A rookie on the podium
3rd
at their first tracked contest
BLUE HAZE BBQ CREW finished 3rd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Winnipeg Barbeque and Blues Festival 2016
Aug 19–20, 2016 · Winnipeg, Canada · CANADA · 📍 Burton Cummings Theater, 364 Smith st
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won Grand Champion at the Winnipeg Barbeque and Blues Festival on August 19, 2016 in Winnipeg, R3C5S5 at Burton Cummings Theater, 364 Smith st, scoring 676.4916 in a field of 25 teams. PIGTAMER BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 669.6456. Category winners: Chicken — BIGG SMOAK BBQ (171.4056); Pork Ribs — BLUE HAZE BBQ CREW (173.1544); Pork — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (167.9772); Brisket — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (171.4400). This is the 4th of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ.
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.
595.99
median 643.86
676.49 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 171.41
- Pork Ribs 173.15
- Pork 167.98
- Brisket 171.44
137.70
173.15
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2016 — this edition picked out.
Entries
25
4 judged meats
Top score
676.4916
Winning margin
6.8460
GC over RC
Field average
641.27
595.99676.49
median 643.86 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
1.7256 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
647.8632
595.99676.49
10th place overall
Field spread
80.5028
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 93%
beats 7% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
36%
8 of 22 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.56 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,515
avg power rating going in · stronger than 10% of contests
Storylines (4 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.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 12 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: SMELLAQUE and Midnight Rambler's BBQ tied on 165.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: PIGTAMER BBQ and Winni-Pig Ash Kickers tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: SAUCY DAWG BBQ edged SMELLAQUE by 0.0004.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · 0.0004
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0112
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 3rd
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 1st
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2013 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA | Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA | 26 | 671.9428 | BURNSIDE BBQ | SMOKIN JIM'S BBQ |
| Aug 16, 2014 | Winnipeg Manitoba Canada | Winnipeg Manitoba Canada, | 26 | 684.0232 | Smokin Hawg BBQ | Bad Azz BBQ |
| Aug 21, 2015 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg, MB | 22 | 667.9544 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | BIGG SMOAK BBQ |
| Aug 19, 2016 ← this one | Winnipeg | Burton Cummings Theater, 364 Smith st | 25 | 676.4916 | ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ | PIGTAMER BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 171.4056 | 169.6800 | 167.4056 |
| Pork Ribs | 173.1544 | 166.2400 | 162.8344 |
| Pork | 167.9772 | 165.7256 | 162.8228 |
| Brisket | 171.4400 | 163.9428 | 159.3944 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
25 entries · top 676.4916 · median 643.8632
Chicken
25 entries · top 171.4056 · median 165.6684
Pork Ribs
25 entries · top 173.1544 · median 160.5372
Pork
25 entries · top 167.9772 · median 161.7372
Brisket
25 entries · top 171.4400 · median 156.5372