A statement win
18.3888
points clear of the field
Wider than 98% of the 4,742 championships in the data
The champion won by 18.3888 points — a wider margin than 98% of championships in the data.
Small Town Smoke Down
2023-06-03 – 2023-06-04 · Bassano, AB · CANADA · 📍 610 2 Ave
Reps: BRENDA BLACK, KEN BLACK
Grand Champion: Prairie Smoke & Spice BBQ (711.4400) · 23 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Hunny and Hooch 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.
481.68
median 671.33
711.44 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 180.00 🔥
- Pork Ribs 179.44
- Pork 178.88
- Brisket 179.44
135.38
180.00
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2023 to 2026 — this edition picked out.
Entries
23
4 judged meats · 3 ancillary
Top score
711.4400
Winning margin
18.3888
GC over RC
Field average
657.14
481.68711.44
median 671.33 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Pork
3.4628 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
677.7260
481.68711.44
10th place overall
Field spread
229.7600
winner to last place
Double threats
5
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 2%
beats 98% of 4707 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.64 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1543
avg power rating going in · stronger than 32% 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 dynasty in the making
2×
wins at this contest
2 of 4 tracked editions
Q Cartel has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2025
- 2026
A rookie on the podium
2nd
at their first tracked contest
Hunny and Hooch BBQ finished 2nd overall in the first contest the data has them cooking at all.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 10 calls decided inside half a point
Pork Ribs places 6–7: ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ and Gettin' Sauced BBQ tied on 170.8228 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 8–9: SMELLAQUE and SMOKIN' OUTLAWS tied on 169.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 2–3: Roker Q and RACK ADDICTS BBQ TEAM tied on 177.7144 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Pork Ribs 6–7 · tie
- Pork 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 2–3 · tie
- Chicken 8–9 · 0.0116
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ won Chicken, Pork — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was pork ribs at 5th.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 5th
- Pork 1st
- Brisket 4th
A perfect score on the table
1
perfect 180s
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
- PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ · Chicken
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-03 ← this one | Bassano, AB | 610 2 Ave | 23 | 711.4400 | Prairie Smoke & Spice BBQ | Hunny and Hooch BBQ |
| 2024-06-08 | Bassano, AB | 610 2 Ave | 27 | 699.4284 | SmellaQue | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ |
| 2025-05-31 | Bassano, AB | 622 2 Ave | 25 | 704.5600 | Q Cartel | BIGG SMOAK BBQ |
| 2026-05-30 | Bassano, AB | 622 2 Ave | 24 | 706.2856 | Q CARTEL | BIGG SMOAK BBQ |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 180.0000 | 176.0344 | 171.9656 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 174.8572 | 169.1316 |
| Pork | 178.8800 | 175.4172 | 168.5256 |
| Brisket | 179.4400 | 175.4172 | 167.9772 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
23 entries · top 711.4400 · median 671.3256
Chicken
22 entries · top 180.0000 · median 170.5428 · 🔥 perfect 180
Pork Ribs
23 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.0116
Pork
23 entries · top 178.8800 · median 166.8228
Brisket
23 entries · top 179.4400 · median 165.0856
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 — Amateur Steak
10 entries · top 175.4972 · median 160.8456
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benny & the BBQ | |
| 2 | CameronQ | |
| 3 | Fantastic Meats and How to Que Them 1 | |
| 4 | From A-BBQ | |
| 5 | Rockit BBQ | |
| 6 | We Don't Have a Que | |
| 7 | Meat Massacre | |
| 8 | Spice Girls | |
| 9 | K&S Cookers | |
| 10 | BT Butter Steak |
Kids-Q — Kid'S Q
5 entries · top 179.4400 · median 173.7028
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lil Billy Deluxe | |
| 2 | Fire Bandits | |
| 3 | Austin Needs a BBQ | |
| 4 | Fantastic Meats and How to Que Them 2 | |
| 5 | Nigel B |
Ancillary — Pro Steak
12 entries · top 176.0000 · median 161.7142