A new contest record
702.8228
highest overall ever cooked here
702.8228 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 690.8000 Arrowhead North BBQ set in 2022.
- old record 690.8000
- set 2022 by Arrowhead North BBQ
Smoke, Wind & Fire 2023
Jul 20–22, 2023 · Raymond, AB · CANADA
Reps: Brenda Black, Ken Black
SMELLAQUE won Grand Champion at the Smoke, Wind & Fire on July 20, 2023 in Raymond, AB, scoring 702.8228 in a field of 12 teams. SMOKIN' OUTLAWS took Reserve Grand Champion with 697.7372. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKIN' OUTLAWS (176.5828); Pork Ribs — SMELLAQUE (178.8572); Pork — SMOKIN' OUTLAWS (174.8800); Brisket — SMELLAQUE (175.4400). This is the 3rd of 4 editions of this contest on record; the 2022 edition was won by Arrowhead North BBQ; the next was held in 2023.
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.
626.21
median 665.97
702.82 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 176.58
- Pork Ribs 178.86
- Pork 174.88
- Brisket 175.44
137.65
178.86
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2021 to 2023 — this edition picked out.
Entries
12
4 judged meats · 1 ancillary
Top score
702.8228
Winning margin
5.0856
GC over RC
Field average
666.54
626.21702.82
median 665.97 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Pork
1.7028 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
642.2632
626.21702.82
10th place overall
Field spread
76.6172
winner to last place
Double threats
7
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 22%
beats 78% of 4711 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
28%
7 of 25 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.87 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,530
avg power rating going in · stronger than 22% 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
SmellaQue has won this contest 2 times across its 4 tracked editions.
- 2021
- 2023
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 6 calls decided inside half a point
Pork places 3–4: Just Smoke It! BBQ and SMELLAQUE tied on 174.2628 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 3–4: Just Katie edged Homestead Smoke Shack by 0.0116. Pork places 2–3: Kreiser Barbecue edged Just Smoke It! BBQ by 0.0228.
- Pork 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 3–4 · 0.0116
- Pork 2–3 · 0.0228
- Chicken 2–3 · 0.0344
A double category winner
2
category wins in a day
SMOKIN' OUTLAWS won Chicken, Pork — a double.
- Chicken 1st
- Pork 1st
How the title was won
4 of 4
meats called to the stage
SMELLAQUE took the title on 4 calls from 4 meats, with 2 outright wins — their weakest board was chicken at 6th.
- Chicken 6th
- Pork Ribs 1st
- Pork 4th
- Brisket 1st
A contest record in pork ribs
178.8572
best pork ribs ever cooked here
SMELLAQUE turned in 178.8572 in pork ribs — past the 176.5944 that had stood across 2 earlier editions.
- old best 176.5944
- across 2 past editions
Back to defend
1
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: SmellaQue (won 2021).
- SmellaQue · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 2021 | Lethbridge | Exhibition Park | 16 | 667.4856 | SmellaQue | Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brewery |
| Jul 23, 2022 | Lethbridge | Exhibition Park | 20 | 690.8000 | Arrowhead North BBQ | Notorious P.I.G. |
| Jul 20, 2023 ← this one | Raymond, AB | Raymond, AB | 12 | 702.8228 | SmellaQue | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS |
| Jul 20, 2023 | Raymond, AB | Raymond, AB | 6 | 339.9772 | Panther BBQ | — |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.5828 | 174.2972 | 162.2628 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8572 | 171.9656 | 150.8456 |
| Pork | 174.8800 | 173.1772 | 161.7028 |
| Brisket | 175.4400 | 172.5828 | 161.1428 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
12 entries · top 702.8228 · median 665.9656
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 2 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 3 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 4 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 5 | Just Katie | |
| 6 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 7 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 8 | Fire BBQ | |
| 9 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 10 | Just Smoke It! BBQ | |
| 11 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 12 | SmokeStack BBQ |
Chicken
12 entries · top 176.5828 · median 172.8514
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 2 | Just Smoke It! BBQ | |
| 3 | Just Katie | |
| 4 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 5 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 6 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 7 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 8 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 9 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 10 | Fire BBQ | |
| 11 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 12 | SmokeStack BBQ |
Pork Ribs
12 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8514
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 2 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 3 | Just Katie | |
| 4 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 5 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 6 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 7 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 8 | Fire BBQ | |
| 9 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 10 | Just Smoke It! BBQ | |
| 11 | SmokeStack BBQ | |
| 12 | Guardians of the Grill |
Pork
12 entries · top 174.8800 · median 170.2742
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 2 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 3 | Just Smoke It! BBQ | |
| 4 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 5 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 6 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 7 | Just Katie | |
| 8 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 9 | Fire BBQ | |
| 10 | SmokeStack BBQ | |
| 11 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 12 | Mark's Meats and Treats |
Brisket
12 entries · top 175.4400 · median 166.0114
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 2 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 3 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 4 | SmokeStack BBQ | |
| 5 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 6 | Fire BBQ | |
| 7 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 8 | Just Katie | |
| 9 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 10 | Guardians of the Grill | |
| 11 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 12 | Just Smoke It! BBQ |
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 — Bacon
11 entries · top 168 · median 162.2628
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandx BBQ | |
| 2 | Fire BBQ | |
| 3 | Hog Parts School of Smokecraft and Brewery | |
| 4 | Bad to the Brisket | |
| 5 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 6 | Just Katie | |
| 7 | Rollin Smoke | |
| 8 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 9 | Just Smoke It! BBQ | |
| 10 | The SOB's | |
| 11 | SmokeStack BBQ |