Harvest On Fire at The Winery (JUDGES FULL) Marshall, IL	14 / 16 (646.1484)	6 (166.8456)	14 (158.8116)	16 (154.2284)	6 (166.2628)
Jul 27, 2018	EffingHam-Jam Effingham, IL	25 / 30 (644.4000)	20 (160.5488)	20 (162.2628)	29 (153.6228)	12 (167.9656)
Jul 28, 2017	EffingHam-Jam Effingham, IL	24 / 35 (627.8740)	35 (150.2628)	30 (151.3600)	20 (160.5828)	13 (165.6684)
Apr 28, 2017	Wabash Ribberfest BBQ Championship (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) Mt.Carmel, IL	13 / 29 (663.8744)	17 (164.5488)	15 (162.8000)	10 (167.4056)	8 (169.1200)
Oct 14, 2016	CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ Authur, IL	35 / 55 (654.8000)	28 (165.7028)	40 (159.4400)	28 (165.1200)	30 (164.5372)
Jul 22, 2016	EffingHAM Jam Effingham, IL	21 / 29 (632.4460)	4 (171.4172)	26 (149.1088)	16 (161.7028)	23 (150.2172)

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

MESS-IN-A ROUND 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 (8 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

They cook the hard rooms

Looking over their shoulder

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 — 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)