MORT'S MEAT MAFIA

MORT'S MEAT MAFIA is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 14 at the Tunes, Brews & BBQ's (2018), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion once. They are ranked #2849 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,849

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1510

peak 1545 · rated over 31 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jul 18, 2014

latest May 22, 2026 · 11.8 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#596

Master 2018 · every season

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

12 podiums

Overall top-10s

25% of 32 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 53%

overall standings

Best overall

675.8744 / 720

Master · Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest

Perfect 180s

Current form

659.60 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 640.21 (+19.39)

Walk rate

72%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8800

Chicken · Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke

Consistency

±29.75

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.03 · weakest Brisket (153.90)

Road miles

7,578

across 32 mapped stops · furthest 1,102 mi

Schedule strength

36%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1548)

Purse competed for

$133K

listed at 12 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 12 state-championship entries

Master avg

640.21 / 720

32 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (13 found in their record)

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

They almost always walk

72% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 23 of 32 contests

A top-10 category call in 72% of their 32 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

675.8744 career-best overall

93.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 675.8744 at Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest — 93.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
May 22, 2026

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

KISS MY BBQ has finished one call ahead of MORT'S MEAT MAFIA 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2018 their best year

2018 was the year it came together: 5 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 34%.

5 contests
3 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 34%

A tough matchup

16–0 behind in the head-to-head

GOOD SMOKE BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

GOOD SMOKE BBQ has come out ahead in 16 of their 16 shared contests.

The weak link

−9.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 9.13 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 31% of the time against 25%.

Brisket avg 153.90
Chicken avg 163.03
10 calls in 32 entries

A strong matchup

5–1 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 83% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of THE SMOKING DUTCHMAN in 5 of their 6 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

The comeback

2.9 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.9 years, then back at Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest (May 22, 2026).

last seen Jun 16, 2023
back May 22, 2026

Chicken nemesis

15 of 16 shared chicken entries lost

RED VALLEY BBQ ahead 94% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, RED VALLEY BBQ has out-cooked them in 15 of 16 shared chicken entries.

A big fish in small ponds

Top 38% average finish in small fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 38% finish in small fields against top 53% in large ones.

Small (<20 teams): top 38% (5)
Large (40+): top 53% (14)

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

NEANDERTHAL Q has landed one call behind them 2 times.

The long haul

7,578 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 7,578 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,102 miles to Bixby Rotary BBQ'N Blues Festival.

32 mapped stops
furthest 1,102 mi

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked Salt City BBQ Festival every year from 2015 to 2018 — the contest they never miss.

4 visits in all
best finish 4th

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	#843 (124 pts)	#986 (114 pts)	#721 (239 pts)	#968 (109 pts)	#815 (144 pts)
2023 ↗	Master	#1604 (53 pts)	#1631 (53 pts)	#1726 (53 pts)	#1111 (108 pts)	#1601 (53 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#852 (170 pts)	#902 (170 pts)	#940 (175 pts)	#961 (150 pts)	#817 (190 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#829 (154 pts)	#1039 (119 pts)	#601 (299 pts)	#950 (124 pts)	#820 (174 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#656 (496 pts)	#788 (416 pts)	#708 (476 pts)	#536 (641 pts)	#656 (516 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#596 (579 pts)	#900 (364 pts)	#565 (664 pts)	#613 (609 pts)	#676 (539 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1157 (258 pts)	#1063 (338 pts)	#1341 (228 pts)	#1113 (313 pts)	#1073 (318 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#639 (603 pts)	#422 (928 pts)	#696 (578 pts)	#661 (608 pts)	#604 (663 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#962 (326 pts)	#1132 (276 pts)	#844 (426 pts)	#1182 (276 pts)	#1073 (291 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MORT'S MEAT MAFIA, each with one reason worth a look.

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

SKARA OLD SCHOOL BBQ

#2,840 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1518

1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to MORT'S MEAT MAFIA)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team MORT'S MEAT MAFIA has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 24 contests
last seen Sep 21, 2019

⚔ Head-to-head

BURNING PIG BBQ

#2,850 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 47
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1542

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to MORT'S MEAT MAFIA)

They've been 1542 at their best, 32 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 47 contests
last seen Jan 16, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

THE OPRY BACKSTAGE GRILLERS

#2,854 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1510

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before MORT'S MEAT MAFIA's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 31 contests

⚔ Compare careers

IRON BBQ

#2,843 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1572

Careers of much the same size, 31 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Feb 24, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

Hooligans Barbecue

#2,848 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1510

25 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 20% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Aug 14, 2026
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

BEER DART BBQ

#2,830 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1516

Level with MORT'S MEAT MAFIA on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 22 contests
last seen Sep 4, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
THREE DOGS BBQ	18	7	11	39%	⚔ compare
RED VALLEY BBQ	16	7	9	44%	⚔ compare
GOOD SMOKE BBQ	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
BEHIND BBQ	15	5	10	33%	⚔ compare
KISS MY BBQ	14	4	10	29%	⚔ compare
SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
THE GOOD CUE CREW	13	3	10	23%	⚔ compare
Priorville BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
Sweet Heat BBQ	12	3	9	25%	⚔ compare
BLACK HART BBQ	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
PULLIN' MY MONEY MUSCLE	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS	11	1	10	9%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' WEAD BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
BIG RAZ BBQ	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
Holy Smokes NY	9	3	5	33%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	32	8	1	2	178.8800	150.8000	163.03	top 54%
Pork Ribs	32	14	1	5	175.4172	143.3484	162.65	top 46%
Pork	32	11	1	3	175.4056	145.7028	160.64	top 51%
Brisket	32	10	0	2	170.8112	20	153.90	top 55%

“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)	5	top 38%
Medium (20–39)	13	top 59%
Large (40+)	14	top 53%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
NY	18	top 50%
PA	8	top 52%
WV	3	top 65%
OK	1	top 53%
OH	1	top 59%
AR	1	top 72%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Oinktoberfest	4	10	top 56%	Sep 21, 2019
Salt City BBQ Festival	4	4	top 47%	May 18, 2018
Hudson Valley Ribfest	3	17	top 40%	Aug 16, 2019
New Holland Summer Fest	2	23	top 55%	Aug 26, 2022
Almost Heaven BBQ Bash	2	12	top 53%	Jun 17, 2022
BBQ in The Valley	2	8	top 58%	May 4, 2018
Conquer The Grill	2	5	top 47%	Jun 2, 2017
Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke	2	14	top 62%	Sep 3, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 6 contests

Contests a season 3.2 across 10 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NY 18 of 32 contests · 6 states in all

Contests visited 19 8 of them more than once

Opponents faced 622 finished ahead 539 times, behind 692

Longest layoff 2.9 yrs Jun 16, 2023 → May 22, 2026

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

20262 milestones

May 22 Career-best overall score675.8744 Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest
May 22 Most recent contest Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest

20192 milestones

Aug 31 25th tracked contest Route Six Ribfest
Sep 21 Peak power rating (1545) Oinktoberfest

20182 milestones

Sep 14 First overall podium Tunes, Brews & BBQ's
Sep 14 First Reserve Championship Tunes, Brews & BBQ's

20163 milestones

Sep 3 First category win (Chicken) Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke
Sep 3 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.8800 Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke
Sep 23 10th tracked contest Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff

20152 milestones

May 15 First overall top-10 Salt City BBQ Festival
May 15 First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.3832 Salt City BBQ Festival

20142 milestones

Jul 18 First tracked contest Warren County All American BBQ Festival
Jul 18 First call Warren County All American BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.6	Tunes, Brews & BBQ's	Sep 14, 2018
+12.2	Route Six Ribfest	Aug 31, 2019
+11.9	Salt City BBQ Festival	May 15, 2015
+11.3	Oinktoberfest	Sep 22, 2018
+10.3	BBQ in The Valley	May 4, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.6	Oinktoberfest	Sep 22, 2017
-11.8	Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest	Aug 12, 2016
-10.2	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash	Jun 16, 2023
-9.9	Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke	Sep 4, 2015
-8.5	BBQ In the Valley	May 5, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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	1	0	100%	top 64%	93.9%	93.9%
2023	1	0	0	0%	top 89%	89.1%	89.1%
2022	2	0	0	50%	top 68%	92.4%	91%
2021	2	0	0	50%	top 56%	93.1%	92.2%
2019	6	1	1	100%	top 39%	93.5%	91.6%
2018	5	3	1	80%	top 34%	91.8%	89.7%
2017	5	1	0	60%	top 70%	90.8%	84.1%
2016	6	1	1	83%	top 51%	90%	87.9%
2015	3	1	0	33%	top 59%	90.5%	86.6%
2014	1	0	0	100%	top 62%	87.9%	87.9%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
May 22, 2026	Big Knob BBQ & Cash Fest 🏅 Rochester, PA	9 / 14 (675.8744)	10 (167.9772)	2 (174.2744)	11 (165.0972)	7 (168.5256)
Jun 16, 2023	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Buckhannon, WV	25 / 28 (641.5084)	27 (155.9544)	25 (159.9428)	14 (170.8228)	26 (154.7884)
Aug 26, 2022	New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA	37 / 49 (644.9484)	24 (167.9656)	24 (167.9656)	42 (158.2172)	38 (150.8000)
Jun 17, 2022	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Roanoke, WV	12 / 20 (665.5544)	13 (166.8344)	12 (167.3828)	16 (162.8116)	9 (168.5256)
May 7, 2021	Bixby Rotary BBQ'N Blues Festival 🏅 Bixby, OK	28 / 53 (670.1140)	24 (171.9656)	18 (171.9772)	38 (161.6456)	24 (164.5256)
Apr 23, 2021	Marietta River City BBQ 🏅 Marietta, OH	17 / 29 (658.2744)	28 (154.2284)	4 (174.3772)	23 (161.6572)	14 (168.0116)
Sep 21, 2019	Oinktoberfest 🏅 Clarence, NY	13 / 43 (637.1312)	35 (155.4056)	16 (165.6800)	14 (164.5600)	10 (167.9656)
Aug 31, 2019	Route Six Ribfest 🏅 Coudersport, PA	3 / 16 (673.0400)	4 (173.7144)	6 (165.6684)	5 (166.2744)	5 (167.3828)
Aug 23, 2019	New Holland Summer Fest 🏅 New Holland, PA	23 / 65 (660.9940)	57 (150.8000)	9 (172.5600)	17 (166.8228)	8 (170.8112)
Aug 16, 2019	Hudson Valley Ribfest 🏅 New Paltz, NY	17 / 53 (659.9088)	16 (167.9772)	23 (163.9888)	2 (173.1200)	36 (154.8228)
Jun 7, 2019	Almost Heaven BBQ Bash 🏅 Roanoke, WV	14 / 31 (659.3372)	11 (167.4056)	1 (175.4172)	6 (167.9772)	24 (148.5372)
Feb 8, 2019	KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Championship 🏅 unrated Little Rock, AR	66 / 92 (667.2684)	72 (166.2628)	82 (161.6572)	10 (175.4056)	77 (163.9428)
Sep 22, 2018	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	10 / 51 (648.0228)	14 (165.1428)	2 (172.5828)	29 (153.1428)	13 (157.1544)
Sep 14, 2018	Tunes, Brews & BBQ's Penn Yan, NY	2 / 14 (661.1432)	10 (165.1316)	7 (161.7028)	1 (166.2972)	2 (168.0116)
Aug 17, 2018	Hudson Valley Ribfest New Paltz, NY	32 / 58 (641.6116)	39 (160.5028)	7 (169.7260)	48 (153.1428)	28 (158.2400)
May 18, 2018	Salt City BBQ Festival Syracuse, NY	17 / 34 (628.4916)	13 (162.2400)	24 (151.9772)	13 (159.3828)	23 (154.8916)
May 4, 2018	BBQ in The Valley Jamestown, NY	8 / 25 (650.2284)	20 (158.2744)	16 (157.7028)	3 (169.7028)	11 (164.5484)
Sep 22, 2017	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	53 / 53 (515.4056)	20 (165.6800)	5 (168.6056)	17 (161.1200)	53 (20)
Aug 18, 2017	Hudson Valley Ribfest New Paltz, NY	19 / 59 (654.1028)	5 (173.1200)	3 (171.4172)	44 (153.0744)	33 (156.4912)
Jun 2, 2017	Conquer The Grill Coudersport, PA	8 / 12 (637.6568)	4 (165.6684)	10 (154.8800)	10 (151.4056)	5 (165.7028)
May 19, 2017	Salt City BBQ Festival Syracuse, NY	28 / 41 (610.6852)	28 (157.1544)	36 (143.3484)	11 (160.0112)	21 (150.1712)
May 5, 2017	BBQ In the Valley Jamestown, NY	22 / 26 (608.9596)	17 (160.5712)	24 (146.2400)	21 (151.3600)	20 (150.7884)
Sep 23, 2016	Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff Clarence, NY	16 / 54 (645.6116)	15 (164.5256)	41 (150.2172)	23 (161.1200)	5 (169.7488)
Sep 3, 2016	Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke Geneva, NY	14 / 35 (645.1548)	1 (178.8800)	26 (152.5716)	10 (165.7144)	30 (147.9888)
Aug 12, 2016	Salamanca Rock'in Ribfest Salamanca, NY	26 / 28 (618.2056)	7 (169.7028)	28 (151.3372)	26 (145.7028)	24 (151.4628)
Jun 3, 2016	Conquer The Grill Coudersport, PA	5 / 18 (647.9656)	3 (165.6684)	11 (157.7372)	6 (160.5828)	2 (163.9772)
May 20, 2016	Salt City BBQ Festival Syracuse, NY	16 / 32 (611.8968)	17 (153.6684)	5 (166.2856)	10 (158.8456)	32 (133.0972)
Apr 1, 2016	The Ironman Greencastle, PA	36 / 54 (626.7544)	40 (155.3828)	15 (163.4516)	43 (152)	33 (155.9200)
Sep 19, 2015	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	38 / 52 (614.2052)	41 (151.9428)	32 (153.1540)	24 (158.8228)	35 (150.2856)
Sep 4, 2015	Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke Geneva, NY	21 / 25 (605.6112)	13 (160.5484)	11 (160)	19 (150.2628)	23 (134.8000)
May 15, 2015	Salt City BBQ Festival Syracuse, NY	4 / 21 (651.3832)	13 (158.2744)	2 (168.0116)	9 (160.5372)	5 (164.5600)
Jul 18, 2014	Warren County All American BBQ Festival Pittsfield, PA	13 / 21 (633.1544)	16 (158.2972)	6 (162.8572)	17 (153.7028)	11 (158.2972)

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

MORT'S MEAT MAFIA

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

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 (13 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

A big fish in small ponds

Looking over their shoulder

The long haul

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, averaged over 5 contests — 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)