Gung Ho, Annie's, Great Leap, and Kro's Take Pole Position as Field of 32 Heat Up in the 2016 Pizza Cup
Gung Ho, Annie's, Great Leap, and Kro's Nest lead the field of 32 pizza places that have oozed past the first cut in the 2016 Pizza Cup.
UPDATE: The Beijinger's 2016 Pizza Cup has now reached the Elite Eight
The 32 are already a rare breed as they've survived the initial seeding that left half of Beijing's estimated 160-plus pizza shops on the kitchen floor, and survived a brutal round of winner-take-all balloting that shaved 56 brands from the initial 88.
Having won the past two years, Gung Ho's place in the top 32 is no surprise. What has yet to be seen is whether they've done enough to keep their faithful fans onboard or if the recent closure of their flagship store in Lido will have the stranded masses looking for alternatives.
Also unsurprising is the inclusion of both Annie's, who came a smooth second in 2015, and Great Leap, who nabbed third. Kro's however, placed 33rd and was knocked out in the first round, which means that they're already making amends. See last year's rankings in full here.
We now move on to the knockout round – each of these 32 are pitted against one another until but one survives, each in four brackets. Here's our Round of 32 matchups, based on voting in the intitial round:
Bracket A
Gung Ho (1) vs Tiago (8)
Pizza+ (2) vs Yellow Cab (7)
La Pizza (3) vs Pyro Pizza (6)
Pie Squared (4) vs Hutong Pizza (5)
Bracket B
Annie's (1) vs Passby Bar (8)
Tube Station (2) vs Mio, Four Seasons Hotel (7)
The Tree (3) vs Ramo (6)
Q Mex (4) vs Yummy Box (5)
Bracket C
Great Leap #45 (1) vs Tim's Texas BBQ (8)
Bottega (2) vs Flypizza & Hoodakdak Chicken (7)
Luga's Villa (3) vs Grandma's Kitchen (6)
Mao Mao Chong (4) vs Tavola (5)
Bracket D
Kro's Nest (1) vs Bocca Della Verita (8)
Pizza Express (2) vs Pizza View by Opera Bombana (7)
Sureno (3) vs Eatalia (6)
The Local (4) vs The Rug (5)
VOTE HERE FOR YOUR FAVORITE IN THE ROUND OF 32
This round will remain open until Monday, October 24 at 2pm; at 4pm the Sweet 16 will be announced.
In the meantime, don't forget to become an educated voter by indulging in our Pies For The People promotion.
Successive rounds will follow this schedule:
Thursday, Oct 27: Sweet 16 closes at 2pm; Elite 8 announced at 4pm
Monday, Oct 31: Elite 8 closes at 2pm; Final 4 announced at 4pm
Thursday, Nov 3: Final 4 closes at 2pm; Championship match announced at 4pm
Monday, Nov 7: Announcement of 2016 Pizza Cup Champion
Images: the Beijinger, Year of the Pizza
