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Smoke on the Bay BBQ Cookoff
Aug 22–23, 2026
· Little Brook, NS
· CANADA
· 📍 288 P F Comeau Road
Reps: Craig Maidens, Heather Maidens
🥇
684.5372 · Master Series — Overall
🥈
679.4976 · Master Series — Overall
🥉
677.1200 · Master Series — Overall
Cook the Books` won Grand Champion at the Smoke on the Bay BBQ Cookoff on August 22, 2026 in Little Brook, NS at 288 P F Comeau Road, scoring 684.5372 in a field of 10 teams. Ye Olde Smokers took Reserve Grand Champion with 679.4976. Category winners: Chicken — Serial Grillers Nova Scotia (176.0116); Pork Ribs — Back Forty smoke co (172.5600); Pork — Royal Nova BBQ (178.8572); Brisket — Cook the Books` (170.2744).
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.
643.36
median 664.99
684.54 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
-
Chicken
176.01
-
Pork Ribs
172.56
-
Pork
178.86
-
Brisket
170.27
152.51
178.86
Winning margin
5.0396
GC over RC
Field average
664.86
643.36684.54
median 664.99 · last place to winner
Tightest race
Brisket
3.4632 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
643.3600
643.36684.54
10th place overall
Field spread
41.1772
winner to last place
Most consistent
avg finish 3 across 4 meats
Double threats
8
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
Widest winning margin
Pork
How hot was the win?
Top 83%
beats 17% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.74 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,514
avg power rating going in · stronger than 10% of contests
Top-rated in the field
rated 1600 pre-contest
Storylines (2 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 7 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 4–5: Cousin's Catering and BBQ and Ye Olde Smokers tied on 170.8572 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: Cousin's Catering and BBQ and Terrys Traeger tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Brisket places 3–4: Barbecue Heaven and Cousin's Catering and BBQ tied on 167.9656 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 4–5 · tie
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Brisket 3–4 · tie
- Pork Ribs 4–5 · 0.0344
🗺️
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
Cook the Books` took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 6th.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 2nd
- 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)
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)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|
| Chicken | 176.0116 | 170.8572 | 162.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 172.5600 | 166.2744 | 159.3944 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 170.2972 | 152.5144 |
| Brisket | 170.2744 | 166.8112 | 154.2172 |
Master Series
Overall
10 entries · top 684.5372 · median 664.9942
Chicken
10 entries · top 176.0116 · median 170.5600
Pork Ribs
10 entries · top 172.5600 · median 166.0058
Pork
10 entries · top 178.8572 · median 169.1430
Brisket
10 entries · top 170.2744 · median 162.8228