How You Sliced It: Pizza Cup Competitors Cut Down to 32

The Beijinger | Oct 25, 2019 3:00 pm | Add a comment | 187 reads

The results of the first-round cut are in, and all but 32 of the nearly 100 pizza cup hopefuls have been sliced out of the running.

No one knew quite what to expect in the run-up to this milestone in the voting process, with new pizza vendors popping up on the scene and veterans clamoring to keep up with changing diets. The only sure thing was that most would be walking away with their dough deflated, while only the select favorites would move on to the bracket elimination rounds.

Almost all of the first-time qualifiers this year gained their footing by showing their faces at the Beijing Pizza Festival this year. These include MIAM MIAM, who premiered their pizza alongside their new Oktoberfest Menu, Oh Yeah Brewing, who opened a huge brewery and tap in Guomao this year, and the unconventional Turkish Feast. Notably, Baozza qualified this year after a rule change that allows them to compete with more traditional pizzas. It is the first year that Three Little Pigs has cut through the competition to make it into the top 32, and newcomer Cheesecake Factory made the list as well.

Scan the QR Code below with WeChat to Vote in
2019's Pizza Cup Round of 32 Ballot

Pizza Saporita also rode a successful Pizza Festival to unseat La Pizza (2nd place in 2018) for the first place in their bracket. Saporita had a tough bracket last year that included the 2018 winner, Gung Ho!

READ: Just How Chinese is Pizza?

There are a couple of tough fights to keep your eye on in this round as Tube Station brings their brand recognition head-to-head against the cult following of Paddy O'Sheas, and it's anyone's guess who will come out victorious between the pair of first-time qualifiers, Oh Yeah Brewing and Three Little Pigs.

Several pizza slingers who had squeezed their way onto the bracket in 2018 failed to keep up with the game this year, including Mao Mao Chong, Xian at East, Tribe, NBeer, and Legend Bar. A couple of newcomers to last year's conditition have since closed their doors as well, including Levite and La Villa.

In the end, that leaves us with a bracket that looks like this:

Official Round of 32

Bracket A

Gung Ho! 叫板! 比萨 (#1)*
Annie's 安妮意大利餐厅 (#2)
Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒 (#3)
Baozza 包萨 (#4)(New)*
Domino's Pizza 达美乐比萨 (#5)
Pyro Pizza 火鬼比萨 (#6)
Pizza Marzano 比萨玛尚诺 (#7)
Lily's American Diner (#8)

Bracket B

Pizza Saporita 意块披萨 (#1)*
La Pizza 那匹萨 (#2)
MIAM MIAM 咪吖咪吖 (#3)(New)*
The Rug (#4)
Pie Squared (#5)
Papa John's 棒约翰比萨 (#6)
Saizeriya 萨莉亚 (#7)(New)
Laker's 湖人俱乐部 (#8)

Bracket C

Bottega 意库 (#1)
Kro's Nest 乌巢 (#2)
Jing-A Taproom 京-A (#3)(New)
Eatalia Eatalia意大利餐厅 (#4)
TIAGO (#5)*
Yummy Box 美盒披萨 (#6)
Turkish Feast 西庭·秀色 (#7)(New)*
Green Cow City Cafe 单太太绿牛咖啡 (#8)

Bracket D

Q MEX Bar&Grill 库迈墨西哥餐吧 (#1)*
Tube Station 站点比萨 (#2)*
The Local (#3)
Oh Yeah! Brewing 熬夜酒厂 (#4)(New)*
3 Little Pigs by Andy's Craft Sausages 三只小猪 (#5)*
Pizza Hut 必胜客 (#6)
Paddy O'Shea's (#7)
The Cheesecake Factory (#8)(New)

* Indicates the venue was a participant at this year's Pizza Fest

Stats Breakdown

As always, the voting was just one part of our first-round survey, and we took the opportunity to quiz you on your pizza and dining habits at large. So who loves pizza? A look at our data reveals that women are slightly more likely to vote for their favorite pizza than men, with 51.65 percent of our voters being female, 45.97 percent male, and 2.38 percent declining to say.

Anything to wash the pizza down with? A whopping 40 percent of Beijingers prefer beer over other drinks, while upwards of 30 percent prefer soda. Only 13 percent opt for cocktails, and 11 percent go for straight water.

Everyone's got to eat, but only about 50 percent of surveyed Beijingers lunch out (or order in for lunch) more than twice per week. Our numbers show similar habits for eating out for dinner as well, though people are more likely to eat out twice per week for dinner (24 percent) than for lunch (16 percent).

No matter how much you eat out, we know you've got a favorite spot, so no slacking as the rounds continue on!

Knockout Round Schedule

Round of 32: Voting opens Friday, October 25, 3pm
Sweet 16: Tuesday, October 29, 3pm
Elite Eight: Friday, November 1, 3pm
Final Four: Tuesday, November 5, 3pm
Championship Round: Friday, Nov 8, 3pm
Beijing's Best Pizza crowned: Tuesday, Nov 12, 4pm

READ: News Flash: Pizza May Help You Live Longer... But There's a Catch

Sherpa’s, the official sponsor of the 2019 Beijing Pizza Cup, are offering new users RMB 50 off (min. spend RMB 99) food delivery and RMB 10 off any movie ticket purchased through the Sherpa's App. Simply scan the QR below and follow the instructions.