GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS

GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS is a competition barbecue team with 22 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2018 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 8th of 21 at the BBQ on the Bow (2020). They are ranked #5647 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#5,647

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1447

peak 1447 · rated over 20 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 16, 2018

latest Jul 25, 2026 · 8.1 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#527

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

3 podiums

Overall top-10s

14% of 22 contests

Avg finish

top 65%

overall standings

Best overall

661.5888 / 720

Master · Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

646.83 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 633.96 (+12.88)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.2972

Chicken · Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship

Consistency

±20.04

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.16 · weakest Brisket (155.34)

Road miles

1,734

across 22 mapped stops · furthest 119 mi

Schedule strength

21%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1529)

Purse competed for

$6,050

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

Master avg

633.96 / 720

20 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 14 of 22 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 22 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Fire BBQ has finished one call ahead of GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2021 their best year

2021 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 55%.

3 contests
1 overall top-10
1 category win
average top 55%

A tough matchup

14–4 behind in the head-to-head

Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery ahead in 78% of their meetings

Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery has come out ahead in 14 of their 18 shared contests.

The weak link

−7.8 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 7.82 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 20% of the time against 48%.

Brisket avg 155.34
Chicken avg 163.16
4 calls in 20 entries

A strong matchup

8–3 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 73% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of DIDY SMOKE IT in 8 of their 11 shared contests.

The comeback

1.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.7 years, then back at Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (May 25, 2024).

last seen Sep 3, 2022
back May 25, 2024

Show 3 more storylines

Chicken nemesis

13 of 19 shared chicken entries lost

Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery ahead 68% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery has out-cooked them in 13 of 19 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Slam Dunk BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A May team

Top 52% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 52% across 5 contests, versus top 65% the rest of the year.

5 May contests
top 65% the rest of the year

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026 ↗	Master	#530 (299 pts)	#468 (422 pts)	#498 (417 pts)	#465 (399 pts)	#558 (294 pts)
2025 ↗	Master	#830 (131 pts)	#1002 (116 pts)	#803 (206 pts)	#877 (141 pts)	#750 (191 pts)
2024 ↗	Master	#1058 (90 pts)	#641 (285 pts)	#1283 (70 pts)	#1231 (60 pts)	#1063 (95 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#663 (265 pts)	#585 (355 pts)	#773 (245 pts)	#616 (320 pts)	#601 (335 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#527 (320 pts)	#514 (365 pts)	#440 (480 pts)	#623 (265 pts)	#670 (245 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#611 (141 pts)	#462 (246 pts)	#635 (151 pts)	#704 (121 pts)	#859 (71 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#625 (520 pts)	#531 (655 pts)	#670 (505 pts)	#647 (515 pts)	#679 (495 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#1495 (145 pts)	#1996 (60 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS, each with one reason worth a look.

102 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

The Big LebowsQ

#5,655 of the rated field

1447 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1447

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 12 contests
last seen Sep 4, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Fire BBQ

#5,630 of the rated field

1448 power rating

Contests: 34
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 26%
Peak: 1524

3–14 in 17 shared contests (18% to GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS)

They've been 1524 at their best, 77 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 34 contests
last seen Sep 4, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

SWINE AND CHEESE

#5,635 of the rated field

1448 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1500

Careers of much the same size, 23 contests to 22, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 23 contests
last seen Jul 11, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

BURNT SIDE DOWN

#5,656 of the rated field

1447 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1447

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 9 years before GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 23 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Chillin & Grillin

#5,628 of the rated field

1448 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1448

18 contests and no Grand Championship yet.

rated over 17 contests
last seen May 3, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

Porkosaurus

#5,645 of the rated field

1447 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1504

They were already cooking in 2013, 5 years before GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS's first contest.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Sep 21, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
MOTLEY QUE	18	9	8	50%	⚔ compare
Hogparts School of Smokecraft and Brew'ery	18	4	14	22%	⚔ compare
Kreiser Barbecue	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
Fire BBQ	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
YOU NEED A BBQ	16	2	14	13%	⚔ compare
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS	14	3	11	21%	⚔ compare
SMELLAQUE	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
Rack Addicts BBQ Team	13	8	5	62%	⚔ compare
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
FROZEN TOQUE BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
DIDY SMOKE IT	11	8	3	73%	⚔ compare
THE DEVIL MADE ME Q IT	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
403 BBQ CO	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
Notorious P.I.G.	10	0	10	0%	⚔ compare
ROKER Q	9	6	3	67%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	21	10	1	2	178.2972	152.5372	163.16	top 50%
Pork Ribs	21	4	1	1	176.5716	135.9660	159.37	top 61%
Pork	19	4	0	0	174.8572	130.8684	156.70	top 65%
Brisket	20	4	0	0	168.5600	141.0972	155.34	top 66%

“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 field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	4	top 85%
Medium (20–39)	14	top 57%
Large (40+)	2	top 80%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship	3	11	top 54%	May 23, 2026
Didsbury Lions BBQ	3	9	top 66%	Jul 26, 2025
The Didsbury Double (Didsbury Lions BBQ) (Day 2)	2	13	top 86%	Jul 25, 2026
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2	20	top 72%	May 28, 2022
BBQ on the Bow	2	8	top 38%	Sep 4, 2021
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2	31	top 80%	Jun 15, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2026 5 contests

Contests a season 2.8 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in AB 18 of 22 contests

Contests visited 12 6 of them more than once

Opponents faced 195 finished ahead 196 times, behind 373

Longest layoff 1.7 yrs Sep 3, 2022 → May 25, 2024

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20262 milestones

May 23 Career-best overall score661.5888 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
Jul 25 Most recent contest The Didsbury Double (Didsbury Lions BBQ) (Day 2)

20241 milestone

May 25 Career-best single call (Chicken)178.2972 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship

20213 milestones

Sep 4 First category win (Pork Ribs) BBQ on the Bow
Sep 4 First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.6576 BBQ on the Bow
Sep 4 10th tracked contest BBQ on the Bow

20192 milestones

May 25 First overall top-10 Heritage Heat Western Smokin BBQ
May 25 Peak power rating (1492) Heritage Heat Western Smokin BBQ

20182 milestones

Jun 16 First tracked contest Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
Jun 16 First call Porkapalooza BBQ Festival

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+7.9	BBQ on the Bow	Sep 26, 2020
+7.5	Didsbury Lions BBQ	Sep 3, 2021
+5.9	BBQ on the Bow	Sep 4, 2021
+4.4	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship	May 23, 2026
+3.9	Heritage Heat Western Smokin BBQ	May 25, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.2	The Didsbury Double (Didsbury Lions BBQ) (Day 2)	Jul 25, 2026
-12.3	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	Jun 16, 2018
-12.3	Prairie Dog on the Bow	Sep 1, 2019
-11.4	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	Aug 14, 2021
-11.2	Didsbury Lions BBQ	Jul 26, 2025

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	5	0	0	60%	top 73%	91.9%	90.1%
2025	2	0	0	0%	top 79%	89.8%	89.4%
2024	1	0	1	100%	top 49%	91.7%	91.7%
2022	4	0	0	50%	top 68%	90.5%	89.4%
2021	3	1	1	67%	top 55%	90.2%	86.9%
2020	1	1	0	100%	top 38%	87.4%	87.4%
2019	5	1	0	80%	top 61%	88.9%	86.8%
2018	1	0	0	100%	top 90%	80.5%	80.5%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jul 25, 2026	The Didsbury Double (Didsbury Lions BBQ) (Day 2) Didsbury, AB	18 / 18 (635.8060)	9 (166.8344)	12 (165.0972)	18 (151.9428)	17 (151.9316)
Jul 24, 2026	The Didsbury Double (Didsbury Lions BBQ) (Day 1) Didsbury, AB	13 / 18 (649.5544)	12 (168.5600)	14 (157.6572)	6 (166.2400)	13 (157.0972)
May 23, 2026	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB	11 / 23 (661.5888)	16 (163.3712)	14 (162.2400)	6 (174.8572)	13 (161.1204)
May 23, 2026	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Calmar, AB	—	15 (155.3944)	—	—	—
May 23, 2026	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Calmar, AB	—	—	12 (166.2400)	—	—
Jul 26, 2025	Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB	30 / 32 (641.0060)	29 (158.8344)	14 (168.5488)	31 (151.3828)	20 (162.2400)
May 24, 2025	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB	22 / 34 (646.2176)	34 (154.8000)	18 (161.1432)	20 (163.4172)	15 (166.8572)
May 25, 2024	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB	19 / 39 (659.9544)	1 (178.2972)	23 (164)	34 (151.9428)	18 (165.7144)
Sep 3, 2022	Barbeque on the Bow Calgary, AB	31 / 36 (630.7892)	22 (165.1316)	27 (159.9660)	34 (148.5600)	25 (157.1316)
Aug 27, 2022	Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB	13 / 19 (650.2516)	14 (158.8572)	14 (161.6800)	15 (161.1544)	5 (168.5600)
Jun 3, 2022	Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta Bassano, AB	21 / 31 (651.3604)	5 (170.8572)	19 (163.9888)	15 (165.7144)	28 (150.8000)
May 28, 2022	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Sherwood Park, AB	20 / 39 (642.1260)	22 (160.5028)	28 (154.2288)	13 (165.1316)	15 (162.2628)
Sep 4, 2021	BBQ on the Bow Didsbury, AB	11 / 29 (649.6576)	6 (168.5484)	1 (176.5716)	23 (151.9772)	24 (152.5604)
Sep 3, 2021	Didsbury Lions BBQ Didsbury, AB	9 / 26 (630.6740)	11 (158.2400)	9 (159.3828)	11 (155.9540)	10 (157.0972)
Aug 14, 2021	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Sherwood Park, AB	23 / 25 (597.6236)	20 (152.5372)	22 (151.4060)	19 (152.5832)	23 (141.0972)
Sep 26, 2020	BBQ on the Bow Didsbury, AB	8 / 21 (629.0972)	2 (166.2856)	7 (157.7144)	10 (161.1544)	20 (143.9428)
Sep 1, 2019	Prairie Dog on the Bow Alberta	13 / 13 (626.7544)	10 (161.1428)	13 (153.6916)	11 (151.9772)	9 (159.9428)
Aug 31, 2019	BBQ on the Bow Calgary	12 / 37 (639.9540)	14 (161.7144)	11 (162.8456)	17 (160.5140)	17 (154.8800)
Aug 10, 2019	Battle River BBQ Showdown Camrose, AB	11 / 20 (615.3488)	10 (156.5600)	17 (150.2400)	13 (151.4172)	8 (157.1316)
Jun 15, 2019	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton	31 / 44 (612.4460)	8 (167.9656)	26 (157.1200)	—	41 (143.9888)
May 25, 2019	Heritage Heat Western Smokin BBQ Mountain View, AB	10 / 22 (629.6228)	7 (167.4172)	9 (157.1312)	8 (160.5828)	20 (144.4916)
Jun 16, 2018	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton	46 / 51 (579.3368)	9 (164.5712)	48 (135.9660)	51 (130.8684)	39 (147.9312)

GRIZZLY PAW SMOKERS

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

Master avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

They almost always walk

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A May team

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

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

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)