The heartbreaker
Came within 4.1032 points of the Grand Championship at Fire it up Frostproof! (2019-04-12).
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Came within 4.1032 points of the Grand Championship at Fire it up Frostproof! (2019-04-12).
The ratings favoured the top seed the other 71 times in 100
Their Grand Championship at Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition (2025-05-24) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 29-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, Shiggin aint easy.
Their power rating has climbed 28 points across 12 contests since 2024-09-13 — from 1592 up to 1620.
They've won two or more meats on the same day 1 time — the best of them 2 category wins at Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition (2023-06-17).
A call in 41 of 49 contests
A top-10 category call in 84% of their 49 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.
97.5% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 701.7028 at Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke — 97.5% of a perfect 720.
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ has finished one call ahead of CycloneBBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA ahead in 91% of their meetings
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA has come out ahead in 20 of their 22 shared contests.
Ahead in 81% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Mullen It Over BBQ in 17 of their 21 shared contests.
Off the trail for 3.1 years, then back at Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (2022-06-04).
Finished 2 of 25 at their very first tracked contest, Fire it up Frostproof! (2019-04-12).
WAR PIGS has landed one call behind them 2 times.
Their overall swings ±14.49% 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.
Something about May: average finish in the top 24% across 4 contests, versus top 41% the rest of the year.
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 10,369 miles across 49 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,221 miles to Fire it up Frostproof!.
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.
These two have cooked 5 of the same contests — Meat Monarchy ahead 3–2 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.
⚔ Head-to-headFewer contests behind them than CycloneBBQ has cooked, 33 to 49, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headThis is the highest they've ever been rated, 27 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir last contest in the data was back in 2019, 6 years before CycloneBBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headTheir rating is built on 3 Grand Championships in 71 contests, alongside a 46% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with CycloneBBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELJEFE SMOKE | 23 | 6 | 17 | 26% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | 22 | 2 | 20 | 9% | ⚔ compare |
| Mullen It Over BBQ | 21 | 17 | 4 | 81% | ⚔ compare |
| PADDY MCQ'S | 19 | 2 | 17 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| FIRE AT THE END OF THE DAY | 18 | 5 | 13 | 28% | ⚔ compare |
| Let It Smoke Barbecue | 16 | 12 | 4 | 75% | ⚔ compare |
| Up-2 BBQ | 16 | 4 | 12 | 25% | ⚔ compare |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 16 | 1 | 15 | 6% | ⚔ compare |
| Matt's Backyard BBQ | 15 | 13 | 2 | 87% | ⚔ compare |
| CIDER BOYS BBQ | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 13 | 1 | 12 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| BBQ Bandits | 12 | 12 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| SUWHEE Q | 12 | 12 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Live Q or Die | 12 | 6 | 6 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| What the Pork? | 11 | 7 | 4 | 64% | ⚔ compare |
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 40 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 178.8572 | 157.6572 | 169.25 | top 47% |
| Pork Ribs | 47 | 30 | 3 | 11 | 178.8572 | 150.7772 | 169.95 | top 34% |
| Pork | 38 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 176.5600 | 149.6916 | 166.83 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 38 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 179.4400 | 153.6344 | 166.58 | top 44% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| PA | 6 | 0 | top 71% |
| ON | 5 | 1 | top 27% |
| ME | 5 | 0 | top 32% |
| MA | 5 | 0 | top 40% |
| VT | 5 | 0 | top 48% |
| QC | 3 | 0 | top 25% |
| NH | 3 | 0 | top 44% |
| NY | 2 | 0 | top 43% |
| NB | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
| NS | 1 | 0 | top 33% |
| RI | 1 | 0 | top 30% |
| FL | 1 | 0 | top 8% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 8 | 0 | top 46% |
| Medium (20–39) | 22 | 1 | top 36% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 0 | top 50% |
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) | 5 | 4 | 0 | top 40% | 2024-09-21 |
| Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY2) | 5 | 7 | 0 | top 48% | 2024-09-14 |
| Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | 3 | 5 | 0 | top 44% | 2024-06-01 |
| Kora Kares for Kids | 2 | 13 | 0 | top 35% | 2025-08-16 |
| York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) | 2 | 9 | 0 | top 70% | 2025-06-28 |
| La Classique BBQ Labonte | 2 | 2 | 0 | top 24% | 2024-08-02 |
| Jack 9 Memorial | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 31% | 2024-05-25 |
| I Love Barbecue & Music Festival | 2 | 8 | 0 | top 43% | 2023-09-01 |
| Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 66% | 2023-07-29 |
| Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | 2 | 26 | 0 | top 75% | 2022-07-30 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.1 | Fire it up Frostproof! | 2019-04-12 |
| +13.9 | Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | 2022-06-04 |
| +12.7 | Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition | 2025-05-24 |
| +12.6 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) | 2023-09-22 |
| +11.8 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition | 2023-08-19 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.4 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) | 2022-07-29 |
| -12.1 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) | 2024-09-20 |
| -11.2 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) | 2023-07-28 |
| -6.9 | Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES | 2024-06-01 |
| -4.7 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) | 2022-07-30 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 78% | top 39% | 97.5% | 95.2% |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 83% | top 40% | 96% | 93.5% |
| 2023 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 81% | top 40% | 96.7% | 93% |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 91% | top 48% | 95.2% | 92.4% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 8% | 183.1% | 183.1% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-23 | Rock N Hogs BBQ Battle London, ON | 8 / 22 (693.0628) | 11 (173.1200) | 12 (171.4056) | 7 (175.4288) | 7 (173.1084) |
| 2025-08-16 | Kora Kares for Kids 🏅 Hiram, ME | 15 / 40 (680.4688) | 16 (173.1200) | 23 (166.8344) | 16 (169.6916) | 11 (170.8228) |
| 2025-08-16 | Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 15 (167.9772) | — | — |
| 2025-08-08 | Smoke in the Orchard, Powered by Sunpoke Keswick, NB | 5 / 15 (701.7028) | 3 (177.1428) | 5 (173.1544) | 4 (176.0000) | 4 (175.4056) |
| 2025-08-01 | La Classique What the Pork? Sainte-Perpetue, QC | 5 / 18 (690.2628) | 7 (173.1200) | 5 (172.5600) | 4 (172.5944) | 8 (171.9884) |
| 2025-06-28 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 2) 🏅 Delta, PA | 9 / 10 (675.9092) | 6 (176.5600) | 5 (171.4288) | 10 (155.9432) | 4 (171.9772) |
| 2025-06-27 | York County BBQ Festival (Day 1) 🏅 Delta, PA | 13 / 26 (672.4228) | 17 (166.2400) | 14 (168.5256) | 21 (159.9544) | 2 (177.7028) |
| 2025-06-08 | Throttled Up BBQ Throwdown Upper Onslow, NS | 4 / 12 (682.8344) | 10 (166.2628) | 1 (178.8572) | 8 (167.4172) | 5 (170.2972) |
| 2025-05-24 | Jack9 Memorial BBQ Competition La Salette, ON | 1 / 26 (684.0344) | 4 (174.8800) | 8 (166.2972) | 13 (164.5372) | 2 (178.3200) |
| 2024-09-21 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Southwick, MA | 6 / 27 (691.4060) | 22 (166.8344) | 7 (175.4400) | 2 (176.5600) | 6 (172.5716) |
| 2024-09-21 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) Southwick, MA | — | — | 1 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2024-09-20 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Southwick, MA | 22 / 25 (662.1716) | 20 (163.4172) | 12 (168.5372) | 18 (168.5372) | 22 (161.6800) |
| 2024-09-14 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY2) 🏅 Braintree, VT | 7 / 25 (685.0860) | 12 (169.6800) | 2 (177.7144) | 15 (168.5716) | 13 (169.1200) |
| 2024-09-13 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY1 ) 🏅 Braintree, VT | 11 / 25 (671.3716) | 11 (169.1772) | 3 (174.2744) | 24 (151.9200) | 1 (176.0000) |
| 2024-09-13 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Braintree, VT | — | 8 (167.4172) | — | — | — |
| 2024-09-13 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) Braintree, VT | — | — | 3 (171.9888) | — | — |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids 🏅 Hiram, ME | 13 / 39 (677.6572) | 17 (169.6800) | 8 (172.0000) | 8 (173.1428) | 25 (162.8344) |
| 2024-08-17 | Kora Kares for Kids (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 20 (166.8344) | — | — |
| 2024-08-02 | La Classique BBQ Labonte Sainte-Perpetue, QC | 2 / 26 (677.7144) | 19 (162.8572) | 3 (170.8572) | 3 (172.0000) | 4 (172.0000) |
| 2024-06-01 | Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH | 25 / 37 (660.4116) | 20 (167.9772) | 4 (173.7144) | 26 (165.0856) | 34 (153.6344) |
| 2024-05-25 | Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON | 6 / 20 (661.0512) | 16 (158.8116) | 1 (175.4400) | 3 (169.1428) | 14 (157.6568) |
| 2023-09-23 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Southwick, MA | 14 / 42 (689.0628) | 16 (171.4056) | 15 (171.4172) | 13 (175.4172) | 15 (170.8228) |
| 2023-09-23 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 Southwick, MA | — | — | 8 (169.6800) | — | — |
| 2023-09-22 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Southwick, MA | 4 / 31 (695.9888) | 2 (177.7144) | 8 (173.1200) | 24 (165.7144) | 1 (179.4400) |
| 2023-09-10 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Braintree, VT | — | 8 (168.5372) | — | — | — |
| 2023-09-10 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT RIBS) Braintree, VT | — | — | 8 (168.5488) | — | — |
| 2023-09-08 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Braintree, VT | 15 / 26 (670.1828) | 21 (164.5256) | 4 (172.5600) | 11 (169.6800) | 16 (163.4172) |
| 2023-09-01 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival Lake Placid, NY | 8 / 18 (675.9776) | 1 (178.8572) | 10 (162.8344) | 8 (168.5488) | 9 (165.7372) |
| 2023-08-19 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME | 6 / 46 (689.7028) | 5 (176.5828) | 5 (174.8572) | 11 (173.1200) | 25 (165.1428) |
| 2023-08-19 | Kora Shriners BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 9 (168.5600) | — | — |
| 2023-08-04 | La Classique BBQ Labonte Sainte-Perpetue, QC | 13 / 33 (642.1828) | 19 (158.8112) | 5 (167.9772) | 28 (149.6916) | 10 (165.7028) |
| 2023-07-29 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 2) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 21 / 40 (678.2284) | 35 (162.8340) | 3 (177.1544) | 24 (169.6800) | 17 (168.5600) |
| 2023-07-28 | Smoke on the Rail (Day 1) 🏅 New Freedom, PA | 41 / 51 (654.1828) | 28 (169.1428) | 19 (170.8572) | 47 (158.2400) | 46 (155.9428) |
| 2023-06-17 | Stuttering John's Smokehouse BBQ Competition Seagrave, ON | 5 / 15 (648.4112) | 1 (171.9656) | 13 (150.7772) | 1 (170.2628) | 7 (155.4056) |
| 2023-06-03 | Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH | 20 / 39 (663.3488) | 33 (157.6572) | 12 (170.8916) | 15 (169.6916) | 19 (165.1084) |
| 2023-05-27 | Jack 9 Memorial La Salette, ON | 6 / 19 (667.3828) | 3 (168.5600) | 11 (163.9772) | 8 (165.6800) | 3 (169.1656) |
| 2023-05-06 | HOGS 4 HEROES 🏅 Jamestown, RI | 15 / 50 (662.2744) | 4 (174.2628) | 29 (164.0228) | 29 (159.9888) | 17 (164.0000) |
| 2022-10-01 | Nor'Easter BBQ Showdown - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Southwick, MA | 14 / 33 (667.3944) | 5 (174.2972) | 11 (169.1200) | 19 (161.1200) | 16 (162.8572) |
| 2022-09-17 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) 🏅 Braintree, VT | 10 / 26 (665.6000) | 11 (170.2628) | 6 (169.6916) | 12 (168.5600) | 19 (157.0856) |
| 2022-09-17 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - Master of Ribs - Saturday Night (ONE MEAT RIBS) Braintree, VT | — | — | 2 (173.1200) | — | — |
| 2022-09-16 | Green Mountain BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) 🏅 Braintree, VT | 13 / 18 (657.0400) | 7 (170.2628) | 12 (163.9772) | 9 (164.5372) | 15 (158.2628) |
| 2022-09-02 | I Love Barbecue & Music Festival (Masters) (JUDGING FULL) Lake Placid, NY | 9 / 22 (662.1828) | 14 (163.3712) | 5 (169.1428) | 7 (169.6916) | 11 (159.9772) |
| 2022-08-27 | Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition 🏅 Hiram, ME | 8 / 31 (666.8116) | 5 (175.4056) | 19 (160.5716) | 7 (169.1200) | 15 (161.7144) |
| 2022-08-27 | Kora Shriner's BBQ Competition (ONE MEAT RIBS) Hiram, ME | — | — | 3 (174.8572) | — | — |
| 2022-07-30 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 2) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 26 / 42 (672.4568) | 24 (171.4056) | 4 (176.0000) | 36 (162.2628) | 35 (162.7884) |
| 2022-07-29 | Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) 🏅 Spring Grove, PA | 48 / 54 (642.1716) | 26 (170.2628) | 47 (157.6916) | 44 (157.6800) | 46 (156.5372) |
| 2022-06-25 | Second Annual Central Maine BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Skowhegan, ME | 13 / 25 (670.1596) | 16 (166.2512) | 12 (165.6800) | 16 (162.8228) | 1 (175.4056) |
| 2022-06-04 | Granite State BBQ Championship - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES 🏅 Merrimack, NH | 5 / 37 (685.6684) | 12 (169.7028) | 5 (172.5600) | 6 (172.5600) | 10 (170.8456) |
| 2019-04-12 | Fire it up Frostproof! 🏅 Frostproof, FL | 2 / 25 (659.2684) | 3 (161.6456) | 3 (167.4172) | 1 (169.1084) | 3 (161.0972) |
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #160 (1279 pts) | #200 (1139 pts) | #163 (1299 pts) | #213 (1064 pts) | #119 (1459 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #183 (1098 pts) | #270 (864 pts) | #24 (2079 pts) | #166 (1153 pts) | #201 (1038 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #121 (1372 pts) | #53 (1798 pts) | #77 (1608 pts) | #148 (1209 pts) | #108 (1402 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #205 (1040 pts) | #199 (1080 pts) | #75 (1631 pts) | #205 (1035 pts) | #215 (1030 pts) |