diff --git a/include/grpc++/server_builder.h b/include/grpc++/server_builder.h
index 50f947d4c770e34da9616c8218593a9db2a6c793..eafd63619d237daa84550511d32b71ac4dbdacf6 100644
--- a/include/grpc++/server_builder.h
+++ b/include/grpc++/server_builder.h
@@ -196,10 +196,7 @@ class ServerBuilder {
 
   struct SyncServerSettings {
     SyncServerSettings()
-        : num_cqs(GPR_MAX(1, gpr_cpu_num_cores())),
-          min_pollers(1),
-          max_pollers(2),
-          cq_timeout_msec(10000) {}
+        : num_cqs(1), min_pollers(1), max_pollers(2), cq_timeout_msec(10000) {}
 
     /// Number of server completion queues to create to listen to incoming RPCs.
     int num_cqs;
diff --git a/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.c b/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.c
index 58c4c435d3f4f98e846ec19cd09d529d3c0a742e..e9f893988dfaec391f0864ac32d0d50d5b786ba4 100644
--- a/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.c
+++ b/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.c
@@ -31,12 +31,11 @@ void gpr_mpscq_destroy(gpr_mpscq *q) {
   GPR_ASSERT(q->tail == &q->stub);
 }
 
-bool gpr_mpscq_push(gpr_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n) {
+void gpr_mpscq_push(gpr_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n) {
   gpr_atm_no_barrier_store(&n->next, (gpr_atm)NULL);
   gpr_mpscq_node *prev =
       (gpr_mpscq_node *)gpr_atm_full_xchg(&q->head, (gpr_atm)n);
   gpr_atm_rel_store(&prev->next, (gpr_atm)n);
-  return prev == &q->stub;
 }
 
 gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_mpscq_pop(gpr_mpscq *q) {
@@ -78,25 +77,3 @@ gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_mpscq_pop_and_check_end(gpr_mpscq *q, bool *empty) {
   *empty = false;
   return NULL;
 }
-
-void gpr_locked_mpscq_init(gpr_locked_mpscq *q) {
-  gpr_mpscq_init(&q->queue);
-  q->read_lock = GPR_SPINLOCK_INITIALIZER;
-}
-
-void gpr_locked_mpscq_destroy(gpr_locked_mpscq *q) {
-  gpr_mpscq_destroy(&q->queue);
-}
-
-bool gpr_locked_mpscq_push(gpr_locked_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n) {
-  return gpr_mpscq_push(&q->queue, n);
-}
-
-gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_locked_mpscq_pop(gpr_locked_mpscq *q) {
-  if (gpr_spinlock_trylock(&q->read_lock)) {
-    gpr_mpscq_node *n = gpr_mpscq_pop(&q->queue);
-    gpr_spinlock_unlock(&q->read_lock);
-    return n;
-  }
-  return NULL;
-}
diff --git a/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.h b/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.h
index 2f4739d7f8114791266ab694b8ccc40b5de09cf9..daa51768f7f50b9707f4c2ff63e5ce1be283b669 100644
--- a/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.h
+++ b/src/core/lib/support/mpscq.h
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 #include <grpc/support/atm.h>
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
-#include "src/core/lib/support/spinlock.h"
 
 // Multiple-producer single-consumer lock free queue, based upon the
 // implementation from Dmitry Vyukov here:
@@ -44,34 +43,11 @@ typedef struct gpr_mpscq {
 void gpr_mpscq_init(gpr_mpscq *q);
 void gpr_mpscq_destroy(gpr_mpscq *q);
 // Push a node
-// Thread safe - can be called from multiple threads concurrently
-// Returns true if this was possibly the first node (may return true
-// sporadically, will not return false sporadically)
-bool gpr_mpscq_push(gpr_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n);
+void gpr_mpscq_push(gpr_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n);
 // Pop a node (returns NULL if no node is ready - which doesn't indicate that
 // the queue is empty!!)
-// Thread compatible - can only be called from one thread at a time
 gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_mpscq_pop(gpr_mpscq *q);
 // Pop a node; sets *empty to true if the queue is empty, or false if it is not
 gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_mpscq_pop_and_check_end(gpr_mpscq *q, bool *empty);
 
-// An mpscq with a spinlock: it's safe to pop from multiple threads, but doing
-// only one thread will succeed concurrently
-typedef struct gpr_locked_mpscq {
-  gpr_mpscq queue;
-  gpr_spinlock read_lock;
-} gpr_locked_mpscq;
-
-void gpr_locked_mpscq_init(gpr_locked_mpscq *q);
-void gpr_locked_mpscq_destroy(gpr_locked_mpscq *q);
-// Push a node
-// Thread safe - can be called from multiple threads concurrently
-// Returns true if this was possibly the first node (may return true
-// sporadically, will not return false sporadically)
-bool gpr_locked_mpscq_push(gpr_locked_mpscq *q, gpr_mpscq_node *n);
-// Pop a node (returns NULL if no node is ready - which doesn't indicate that
-// the queue is empty!!)
-// Thread safe - can be called from multiple threads concurrently
-gpr_mpscq_node *gpr_locked_mpscq_pop(gpr_locked_mpscq *q);
-
 #endif /* GRPC_CORE_LIB_SUPPORT_MPSCQ_H */
diff --git a/src/core/lib/surface/server.c b/src/core/lib/surface/server.c
index 84ddf74ab9cbb56f7250c747041b281e9953efd9..0cd436883a08b4fa64a99cbe271dff3d50a67430 100644
--- a/src/core/lib/surface/server.c
+++ b/src/core/lib/surface/server.c
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@
 #include "src/core/lib/iomgr/executor.h"
 #include "src/core/lib/iomgr/iomgr.h"
 #include "src/core/lib/slice/slice_internal.h"
-#include "src/core/lib/support/mpscq.h"
-#include "src/core/lib/support/spinlock.h"
+#include "src/core/lib/support/stack_lockfree.h"
 #include "src/core/lib/support/string.h"
 #include "src/core/lib/surface/api_trace.h"
 #include "src/core/lib/surface/call.h"
@@ -62,7 +61,6 @@ typedef enum { BATCH_CALL, REGISTERED_CALL } requested_call_type;
 grpc_tracer_flag grpc_server_channel_trace = GRPC_TRACER_INITIALIZER(false);
 
 typedef struct requested_call {
-  gpr_mpscq_node request_link; /* must be first */
   requested_call_type type;
   size_t cq_idx;
   void *tag;
@@ -162,7 +160,7 @@ struct request_matcher {
   grpc_server *server;
   call_data *pending_head;
   call_data *pending_tail;
-  gpr_locked_mpscq *requests_per_cq;
+  gpr_stack_lockfree **requests_per_cq;
 };
 
 struct registered_method {
@@ -207,6 +205,11 @@ struct grpc_server {
   registered_method *registered_methods;
   /** one request matcher for unregistered methods */
   request_matcher unregistered_request_matcher;
+  /** free list of available requested_calls_per_cq indices */
+  gpr_stack_lockfree **request_freelist_per_cq;
+  /** requested call backing data */
+  requested_call **requested_calls_per_cq;
+  int max_requested_calls_per_cq;
 
   gpr_atm shutdown_flag;
   uint8_t shutdown_published;
@@ -306,20 +309,21 @@ static void channel_broadcaster_shutdown(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx,
  * request_matcher
  */
 
-static void request_matcher_init(request_matcher *rm, grpc_server *server) {
+static void request_matcher_init(request_matcher *rm, size_t entries,
+                                 grpc_server *server) {
   memset(rm, 0, sizeof(*rm));
   rm->server = server;
   rm->requests_per_cq =
       gpr_malloc(sizeof(*rm->requests_per_cq) * server->cq_count);
   for (size_t i = 0; i < server->cq_count; i++) {
-    gpr_locked_mpscq_init(&rm->requests_per_cq[i]);
+    rm->requests_per_cq[i] = gpr_stack_lockfree_create(entries);
   }
 }
 
 static void request_matcher_destroy(request_matcher *rm) {
   for (size_t i = 0; i < rm->server->cq_count; i++) {
-    GPR_ASSERT(gpr_locked_mpscq_pop(&rm->requests_per_cq[i]) == NULL);
-    gpr_locked_mpscq_destroy(&rm->requests_per_cq[i]);
+    GPR_ASSERT(gpr_stack_lockfree_pop(rm->requests_per_cq[i]) == -1);
+    gpr_stack_lockfree_destroy(rm->requests_per_cq[i]);
   }
   gpr_free(rm->requests_per_cq);
 }
@@ -349,17 +353,13 @@ static void request_matcher_kill_requests(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx,
                                           grpc_server *server,
                                           request_matcher *rm,
                                           grpc_error *error) {
-  requested_call *rc;
+  int request_id;
   for (size_t i = 0; i < server->cq_count; i++) {
-    /* Here we know:
-       1. no requests are being added (since the server is shut down)
-       2. no other threads are pulling (since the shut down process is single
-          threaded)
-       So, we can ignore the queue lock and just pop, with the guarantee that a
-       NULL returned here truly means that the queue is empty */
-    while ((rc = (requested_call *)gpr_mpscq_pop(
-                &rm->requests_per_cq[i].queue)) != NULL) {
-      fail_call(exec_ctx, server, i, rc, GRPC_ERROR_REF(error));
+    while ((request_id = gpr_stack_lockfree_pop(rm->requests_per_cq[i])) !=
+           -1) {
+      fail_call(exec_ctx, server, i,
+                &server->requested_calls_per_cq[i][request_id],
+                GRPC_ERROR_REF(error));
     }
   }
   GRPC_ERROR_UNREF(error);
@@ -394,7 +394,13 @@ static void server_delete(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, grpc_server *server) {
   }
   for (i = 0; i < server->cq_count; i++) {
     GRPC_CQ_INTERNAL_UNREF(exec_ctx, server->cqs[i], "server");
+    if (server->started) {
+      gpr_stack_lockfree_destroy(server->request_freelist_per_cq[i]);
+      gpr_free(server->requested_calls_per_cq[i]);
+    }
   }
+  gpr_free(server->request_freelist_per_cq);
+  gpr_free(server->requested_calls_per_cq);
   gpr_free(server->cqs);
   gpr_free(server->pollsets);
   gpr_free(server->shutdown_tags);
@@ -452,7 +458,21 @@ static void destroy_channel(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, channel_data *chand,
 
 static void done_request_event(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, void *req,
                                grpc_cq_completion *c) {
-  gpr_free(req);
+  requested_call *rc = req;
+  grpc_server *server = rc->server;
+
+  if (rc >= server->requested_calls_per_cq[rc->cq_idx] &&
+      rc < server->requested_calls_per_cq[rc->cq_idx] +
+               server->max_requested_calls_per_cq) {
+    GPR_ASSERT(rc - server->requested_calls_per_cq[rc->cq_idx] <= INT_MAX);
+    gpr_stack_lockfree_push(
+        server->request_freelist_per_cq[rc->cq_idx],
+        (int)(rc - server->requested_calls_per_cq[rc->cq_idx]));
+  } else {
+    gpr_free(req);
+  }
+
+  server_unref(exec_ctx, server);
 }
 
 static void publish_call(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, grpc_server *server,
@@ -482,6 +502,10 @@ static void publish_call(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, grpc_server *server,
       GPR_UNREACHABLE_CODE(return );
   }
 
+  grpc_call_element *elem =
+      grpc_call_stack_element(grpc_call_get_call_stack(call), 0);
+  channel_data *chand = elem->channel_data;
+  server_ref(chand->server);
   grpc_cq_end_op(exec_ctx, calld->cq_new, rc->tag, GRPC_ERROR_NONE,
                  done_request_event, rc, &rc->completion);
 }
@@ -509,15 +533,15 @@ static void publish_new_rpc(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, void *arg,
 
   for (size_t i = 0; i < server->cq_count; i++) {
     size_t cq_idx = (chand->cq_idx + i) % server->cq_count;
-    requested_call *rc =
-        (requested_call *)gpr_locked_mpscq_pop(&rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx]);
-    if (rc == NULL) {
+    int request_id = gpr_stack_lockfree_pop(rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx]);
+    if (request_id == -1) {
       continue;
     } else {
       gpr_mu_lock(&calld->mu_state);
       calld->state = ACTIVATED;
       gpr_mu_unlock(&calld->mu_state);
-      publish_call(exec_ctx, server, calld, cq_idx, rc);
+      publish_call(exec_ctx, server, calld, cq_idx,
+                   &server->requested_calls_per_cq[cq_idx][request_id]);
       return; /* early out */
     }
   }
@@ -992,6 +1016,8 @@ grpc_server *grpc_server_create(const grpc_channel_args *args, void *reserved) {
   server->root_channel_data.next = server->root_channel_data.prev =
       &server->root_channel_data;
 
+  /* TODO(ctiller): expose a channel_arg for this */
+  server->max_requested_calls_per_cq = 32768;
   server->channel_args = grpc_channel_args_copy(args);
 
   return server;
@@ -1064,15 +1090,29 @@ void grpc_server_start(grpc_server *server) {
   server->started = true;
   server->pollset_count = 0;
   server->pollsets = gpr_malloc(sizeof(grpc_pollset *) * server->cq_count);
+  server->request_freelist_per_cq =
+      gpr_malloc(sizeof(*server->request_freelist_per_cq) * server->cq_count);
+  server->requested_calls_per_cq =
+      gpr_malloc(sizeof(*server->requested_calls_per_cq) * server->cq_count);
   for (i = 0; i < server->cq_count; i++) {
     if (grpc_cq_can_listen(server->cqs[i])) {
       server->pollsets[server->pollset_count++] =
           grpc_cq_pollset(server->cqs[i]);
     }
+    server->request_freelist_per_cq[i] =
+        gpr_stack_lockfree_create((size_t)server->max_requested_calls_per_cq);
+    for (int j = 0; j < server->max_requested_calls_per_cq; j++) {
+      gpr_stack_lockfree_push(server->request_freelist_per_cq[i], j);
+    }
+    server->requested_calls_per_cq[i] =
+        gpr_malloc((size_t)server->max_requested_calls_per_cq *
+                   sizeof(*server->requested_calls_per_cq[i]));
   }
-  request_matcher_init(&server->unregistered_request_matcher, server);
+  request_matcher_init(&server->unregistered_request_matcher,
+                       (size_t)server->max_requested_calls_per_cq, server);
   for (registered_method *rm = server->registered_methods; rm; rm = rm->next) {
-    request_matcher_init(&rm->request_matcher, server);
+    request_matcher_init(&rm->request_matcher,
+                         (size_t)server->max_requested_calls_per_cq, server);
   }
 
   server_ref(server);
@@ -1326,11 +1366,21 @@ static grpc_call_error queue_call_request(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx,
                                           requested_call *rc) {
   call_data *calld = NULL;
   request_matcher *rm = NULL;
+  int request_id;
   if (gpr_atm_acq_load(&server->shutdown_flag)) {
     fail_call(exec_ctx, server, cq_idx, rc,
               GRPC_ERROR_CREATE_FROM_STATIC_STRING("Server Shutdown"));
     return GRPC_CALL_OK;
   }
+  request_id = gpr_stack_lockfree_pop(server->request_freelist_per_cq[cq_idx]);
+  if (request_id == -1) {
+    /* out of request ids: just fail this one */
+    fail_call(exec_ctx, server, cq_idx, rc,
+              grpc_error_set_int(
+                  GRPC_ERROR_CREATE_FROM_STATIC_STRING("Out of request ids"),
+                  GRPC_ERROR_INT_LIMIT, server->max_requested_calls_per_cq));
+    return GRPC_CALL_OK;
+  }
   switch (rc->type) {
     case BATCH_CALL:
       rm = &server->unregistered_request_matcher;
@@ -1339,13 +1389,15 @@ static grpc_call_error queue_call_request(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx,
       rm = &rc->data.registered.registered_method->request_matcher;
       break;
   }
-  if (gpr_locked_mpscq_push(&rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx], &rc->request_link)) {
+  server->requested_calls_per_cq[cq_idx][request_id] = *rc;
+  gpr_free(rc);
+  if (gpr_stack_lockfree_push(rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx], request_id)) {
     /* this was the first queued request: we need to lock and start
        matching calls */
     gpr_mu_lock(&server->mu_call);
     while ((calld = rm->pending_head) != NULL) {
-      rc = (requested_call *)gpr_locked_mpscq_pop(&rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx]);
-      if (rc == NULL) break;
+      request_id = gpr_stack_lockfree_pop(rm->requests_per_cq[cq_idx]);
+      if (request_id == -1) break;
       rm->pending_head = calld->pending_next;
       gpr_mu_unlock(&server->mu_call);
       gpr_mu_lock(&calld->mu_state);
@@ -1361,7 +1413,8 @@ static grpc_call_error queue_call_request(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx,
         GPR_ASSERT(calld->state == PENDING);
         calld->state = ACTIVATED;
         gpr_mu_unlock(&calld->mu_state);
-        publish_call(exec_ctx, server, calld, cq_idx, rc);
+        publish_call(exec_ctx, server, calld, cq_idx,
+                     &server->requested_calls_per_cq[cq_idx][request_id]);
       }
       gpr_mu_lock(&server->mu_call);
     }
@@ -1468,6 +1521,7 @@ static void fail_call(grpc_exec_ctx *exec_ctx, grpc_server *server,
   rc->initial_metadata->count = 0;
   GPR_ASSERT(error != GRPC_ERROR_NONE);
 
+  server_ref(server);
   grpc_cq_end_op(exec_ctx, server->cqs[cq_idx], rc->tag, error,
                  done_request_event, rc, &rc->completion);
 }