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
Italians Do it Better
Italians Do it Better is a competition barbecue team with 8 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 9th of 31 at the VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition (2024). They are ranked #2244 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1529
peak 1529 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
8
in the data
First seen
Nov 3, 2023
latest Sep 11, 2026 · 2.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
3
38% of 8 contests
Avg finish
top 46%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
677.28 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 676.20 (+1.08)
Walk rate
75%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.06
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 171.71 · weakest Chicken (167.33)
Road miles
2,208
across 8 mapped stops · furthest 316 mi
Schedule strength
47%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1561)
Purse competed for
$274K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 8 state-championship entries
Master avg
676.20 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #631 (261 pts) | #603 (311 pts) | #677 (281 pts) | #559 (346 pts) | #573 (331 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Italians Do it Better, each with one reason worth a look.
76 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,251 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 13%
- Peak
- 1529
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,245 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1529
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Italians Do it Better's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,250 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 38%
- Peak
- 1532
Careers of much the same size, 8 contests to 8, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,242 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 44%
- Peak
- 1539
Both teams' first contest in the data came in 2023.
⚔ Compare careers#2,241 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 56%
- Peak
- 1529
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 9 contests, alongside a 56% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Compare careers#2,240 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1529
Level with Italians Do it Better on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA PASADITA | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| Poppa Pig | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 174.2972 | 156.5600 | 167.33 | top 54% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 180 🔥 | 159.4172 | 171.71 | top 38% |
| Pork | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 173.1316 | 159.3600 | 167.90 | top 50% |
| Brisket | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 177.1544 | 162.2628 | 169.26 | top 42% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 31% |
| Large (40+) | 5 | 0 | top 56% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 30% | Oct 24, 2025 |
| Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | 2 | 28 | 0 | top 42% | Sep 12, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
4 contests
Contests a season
2
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TX
3 of 8 contests · 4 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
347
finished ahead 233 times, behind 242
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20262 milestones
- Peak power rating (1529) Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff
- Most recent contest Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff
20236 milestones
- First tracked contest VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
- First call VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
- First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score691.3256 VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
- Career-best overall score691.3256 VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +10.9 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition | Oct 25, 2024 |
| +9.3 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition | Oct 24, 2025 |
| +8.6 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition | Nov 3, 2023 |
| +6.8 | Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff | Sep 11, 2026 |
| +3.7 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff | Sep 13, 2024 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -7.6 | Poosa Q | Oct 4, 2024 |
| -6.2 | Smoke on the Water | Sep 20, 2024 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 29% | 94.3% | 94.3% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 36% | 95.5% | 94.1% |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75% | top 59% | 95.8% | 93.2% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 33% | 96% | 96% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2026 | Danny Dietz Memorial World Championship Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 22 / 75 (678.7888) | 43 (167.3944) | 10 (174.8800) | 63 (159.3600) | 4 (177.1544) |
| Oct 24, 2025 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA | 10 / 33 (687.9316) | 10 (173.1200) | 9 (175.4172) | 12 (170.8688) | 16 (168.5256) |
| Sep 12, 2025 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 39 / 92 (667.3484) | 37 (168.5600) | 37 (169.1200) | 47 (167.4056) | 49 (162.2628) |
| Oct 25, 2024 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA | 9 / 31 (689.6460) | 17 (167.3944) | 14 (173.1200) | 9 (173.1316) | 4 (176) |
| Oct 4, 2024 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 50 / 59 (662.7084) | 54 (162.8228) | 34 (168.5600) | 44 (165.0856) | 42 (166.2400) |
| Sep 20, 2024 | Smoke on the Water 🏅 Pine Bluff, AR | 34 / 42 (657.6228) | 40 (156.5600) | 38 (159.4172) | 9 (173.1200) | 24 (168.5256) |
| Sep 13, 2024 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 28 / 67 (674.2516) | 8 (174.2972) | 15 (173.1544) | 53 (161.1200) | 31 (165.6800) |
| Nov 3, 2023 | VPD Back the Blue BBQ Competition 🏅 Vidalia, LA | 9 / 27 (691.3256) | 13 (168.5256) | 2 (180) | 6 (173.1200) | 11 (169.6800) |