Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival)
2023-09-16 – 2023-09-17 · Sherwood Park, Edmonton, AB · CANADA · 📍 Half Moon Lake Resort
Reps: BRENDA BLACK, KEN BLACK
Grand Champion: Brisket Butts (711.4056) · 29 teams
Reserve Champion: 🥈 Notorious P.I.G.
Entries
Top score
Winning margin
Field average
Tightest race
Top-10 cutoff
Field spread
Double threats
How hot was the win?
Traveled in
Form held
Field strength
Storylines
💪 A statement win
The champion won by 13.1312 points — a wider margin than 96% of championships in the data.
🧹 A double category winner
Brisket Butts won Pork, Brisket — a double, and took the Grand Championship on top of it.
📸 Photo finishes
Chicken places 1–2: BBQ Team NAIT and DrumBo tied on 176.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 9–10: Smokapalooza and YOU NEED A BBQ tied on 170.2856 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 9–10: MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB and HOME COOKIN' BBQ tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
🃏 An upset on the books
Brisket Butts came in rated below the field's top team, SMELLAQUE, and took the Grand Championship anyway — roughly a 28-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings.
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)
Where the field came from (home regions on file)
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 176.0000 | 171.4056 | 170.2856 |
| Pork Ribs | 179.4400 | 176.5944 | 172.5600 |
| Pork | 178.8572 | 174.2744 | 170.8572 |
| Brisket | 180.0000 | 174.8800 | 171.4056 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
29 entries · top 711.4056 · median 673.6916
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisket Butts | |
| 2 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 3 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 4 | DrumBo | |
| 5 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 6 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 7 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 8 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 9 | Pour Decisions Pit | |
| 10 | Fire BBQ | |
| 11 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 12 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 13 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 14 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 15 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 16 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 17 | ROKER Q | |
| 18 | Smokapalooza | |
| 19 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 20 | Just Smoke It! | |
| 21 | Mc Que It | |
| 22 | Grillbilly Deluxe BBQ | |
| 23 | F-That's Good | |
| 24 | Grill Hub | |
| 25 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 26 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 27 | Alberta Pork, The one you love. | |
| 28 | Smokin Aces | |
| 29 | The Grill Geek |
Chicken
29 entries · top 176.0000 · median 169.1200
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 2 | DrumBo | |
| 3 | Fire BBQ | |
| 4 | Brisket Butts | |
| 5 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 6 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 7 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 8 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 9 | Smokapalooza | |
| 10 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 11 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 12 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 13 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 14 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 15 | ROKER Q | |
| 16 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 17 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 18 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 19 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 20 | Just Smoke It! | |
| 21 | Mc Que It | |
| 22 | Pour Decisions Pit | |
| 23 | F-That's Good | |
| 24 | Grill Hub | |
| 25 | Grillbilly Deluxe BBQ | |
| 26 | Alberta Pork, The one you love. | |
| 27 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 28 | Smokin Aces | |
| 29 | The Grill Geek |
Pork Ribs
29 entries · top 179.4400 · median 168.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 2 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 3 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 4 | Brisket Butts | |
| 5 | Pour Decisions Pit | |
| 6 | Grill Hub | |
| 7 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 8 | F-That's Good | |
| 9 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 10 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 11 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 12 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 13 | Smokapalooza | |
| 14 | Grillbilly Deluxe BBQ | |
| 15 | DrumBo | |
| 16 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 17 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 18 | Just Smoke It! | |
| 19 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 20 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 21 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 22 | Fire BBQ | |
| 23 | ROKER Q | |
| 24 | Mc Que It | |
| 25 | Alberta Pork, The one you love. | |
| 26 | Smokin Aces | |
| 27 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 28 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 29 | The Grill Geek |
Pork
29 entries · top 178.8572 · median 164.5484
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisket Butts | |
| 2 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 3 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 4 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 5 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 6 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 7 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 8 | DrumBo | |
| 9 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 10 | ROKER Q | |
| 11 | Pour Decisions Pit | |
| 12 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 13 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 14 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 15 | Just Smoke It! | |
| 16 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 17 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 18 | Fire BBQ | |
| 19 | Grillbilly Deluxe BBQ | |
| 20 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 21 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 22 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 23 | Alberta Pork, The one you love. | |
| 24 | F-That's Good | |
| 25 | Mc Que It | |
| 26 | Smokin Aces | |
| 27 | Grill Hub | |
| 28 | Smokapalooza | |
| 29 | The Grill Geek |
Brisket
29 entries · top 180.0000 · median 165.7144 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisket Butts | |
| 2 | Fire BBQ | |
| 3 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 4 | DrumBo | |
| 5 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 6 | PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ | |
| 7 | SMOKIN' OUTLAWS | |
| 8 | Smokapalooza | |
| 9 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 10 | Hunny and Hooch BBQ | |
| 11 | Kreiser Barbecue | |
| 12 | Homestead Smoke Shack | |
| 13 | ROKER Q | |
| 14 | Pour Decisions Pit | |
| 15 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 16 | Mc Que It | |
| 17 | HOME COOKIN' BBQ | |
| 18 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 19 | MOTLEY QUE | |
| 20 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 21 | Just Smoke It! | |
| 22 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 23 | Grillbilly Deluxe BBQ | |
| 24 | Smokin Aces | |
| 25 | Alberta Pork, The one you love. | |
| 26 | Mark's Meats and Treats | |
| 27 | F-That's Good | |
| 28 | Grill Hub | |
| 29 | The Grill Geek |
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 — Black Box
15 entries · top 178.8572 · median 170.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notorious P.I.G. | |
| 2 | BBQ Team NAIT | |
| 3 | Smokapalooza | |
| 4 | Fire BBQ | |
| 5 | MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB | |
| 6 | ROKER Q | |
| 7 | YOU NEED A BBQ | |
| 8 | Burnt Down BBQ | |
| 9 | Eggmonton Stogie Smokers | |
| 10 | F-That's Good | |
| 11 | The Grill Geek | |
| 12 | Grill Hub | |
| 13 | Brisket Butts | |
| 14 | SMELLAQUE | |
| 15 | MOTLEY QUE |
Kids-Q — Kid'S Que
7 entries · top 176.5600 · median 174.2860
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mini Butts | |
| 2 | 3000 Degrees | |
| 3 | Smella Cuties | |
| 4 | O Dawg Pack | |
| 5 | Lil Billy Deluxe | |
| 6 | Kids Gotta Cook | |
| 7 | Lil Smoka's |