A new contest record
695.4284
highest overall ever cooked here
695.4284 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 692.6056 SmellaQue set in 2021.
- old record 692.6056
- set 2021 by SmellaQue
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival 2022
May 28–29, 2022 · Sherwood Park, AB · CANADA · 📍 Half Moon Lake Resort
Reps: Brenda Black, Ken Black
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ won Grand Champion at the Porkapalooza BBQ Festival on May 28, 2022 in SHERWOOD PARK, AB at Half Moon Lake Resort, scoring 695.4284 in a field of 39 teams. 333BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 686.2172. Category winners: Chicken — MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB (174.3200); Pork Ribs — ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (178.8800); Pork — PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ (178.2972); Brisket — Notorious P.I.G. (174.2744). This is the 8th of 8 editions of this contest on record; the 2021 edition was won by SmellaQue.
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.
572.97
median 642.13
695.43 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 174.32
- Pork Ribs 178.88
- Pork 178.30
- Brisket 174.27
123.20
178.88
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2014 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Entries
39
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
695.4284
Winning margin
9.2112
GC over RC
Field average
639.87
572.97695.43
median 642.13 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
4.0456 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
665.0628
572.97695.43
10th place overall
Field spread
122.4568
winner to last place
Double threats
6
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 52%
beats 48% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
64%
16 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Moderate
ρ = -0.53 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,533
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% of contests
Storylines (7 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
9.2112
points clear of the field
Wider than 85% of the 4,710 championships in the data
The champion won by 9.2112 points — a wider margin than 85% 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 6 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: 333BBQ and Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery tied on 173.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 3–4: SMELLAQUE and PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 7–8: ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS edged Homestead Smoke Shack by 0.0112.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 7–8 · 0.0112
- Brisket 7–8 · 0.0116
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 1 outright win — their weakest board was brisket at 8th.
- Chicken 2nd
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 3rd
- Brisket 8th
A contest record in pork ribs
178.8800
best pork ribs ever cooked here
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ turned in 178.8800 in pork ribs — past the 177.7372 that had stood across 7 earlier editions.
- old best 177.7372
- across 7 past editions
Back to defend
3
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ (won 2015, 2016, 2017), PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ (won 2018), SmellaQue (won 2019, 2021).
- ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ · 2015, 2016, 2017
- PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ · 2018
- SmellaQue · 2019, 2021
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 | 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 ← this one | 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 | 174.3200 | 170.2744 | 166.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8800 | 169.7028 | 166.8572 |
| Pork | 178.2972 | 172.5828 | 167.9772 |
| Brisket | 174.2744 | 169.1200 | 165.6916 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
39 entries · top 695.4284 · median 642.1260
Chicken
39 entries · top 174.3200 · median 162.8228
Pork Ribs
39 entries · top 178.8800 · median 162.2972
Pork
39 entries · top 178.2972 · median 159.9656
Brisket
39 entries · top 174.2744 · median 158.8456
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.
Ancillary — Honey
26 entries · top 180 · median 166.8572 · 🔥 perfect 180
Kids-Q — Kid'S-Que
7 entries · top 172 · median 165.6684
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire Bandit | |
| 2 | Fantastic Meats | |
| 3 | Smitty Q | |
| 4 | Austin Needs a BBQ | |
| 5 | Jr. Smokin' Outlaws | |
| 6 | Mini Meat Sweats | |
| 7 | Grizzly Cub |