Back-to-back
2 in a row
editions of this contest
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won here last time out too — 2 straight editions of this contest.
- 2015
- 2016
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival 2016
Jun 18–19, 2016 · Edmonton, Canada · CANADA
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won Grand Champion at the Porkapalooza BBQ Festival on June 18, 2016 in Edmonton, CA, scoring 668.5372 in a field of 42 teams. SMELLAQUE took Reserve Grand Champion with 654.2404. Category winners: Chicken — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (174.8800); Pork Ribs — Kings of Smoke (169.1428); Pork — CORNERSTONE BBQ (169.1428); Brisket — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (169.1084). This is the 3rd of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ; the next was held in 2017.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
277.10
median 622.01
668.54 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.88
- Pork Ribs 169.14
- Pork 169.14
- Brisket 169.11
20
174.88
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
42
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
668.5372
Winning margin
14.2968
GC over RC
Field average
605.98
277.10668.54
median 622.01 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
2.8112 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
633.1316
277.10668.54
10th place overall
Field spread
391.4396
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 97%
beats 3% of 4723 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
60%
18 of 30 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Weak
ρ = -0.2 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,510
avg power rating going in · stronger than 7% of contests
Storylines (8 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
A statement win
14.2968
points clear of the field
Wider than 95% of the 4,722 championships in the data
The champion won by 14.2968 points — a wider margin than 95% of championships in the data.
A dynasty in the making
3×
wins at this contest
3 of 8 tracked editions
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ has won this contest 3 times across its 8 tracked editions.
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 8 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 6–7: SMOKAPALOOZA and Baby J's and the Brothers tied on 167.4744 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: BORDERTOWN BAR B QUE edged SMELLAQUE by 0.0116. Brisket places 5–6: HOG HEADS edged SMOKIN ACES by 0.0228.
- Chicken 6–7 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · 0.0116
- Brisket 5–6 · 0.0228
- Brisket 9–10 · 0.0228
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won Chicken, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork at 20th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 2nd
- Pork 20th
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (won 2015).
- ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ · 2015
The biggest field yet
42
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 30 teams
42 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 30.
This contest's own records (1 in the KCBS record book)
Records held by every edition of this contest put together, not just this one afternoon.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 2014 | Edmonton Alberta Canada | Edmonton Alberta Canada, T6J 0S4 | 29 | 655.3484 | Prairie Smoke & Spice | HOUSE OF Q |
| Jun 19, 2015 | Edmonton Alberta | Edmonton Alberta, T6E 5K1 | 30 | 669.6456 | ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
| Jun 18, 2016 ← this one | Edmonton, CA | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 42 | 668.5372 | ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
| Jun 10, 2017 | Edmonton | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 39 | 666.2056 | ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
| Jun 16, 2018 | Edmonton | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 51 | 672.5716 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | SMELLAQUE |
| Jun 15, 2019 | Edmonton | Edmonton, Alberta Canada | 44 | 690.9256 | SmellaQue | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ |
| May 30, 2020 | Edmonton Alberta | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 14, 2021 | Sherwood Park, AB | HALFMOON LAKE RESORT | 25 | 692.6056 | SmellaQue | ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS |
| May 28, 2022 | Sherwood Park, AB | Half Moon Lake Resort | 39 | 695.4284 | Arrowhead North | 333BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 174.8800 | 168.5944 | 165.1084 |
| Pork Ribs | 169.1428 | 165.1316 | 162.8800 |
| Pork | 169.1428 | 166.3316 | 161.1656 |
| Brisket | 169.1084 | 161.1884 | 158.2744 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
42 entries · top 668.5372 · median 622.0058
Chicken
41 entries · top 174.8800 · median 159.3828
Pork Ribs
42 entries · top 169.1428 · median 154.8172
Pork
41 entries · top 169.1428 · median 155.4400
Brisket
42 entries · top 169.1084 · median 151.1428
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Master Series — Alberta Pork Challange
27 entries · top 175.4056 · median 159.4284
Master Series — Chef'S Choice
27 entries · top 173.7028 · median 159.9772