A new contest record
672.5716
highest overall ever cooked here
672.5716 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 669.6456 ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ set in 2015.
- old record 669.6456
- set 2015 by ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival 2018
Jun 16–17, 2018 · Edmonton, Canada · CANADA · 📍 Edmonton, Alberta Canada
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Porkapalooza BBQ Festival on June 16, 2018 in Edmonton, T6E 5K1 at Edmonton, Alberta Canada, scoring 672.5716 in a field of 51 teams. SMELLAQUE took Reserve Grand Champion with 669.2116. Category winners: Chicken — ALBERTA BONES BBQ (172.0228); Pork Ribs — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (174.3088); Pork — PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ (175.4400); Brisket — Baby J and the Brothers (172.5600). This is the 5th of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ; the next was held in 2019.
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.
568.61
median 614.82
672.57 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 172.02
- Pork Ribs 174.31
- Pork 175.44
- Brisket 172.56
126.34
175.44
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
51
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
672.5716
Winning margin
3.3600
GC over RC
Field average
617.30
568.61672.57
median 614.82 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
3.4400 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
643.4396
568.61672.57
10th place overall
Field spread
103.9660
winner to last place
Double threats
4
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 95%
beats 5% of 4714 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
59%
23 of 39 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.52 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 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
A rookie on the podium
3rd
at their first tracked contest
Baby J and the Brothers finished 3rd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
0.0112
closest of 9 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 8–9: Porky Fatstacks BBQ and Social Club edged Baby J and the Brothers by 0.0112. Brisket places 7–8: The Devil Made Me Q It edged Cousin's Catering and BBQ by 0.0112. Chicken places 4–5: PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ edged HOG HEADS by 0.0116.
- Pork 8–9 · 0.0112
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0112
- Chicken 4–5 · 0.0116
- Chicken 6–7 · 0.0116
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was pork ribs at 23rd.
- Chicken 4th
- Pork Ribs 23rd
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 3rd
A contest record in pork
175.4400
best pork ever cooked here
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ turned in 175.4400 in pork — past the 174.8572 that had stood across 4 earlier editions.
- old best 174.8572
- across 4 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (won 2015, 2016, 2017).
- ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ · 2015, 2016, 2017
The biggest field yet
51
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 35 teams
51 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 35.
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 | 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 ← this one | 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 | 172.0228 | 168.5828 | 164.5484 |
| Pork Ribs | 174.3088 | 166.8456 | 163.4516 |
| Pork | 175.4400 | 165.1084 | 162.8688 |
| Brisket | 172.5600 | 166.8456 | 161.7144 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
51 entries · top 672.5716 · median 614.8228
Chicken
51 entries · top 172.0228 · median 156.5372
Pork Ribs
51 entries · top 174.3088 · median 157.0628
Pork
51 entries · top 175.4400 · median 153.1196
Brisket
51 entries · top 172.5600 · median 153.6912
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 — Chefs Choice
31 entries · top 174.8800 · median 157.7372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HOUSE OF Q - registered trademark | |
| 2 | ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS | |
| 3 | WE B SMOKIN | |
| 4 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 5 | SMOKAPALOOZA | |
| 6 | Smokey BBQ Shack | |
| 7 | GRILLBILLIES SMOKEHOUSE BBQ | |
| 8 | Cousin's Catering and BBQ | |
| 9 | FIREWEED BARBECUE | |
| 10 | SMOKE'M IF YOU GOT'M | |
| 11 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 12 | Barked Stock | |
| 13 | SWEET SMOKE BBQ | |
| 14 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 15 | FROZEN TOQUE BBQ | |
| 16 | Haze County BBQ | |
| 17 | Q-UP | |
| 18 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 19 | BBQ TEAM NAIT | |
| 20 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 21 | ALBERTA BONES BBQ | |
| 22 | The Grill Geek | |
| 23 | Vegan Tears | |
| 24 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 25 | Moody Q | |
| 26 | Barrel Chicken Co. | |
| 27 | HOG HEADS | |
| 28 | Smokin' Hott Butts | |
| 29 | Porkin BBQ | |
| 30 | Black Bull BBQ | |
| 31 | SMOKE & ASH |