The king is dead.

In a dramatic 2018 comeback, Slow Boat Brewery has stripped reigning king Q Mex of the Burger Cup crown and now seeks a third victory in their battle against Great Leap Brewing. Many will be disappointed to see that the draft beer juggernaut drowned underdogs Side Street in a puddle, edging them out with a nailbiting 0.6 percent of the vote (50.3 percent to 49.7 percent) – proof of how consequential your say is in awarding our next beef-and-buns champ.

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Next week could finally spell gold for GLB, as despite having been slinging burgers since 2013, they've yet to claim the Cup. In the last five years straight, they’ve never surpassed third place, claiming fourth in their Burger Cup debut year in 2013, a surge to third the following year, a slide back to fourth, and then a reclaiming of third in 2016; they held strong to that number last year.

The recent shuttering of GLB’s flagship #12 spot on Xingfucun now leaves only their #45 Liangmaqiao location to grab one of their tasty burgers. Their matchup against repeat Burger Cup champ Slow Boat will likely whet appetites across Beijing and have both venues gunning for glory.

But Slow Boat is unlikely to bow to the pressure. Their trademark Fryburger – a hot mess of patty, fries, and cheese – has seen the brewery take the Burger Cup crown in 2015 and again in 2016, before Q Mex took the wind out of their sails last year. Only your vote will determine whether Slow Boat can pull off winning for the third time.

The ballots for the Championship Round close at midday on Monday, Jul 9, meaning that you have all weekend to mull over who you would like to crown Beijing's Best Burger. Use your time wisely and make every meal count! In the meantime, read all of our Burger Cup content here.
 

Path to the Championship Round:

Prior to crushing top-seeded Q Mex this week, Sanlitun's Slow Boat battered Biteapitta (8), knocked out Taikooli newcomer Hulu (4), and blasted Cannon’s Burgers (3) out of the bracket.

Also early on in the Burger Cup, Great Leap ran out Ramo (8) and crushed Caravan (5) before jumping No.2 seed Jing-A (2) to the Final Four.
 

Our crown-takers, since the dawn of the Cup:

2011: Blue Frog
2012: Home Plate BBQ
2013: Home Plate BBQ
2014: Home Plate BBQ
2015: Slow Boat Brewery
2016: Slow Boat Brewery
2017: Q Mex

After last round, you ranked those that didn’t make the final cut:

5. The Local
6. Cannon’s Burgers
7. Jing-A
8. The Great Outdoors

They join the rest of the field, whose rankings were determined by voting last round:

9. Home Plate BBQ
10. Blue Frog
11. 3 Little Pigs by Andy’s Craft Sausages
12. Common Burger @ ARCADE by Hatchery
13. Arrow Factory
14. Fatburger
15. Hulu
16. Caravan
17. Let’s Burger
18. Plan B
19. Katchup
20. 4corners
21. The Butchers Club
22. Stuff’d
23. Paddy O’Shea’s
24. Biteapitta
25. The Cheesecake Factory
26. Lily’s American Diner
27. Fatboy’s
28. Ramo
29. QS
30. Bodensee Kitchen
31. Joe’s Bar and Kitchen
32. The Bell
33. XL Bar
34. Laker's
35. East Hotel
36. Migas Mercado
37. Beersmith Gastropub
38. Punjabi
39. Waspark
40. de Refter
41. Lush
42. Grandma's Kitchen
43. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q
44. Bistrot B
45. Veggie Table
46. Legend Beer
47. 1F
48. VSports Bar and Restaurant
49. Panda Brew
50. Root Pop
51. Irish Volunteer
52. NBeer Pub
53. Morton's of Chicago
54. Eudora Station
55. Café Flatwhite
56. Fella’s
57. The Rug Café
58. Beer Mania
59. Picture My Cup at Kimo Kids Cafe
60. Steamrhino Brewery Restaurant
61. Grinders
62. Burger Counter
63. Tiger Pancake House
64. Peiping Machine
65. The Roots
66. Windy City
67. iB Craft Beer
68. Yummy Box Pizza
69. Village Cafe, Opposite House
70. Luga's Villa
71. The Bookworm
72. Blue Marlin
73. Park Side Bar & Grill
74. Three Guys Burger House
75. Wolfgang’s Steakhouse
76. Cafe Flo
77. Pop Up Kitchen
78. Angel Burger
79. The Cut, Fairmont Beijing
80. Peking Garden
81. Frost Coffee, Cocktails and Dining
82. CHAR Bar & Grill
83. C’est la Vie
84. Aurora
85. Park Square
86. Four Ace
87. Burger Break
88. Molly Malone’s
89. He Kitchen
90. O’Leary’s
91. The Kitchen Table, W Beijing Chang'an
92. Balmain Gourmet
93. Meat by Ernest
94. Steak Exchange, InterContinental Hotel
95. Flora Steak and Bar
96. Dongli Brewery
97. Rolling Rolling Craft Brewing
98. BLT American Restaurant Salad & Grill
99. Wiggly Jiggly’s
100. MustGuette

Images: the Beijinger, courtesy of the venues