SMOKAPALOOZA

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#3803

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1487

peak 1505 · rated over 24 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2014-06-14

latest 2024-08-31

Best ToY finish

#676

Master 2024

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 24 contests

Avg finish

top 57%

overall standings

Best overall

670.2404 / 720

Master · Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship

Perfect 180s

Current form

657.77 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 630.48 (+27.29)

Walk rate

58%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

174.3316

Pork Ribs · Small Town Smoke Down

Consistency

±24.07

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 160.57 · weakest Pork (154.39)

Road miles

4,108

mi across 24 mapped stops · furthest 437 mi

Schedule strength

15%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1522)

Purse competed for

$5K

listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

Master avg

630.48 / 720

24 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (10 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.

High-water mark

670.2404 career-best overall

93.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 670.2404 at Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship — 93.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
2024-05-25

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

MOTLEY QUE has finished one call ahead of SMOKAPALOOZA 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

24–0 behind in the head-to-head

SMELLAQUE ahead in 100% of their meetings

SMELLAQUE has come out ahead in 24 of their 24 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.2 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.18 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 4% of the time against 38%.

Pork avg 154.39
Chicken avg 160.57
1 calls in 24 entries

A strong matchup

8–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Rack Addicts BBQ Team in 8 of their 10 shared contests.

The comeback

3.7 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 3.7 years, then back at Porkapalooza BBQ Festival (2022-05-28).

last seen 2018-09-01
back 2022-05-28

Chicken nemesis

19 of 24 shared chicken entries lost

SMELLAQUE ahead 79% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SMELLAQUE has out-cooked them in 19 of 24 shared chicken entries.

A June team

Top 44% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 44% across 7 contests, versus top 57% the rest of the year.

7 June contests
top 57% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,108 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,108 miles across 24 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 437 miles to *Montana Pitmaster Classic.

24 mapped stops
furthest 437 mi

A standing appointment

5 years running at one contest

They've cooked Porkapalooza BBQ Festival every year from 2014 to 2018 — the contest they never miss.

5 visits in all
best finish 9th

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.

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

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

#3815 of the rated field

1487 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 56
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1507

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to SMOKAPALOOZA)

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

rated over 54 contests
last seen 2025-06-27

⚔ Head-to-head

COWTOWN SMOKE AND GRILLERS

#3817 of the rated field

1487 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1506

3–2 in 5 shared contests (60% to SMOKAPALOOZA)

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before SMOKAPALOOZA's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 5 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

RED OAK BBQ

#3792 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1531

No shared contest yet.

They've been 1531 at their best, 44 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 29 contests
last seen 2026-08-14

⚔ Head-to-head

LAST SMOKER STANDING

#3818 of the rated field

1486 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1511

No shared contest yet.

Fewer contests behind them than SMOKAPALOOZA has cooked, 14 to 24, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2020-08-14

⚔ Head-to-head

First Start/ Big B's BBQ

#3786 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 14%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 14% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 14 contests
last seen 2019-08-23

⚔ Head-to-head

REBEL YELL BBQ

#3799 of the rated field

1487 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1487

No shared contest yet.

Level with SMOKAPALOOZA on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 13 contests
last seen 2017-07-07

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SMELLAQUE	24	0	24	0%	⚔ compare
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SMOKERS	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
ARROWHEAD NORTH BBQ	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
YOU NEED A BBQ	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
MOTLEY QUE	14	5	9	36%	⚔ compare
MEAT SWEATS BBQ AB	13	2	11	15%	⚔ compare
PRAIRIE SMOKE & SPICE BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Kreiser Barbecue	12	4	8	33%	⚔ compare
BBQ TEAM NAIT	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' SOWBELLIES	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
Rack Addicts BBQ Team	10	8	2	80%	⚔ compare
Smoky Butt BBQ	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
Northlands Pitmasters	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
Fire BBQ	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
Bad to the Brisket	8	3	5	38%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	24	9	0	1	173.7144	139.4056	160.57	top 52%
Pork Ribs	24	3	0	1	174.3316	136.5716	157.75	top 55%
Pork	24	1	0	0	169.6916	134.2628	154.39	top 67%
Brisket	24	7	1	2	173.7488	135.3716	157.76	top 49%

“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 state / province

Where	Contests	Avg finish
AB	11	top 56%
CA	3	top 44%
MT	2	top 41%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	19	0	top 59%
Large (40+)	5	0	top 49%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	5	9	top 50%	2018-06-16
BBQ on the Bow	3	23	top 65%	2018-09-01
Barbeque on the Bow Festival	2	16	top 64%	2024-08-31
*Montana Pitmaster Classic	2	5	top 41%	2018-08-24

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 10.2 yrs 2014-06-14 → 2024-08-31

Busiest season 2017 5 contests

Contests a season 3 across 8 seasons in the data

Cooks most in AB 11 of 24 contests · 3 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 16 4 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 24 entries · 0 wins · 9 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 160.57 · weakest Pork (154.39)

Walk rate 58% a top-10 call in 14 of 24 contests

Overall top-10 rate 13% 3 of 24 contests

Master average 630.48 out of 720 · 24 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 319 350–442 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 4,108 24 mapped stops · furthest 437 mi

Schedule strength 1522 average field rating faced — tougher than 15% of rated contests

Purse competed for $5,000 listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings

Longest layoff 3.7 yrs 2018-09-01 → 2022-05-28

Power rating 1487 peak 1505 · #3803 of 6,413 rated

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

2014
Jun 14 First tracked contest Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
Aug 30 First call Barbecue on the Bow
Aug 30 First category win (Brisket) Barbecue on the Bow
2016
Jun 18 First overall top-10 Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
2017
Jul 7 10th tracked contest *BBQ on the Elbow at the Calgary Stampede
2022
May 28 First overall past 90% of a perfect score652.5372 Porkapalooza BBQ Festival
2024
May 25 Career-best overall score670.2404 Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship
Jun 8 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)174.3316 Small Town Smoke Down
Jun 8 Peak power rating (1505) Small Town Smoke Down
Aug 31 Most recent contest Prairie Dog on the Bow

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12	Small Town Smoke Down	2024-06-08
+11.3	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2016-06-18
+11	*Montana Pitmaster Classic	2017-08-25
+7.3	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2017-06-10
+6.7	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2022-05-28

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.9	*BBQ on the Elbow at the Calgary Stampede	2017-07-07
-10.5	Barbeque on the Bow Festival	2024-08-31
-8.3	Smokin Q at Lynnwood Ranch	2016-05-14
-7.8	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2015-06-19
-7.5	Prairie Dog on the Bow	2024-08-31

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)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	4	1	0	50%	top 57%	93.1%	90.8%
2023	2	0	0	100%	top 51%	92.7%	92.5%
2022	2	0	0	50%	top 40%	92.1%	91.3%
2018	4	0	0	50%	top 59%	88%	85.4%
2017	5	1	0	80%	top 61%	89.1%	85.4%
2016	3	1	0	33%	top 51%	88.5%	87%
2015	2	0	0	50%	top 71%	85.4%	84.4%
2014	2	0	1	50%	top 61%	86.4%	85.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2024-08-31	Prairie Dog on the Bow Calgary, AB	20 / 24 (648.0120)	22 (162.8800)	20 (162.2516)	17 (165.7144)	20 (157.1660)
2024-08-31	Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB	31 / 35 (643.8396)	8 (173.1772)	31 (154.8228)	33 (159.9312)	30 (155.9084)
2024-06-08	Small Town Smoke Down Bassano, AB	4 / 27 (170.8572)	25 (153.6800)	3 (174.3316)	13 (169.6800)	15 (164.5256)
2024-05-25	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship Calmar, AB	16 / 39 (670.2404)	11 (171.9884)	28 (161.6916)	16 (169.6916)	16 (166.8688)
2023-09-16	Embers and Ice Pitmaster Championship (formerly Porkapalooza BBQ Festival) Sherwood Park, Edmonton, AB	18 / 29 (664.5372)	9 (170.2856)	13 (169.1084)	28 (151.3944)	8 (173.7488)
2023-09-02	Barbeque on the Bow Festival Calgary, AB	16 / 40 (667.4060)	8 (173.7144)	23 (165.7144)	19 (166.2972)	21 (161.6800)
2022-06-03	Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta Bassano, AB	13 / 31 (662.8688)	7 (170.2972)	14 (168.0000)	17 (165.1544)	21 (159.4172)
2022-05-28	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival SHERWOOD PARK, AB	15 / 39 (652.5372)	16 (164.0228)	18 (163.4400)	21 (159.3944)	11 (165.6800)
2018-09-01	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T2W3J6	24 / 43 (611.3256)	19 (161.7028)	23 (150.8572)	18 (158.2284)	37 (140.5372)
2018-08-24	*Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT	15 / 26 (633.6340)	14 (158.2856)	14 (154.2172)	17 (158.2400)	10 (162.8912)
2018-08-18	*Battle River BBQ Showdown Camrose, AB	17 / 25 (601.5776)	3 (167.9656)	14 (153.6688)	22 (144.5716)	22 (135.3716)
2018-06-16	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, T6E 5K1	28 / 51 (613.1084)	34 (152.5712)	19 (159.4400)	48 (141.1200)	15 (159.9772)
2017-09-02	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T2W3J6	31 / 42 (601.0860)	25 (156.0460)	24 (152.5372)	34 (146.8228)	33 (145.6800)
2017-08-25	*Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT	5 / 20 (641.7260)	7 (157.1428)	5 (162.8688)	7 (157.1428)	3 (164.5716)
2017-07-07	*BBQ on the Elbow at the Calgary Stampede Calgary, T2 W 3J6	22 / 23 (593.0512)	21 (151.4056)	19 (151.4172)	23 (134.2628)	10 (155.9656)
2017-06-10	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, T6E 5K1	13 / 39 (634.7424)	4 (170.2856)	23 (150.2056)	17 (156.5484)	10 (157.7028)
2017-05-13	Smokin Q at Lynnwood Ranch Okotoks, AB	26 / 34 (604.6052)	34 (139.4056)	23 (152.0228)	19 (154.2968)	9 (158.8800)
2016-09-03	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, Alberta, CA	18 / 35 (631.9200)	29 (153.6800)	11 (162.8344)	17 (160.0112)	22 (155.3944)
2016-06-18	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, CA	9 / 42 (637.2460)	6 (167.4744)	14 (160.6288)	28 (151.4628)	12 (157.6800)
2016-05-14	Smokin Q at Lynnwood Ranch Aldersyde, Alberta Canada, T0L1T0	27 / 34 (609.6340)	29 (149.6684)	24 (154.2628)	15 (157.7144)	25 (147.9884)
2015-09-05	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, AB	23 / 35 (614.8228)	24 (157.1088)	28 (145.6684)	23 (152.6628)	14 (159.3828)
2015-06-19	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton Alberta, T6E 5K1	23 / 30 (600.6176)	7 (168.0116)	29 (136.5716)	27 (140.6056)	11 (155.4288)
2014-08-30	Barbecue on the Bow Calgary, Alberta, CA	19 / 32 (622.2740)	30 (146.8800)	7 (164.5600)	31 (139.4284)	1 (171.4056)
2014-06-14	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton Alberta Canada, T6J 0S4	18 / 29 (608.3880)	16 (155.9656)	14 (154.8684)	23 (145.0628)	14 (152.4912)

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

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

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2024 ↗	Master	#676 (231 pts)	#662 (271 pts)	#591 (361 pts)	#658 (261 pts)	#698 (236 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1050 (256 pts)	#807 (421 pts)	#1072 (281 pts)	#1124 (251 pts)	#1127 (251 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#796 (472 pts)	#737 (547 pts)	#864 (452 pts)	#858 (457 pts)	#575 (682 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#2841 (59 pts)	#2859 (59 pts)	#2335 (64 pts)	#2076 (109 pts)	#2864 (59 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1669 (122 pts)	#1320 (222 pts)	#2135 (72 pts)	#1554 (172 pts)	#1892 (117 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1467 (176 pts)	#1632 (156 pts)	#1173 (271 pts)	#1930 (121 pts)	#874 (391 pts)