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
- 2025-04-25
Vegan Tears BBQ
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1435
peak 1435 · rated over 11 contests ⓘ
Contests
13
in the data
First seen
2025-03-14
latest 2025-11-21
Best ToY finish
#270
Master 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
1
3 podiums
Overall top-10s
2
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
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 162.84 · weakest Chicken (150.93)
Road miles
2,761
mi across 13 mapped stops · furthest 890 mi
Schedule strength
62%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1578)
Purse competed for
$78K
listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 10 state-championship entries
Master avg
622.88 / 720
11 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (6 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
The one to beat
2×
one call ahead of them
Buckeye Blue Smoke BBQ has finished one call ahead of Vegan Tears BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
The weak link
−11.9
points behind their best meat
Chicken is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 11.91 points below their brisket, and turns into a call 18% of the time against 36%.
- Chicken avg 150.93
- Brisket avg 162.84
- 2 calls in 11 entries
Brisket nemesis
6 of 6
shared brisket entries lost
BEER TIME BBQ ahead 100% of the time
Even in their strongest meat, BEER TIME BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 6 shared brisket entries.
Going the wrong way
-53
rating points in a year
The rating has slipped 53 points across 11 contests since 2025-03-14 — from 1488 down to 1435.
- 11 contests since 2025-03-14
- now 1435
Boom or bust
±9.86%
swing around their own average
Their overall swings ±9.86% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.
- averages 86.5% of a perfect score
- best 93.7%
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
53 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5936 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 9%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 11 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#5941 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 12 contests to 13, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#5945 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
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.
⚔ Head-to-head#5938 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2014, 11 years before Vegan Tears BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#5937 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Level with Vegan Tears BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#5943 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1435
No shared contest yet.
Fewer contests behind them than Vegan Tears BBQ has cooked, 6 to 13, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar 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 | 20.0000 | 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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 4 | 0 | top 80% |
| OH | 3 | 0 | top 82% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 68% |
| KY | 1 | 0 | top 87% |
| MI | 1 | 0 | top 77% |
| TN | 1 | 0 | top 100% |
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% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring 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% | 2025-05-17 |
The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
0.7 yrs
2025-03-14 → 2025-11-21
Busiest season
2025
13 contests
Cooks most in
PA
4 of 13 contests · 6 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
10
1 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
12 entries · 1 win · 2 calls
Strongest meat
Brisket
averages 162.84 · weakest Chicken (150.93)
Walk rate
31%
a top-10 call in 4 of 13 contests
Overall top-10 rate
15%
2 of 13 contests
Master average
622.88
out of 720 · 11 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
354
60–440 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
2,761
13 mapped stops · furthest 890 mi
Schedule strength
1578
average field rating faced — tougher than 62% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$78,185
listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 10 state-championship entries
Power rating
1435
peak 1435 · #5942 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2025
- 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) | 2025-06-27 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship | 2025-03-14 |
| -11.3 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl | 2025-09-05 |
| -10.6 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 1) | 2025-05-16 |
| -10.6 | Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (Day 2) | 2025-05-17 |
| -5.6 | Buckeye BBQ Classic | 2025-07-18 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31% | top 82% | 93.7% | 86.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-21 | Plant City Pig Jam 🏅 Plant City, FL | 21 / 31 (671.3484) | 17 (169.6684) | 28 (155.9772) | 23 (166.8456) | 2 (178.8572) |
| 2025-10-31 | "Spooky Q" 1792 Monticello, KY | 20 / 23 (648.9712) | 19 (165.0972) | 19 (157.0856) | 21 (159.4056) | 13 (167.3828) |
| 2025-09-05 | Grizzly BBQ Brawl 🏅 Wellington, OH | 42 / 42 (468.5032) | 31 (167.4628) | — | 42 (156.5604) | 41 (144.4800) |
| 2025-08-01 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 33 / 43 (655.4288) | 22 (169.7028) | 42 (158.2744) | 36 (159.9888) | 21 (167.4628) |
| 2025-08-01 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 25 (162.2516) | — | — |
| 2025-07-18 | Buckeye BBQ Classic 🏅 Hillsboro, OH | 34 / 40 (654.8116) | 27 (168.5256) | 35 (160.0116) | 36 (160.0000) | 28 (166.2744) |
| 2025-06-27 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA | 16 / 26 (670.1828) | 21 (163.9428) | 19 (163.9544) | 11 (171.4400) | 7 (170.8456) |
| 2025-05-23 | Big Knob BBQ Fest 🏅 Rochester, PA | 9 / 12 (657.0860) | 9 (163.3828) | 3 (172.5944) | 11 (157.7144) | 9 (163.3944) |
| 2025-05-17 | 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) |
| 2025-05-16 | 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) |
| 2025-04-25 | Marietta River City BBQ 🏅 Marietta, OH | 6 / 10 (674.7888) | 8 (164.5372) | 1 (176.0116) | 7 (164.5372) | 5 (169.7028) |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship 🏅 Lebanon, TN | 100 / 100 (481.5772) | 100 (20.0000) | 96 (155.3716) | 98 (151.3600) | 95 (154.8456) |
| 2025-03-14 | Smoke on the Shores BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Lebanon, TN | — | — | 71 (147.9772) | — | — |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #886 (76 pts) | #927 (96 pts) | #1253 (56 pts) | #950 (66 pts) | #553 (256 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #270 (805 pts) | #289 (775 pts) | #241 (1026 pts) | #254 (885 pts) | #251 (925 pts) |