Giant slayer
34
teams beaten in one weekend
Took the Grand Championship over a 34-team field at Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship.
- 2025-05-24
GRILL HUB
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1528
peak 1528 · rated over 5 contests ⓘ
Best runs
3
straight top-10s
Contests
7
in the data
First seen
2023-09-16
latest 2026-08-14
Grand champs
2
1 reserve
Category wins
5
5 podiums
Overall top-10s
3
of 7 contests
Avg finish
top 37%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
644.28
last 5 Master vs avg 644.28 (+0.00)
Walk rate
86%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
3
and counting
Consistency
±10.11
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.76 · weakest Brisket (153.22)
Road miles
433
mi across 7 mapped stops · furthest 94 mi
Schedule strength
28%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1538)
Purse competed for
$5K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Master avg
644.28 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
339.41 / 360
3 Backyard contests · 2 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Storylines (8 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Signature meat
33%
pork ribs entries won
3 wins from 9 entries
When pork ribs is on the table, watch out — they've won it in 33% of their entries (3 of 9).
- best 175.4516
- average 168.76
- 6 calls
Happy hunting ground
1×
Grand Championships here
Big Smoke Bonnyville is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.
- 2 visits
- best finish 1st
- average top 10%
Multi-meat days
2
contests with 2+ category wins
They've won two or more meats on the same day 2 times — the best of them 2 category wins at Big Smoke Bonnyville (2026-08-14).
- Chicken 1st
- Pork Ribs 1st
High-water mark
663.3488
career-best overall
92.1% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 663.3488 at Big Smoke Bonnyville — 92.1% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- 2025-09-06
Their season
2026
1 Grand Championship
2026 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 2 category wins, at an average finish in the top 7%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10s
- 2 category wins
- average top 7%
The weak link
−15.5
points behind their best meat
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 15.54 points below their pork ribs, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 67%.
- Brisket avg 153.22
- Pork Ribs avg 168.76
- 0 calls in 5 entries
A strong matchup
4–1
ahead in the head-to-head
Ahead in 80% of their meetings
They've finished ahead of Mc Que It in 4 of their 5 shared contests.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
74 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2277 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1527
No shared contest yet.
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 7, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Head-to-head#2264 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 100%
- Peak
- 1528
No shared contest yet.
5 straight overall top-10s says this rating is a moving target.
⚔ Head-to-head#2280 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1530
No shared contest yet.
Level with GRILL HUB on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#2260 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 71%
- Peak
- 1528
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2022, 4 years before GRILL HUB's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#2268 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1528
No shared contest yet.
They were already cooking in 2013, 10 years before GRILL HUB's first contest.
⚔ Head-to-head#2275 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1529
No shared contest yet.
Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 7 contests, alongside a 29% overall top-10 rate.
⚔ Head-to-headFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mc Que It | 5 | 4 | 1 | 80% | ⚔ compare |
| MOTLEY QUE | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| SMELLAQUE | 5 | 1 | 3 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 177.7028 | 159.4172 | 166.91 | top 50% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 175.4516 | 159.9772 | 168.76 | top 32% |
| Pork | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 166.8572 | 153.1200 | 158.84 | top 80% |
| Brisket | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2972 | 146.2172 | 153.22 | top 85% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 2 | 1 | top 10% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 1 | top 55% |
Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Smoke Bonnyville | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 10% | 2026-08-14 |
| Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | 2 | 1 | 1 | top 41% | 2025-05-24 |
The story so far (19 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
2.9 yrs
2023-09-16 → 2026-08-14
Busiest season
2026
3 contests · 1 GC
Contests a season
1.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
AB
7 of 7 contests
Contests visited
3
2 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
9 entries · 2 wins · 4 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 168.76 · weakest Brisket (153.22)
Walk rate
86%
a top-10 call in 6 of 7 contests
Overall top-10 rate
43%
3 of 7 contests
Wins it all
29%
2 Grand Championships · 1 reserve
First title
2025-05-24
Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
Best top-10 run
3
straight contests — and still running
Master average
644.28
out of 720 · 5 contests · 0 GCs
Backyard average
339.41
out of 360 · 3 contests · 2 GCs
Opponents faced
70
77–55 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
433
7 mapped stops · furthest 94 mi
Schedule strength
1538
average field rating faced — tougher than 28% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$5,000
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
Power rating
1528
peak 1528 · #2270 of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2023
- First tracked contest Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival)
- First call Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival)
- 2025
- First category win (Chicken) Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First overall top-10 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First overall podium Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First Grand Championship Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First multi-meat day Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score335.4288 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- Biggest field won (34 teams) Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
- First Reserve Championship Big Smoke Bonnyville
- Career-best overall score663.3488 Big Smoke Bonnyville
- 2026
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7028 Big Smoke Bonnyville
- Peak power rating (1528) Big Smoke Bonnyville
- Most recent contest Big Smoke Bonnyville
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +17.2 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | 2025-05-24 |
| +15.8 | Big Smoke Bonnyville | 2026-08-14 |
| +11.2 | Big Smoke Bonnyville | 2025-09-06 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.7 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival) | 2023-09-16 |
| -7.7 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship | 2024-05-25 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 100% | top 7% | 95.9% | 95.9% |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 100% | top 8% | 93.8% | 93.5% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 79% | 88.2% | 88.2% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 83% | 88.6% | 88.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-14 | Big Smoke Bonnyville Bonnyville, AB | 1 / 15 (345.1200) | 1 (177.7028) | 1 (167.4172) | 13 (157.7028) | 11 (162.2972) |
| 2026-05-23 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Calmar, AB | — | 9 (167.3828) | — | — | — |
| 2026-05-23 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Calmar, AB | — | — | 4 (174.2628) | — | — |
| 2025-09-06 | Big Smoke Bonnyville Bonnyville, AB | 2 / 15 (337.6800) | 4 (165.1316) | 1 (172.5484) | 12 (166.8572) | 13 (154.2172) |
| 2025-05-24 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 1 / 34 (335.4288) | 1 (168.5944) | 1 (166.8344) | 26 (157.7144) | 27 (155.9544) |
| 2024-05-25 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB | 31 / 39 (634.7544) | 24 (165.7144) | 24 (164.0000) | 25 (158.8228) | 35 (146.2172) |
| 2023-09-16 | Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival) Sherwood Park, Edmonton, AB | 24 / 29 (638.2176) | 24 (162.2516) | 6 (175.4516) | 27 (153.1200) | 28 (147.3944) |