High-water mark
674.7888
career-best overall
93.7% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 674.7888 at Marietta River City BBQ — 93.7% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 25, 2025
Vegan Tears BBQ
Vegan Tears BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 13 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record in 2025. Their best overall finish is 6th of 10 at the Marietta River City BBQ (2025). They are ranked #5990 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1435
peak 1435 · rated over 11 contests
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
Mar 14, 2025
latest Nov 21, 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
15% of 13 contests
Avg finish
top 82%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
619.81 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 622.88 (-3.07)
Walk rate
31%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±71.01
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 162.84 · weakest Chicken (150.93)
Road miles
2,761
across 13 mapped stops · furthest 890 mi
Schedule strength
61%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1578)
Purse competed for
$78K
listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
622.88 / 720
11 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Vegan Tears BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
46 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,986 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1435
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,985 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,992 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 3 years before Vegan Tears BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,995 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
They were already cooking in 2015, 10 years before Vegan Tears BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#5,996 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
Level with Vegan Tears BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#5,994 of the rated field
- Contests
- 16
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
16 contests and no Grand Championship yet.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| BEER TIME BBQ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| 4 BOXERS Q | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| Sailor Nicks BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 169.7028 | 20 | 150.93 | top 78% |
| Pork Ribs | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 176.0116 | 147.9772 | 160.98 | top 75% |
| Pork | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4400 | 151.3600 | 161.70 | top 78% |
| Brisket | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 178.8572 | 144.4800 | 162.84 | top 66% |
“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 68% |
| Medium (20–39) | 5 | 0 | top 80% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 90% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) | 2 | 20 | 0 | top 92% | May 17, 2025 |
More numbers
Most contests held in
PA
4 of 13 contests · 6 states in all
Contests visited
10
1 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
12 entries · 1 win · 2 calls
Opponents faced
354
finished ahead 60 times, behind 440
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
202510 milestones
- First tracked contest Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS)
- Peak power rating (1488) Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship
- First call Marietta River City BBQ
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Marietta River City BBQ
- First overall top-10 Marietta River City BBQ
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score674.7888 Marietta River City BBQ
- Career-best overall score674.7888 Marietta River City BBQ
- 10th tracked contest All American BBQ Throwdown
- Career-best single call (Brisket)178.8572 Plant City Pig Jam
- Most recent contest Plant City Pig Jam
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +0.5 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) | Jun 27, 2025 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | Mar 14, 2025 |
| -11.3 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl | Sep 5, 2025 |
| -10.6 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) | May 16, 2025 |
| -10.6 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) | May 17, 2025 |
| -5.6 | Buckeye BBQ Classic | Jul 18, 2025 |
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)
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2025 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 21 / 31 (671.3484) | 17 (169.6684) | 28 (155.9772) | 23 (166.8456) | 2 (178.8572) |
| Oct 31, 2025 | "Spooky Q" 1792 Monticello, KY | 20 / 23 (648.9712) | 19 (165.0972) | 19 (157.0856) | 21 (159.4056) | 13 (167.3828) |
| Sep 5, 2025 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wellington, OH | 42 / 42 (468.5032) | 31 (167.4628) | — | 42 (156.5604) | 41 (144.4800) |
| Aug 1, 2025 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 33 / 43 (655.4288) | 22 (169.7028) | 42 (158.2744) | 36 (159.9888) | 21 (167.4628) |
| Aug 1, 2025 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 25 (162.2516) | — | — |
| Jul 18, 2025 | Buckeye BBQ Classic 🏅 Hillsboro, OH | 34 / 40 (654.8116) | 27 (168.5256) | 35 (160.0116) | 36 (160) | 28 (166.2744) |
| Jun 27, 2025 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA | 16 / 26 (670.1828) | 21 (163.9428) | 19 (163.9544) | 11 (171.4400) | 7 (170.8456) |
| May 23, 2025 | Big Knob BBQ Fest 🏅 Rochester, PA | 9 / 12 (657.0860) | 9 (163.3828) | 3 (172.5944) | 11 (157.7144) | 9 (163.3944) |
| May 17, 2025 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 20 / 21 (643.9892) | 21 (156.5488) | 14 (164.5716) | 17 (161.7144) | 21 (161.1544) |
| May 16, 2025 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) 🏅 Morgantown, PA | 25 / 28 (624.9716) | 27 (151.3600) | 25 (157.6572) | 11 (169.1200) | 27 (146.8344) |
| Apr 25, 2025 | Marietta River City BBQ 🏅 Marietta, OH | 6 / 10 (674.7888) | 8 (164.5372) | 1 (176.0116) | 7 (164.5372) | 5 (169.7028) |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 100 / 100 (481.5772) | 100 (20) | 96 (155.3716) | 98 (151.3600) | 95 (154.8456) |
| Mar 14, 2025 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 71 (147.9772) | — | — |