The Dough Rises: Matchups Set for Cheesy Pizza Cup Round of 32

The dough has risen and the pie is ready to be shaped as our Cheesy Pizza Cup moves on to the Round of 32!

All of the highest-seeded restaurants in the Round of 64 have advanced into the next round, with two notable upsets: Pizza Hut (#7) was eliminated by The Rug (#10), home of the Mapo Tofu pizza; and #4 ranked Papa John’s was beat by newcomer IL Fuoco (#13), meaning two major international chains have been cast aside by local competitors.

The closest race this time around was between Peter Pan (#6) and Canotto by the Pizza Show (#11), with Peter Pan coming out on top by only a handful of votes.

Here’s a full look at the damage done, listed by bracket. The number in parentheses indicates their initial ranking, "New" indicates a new venue this year; and an asterisk (*) indicates a participant in Cheesy Pizza Month.

BRACKET A

• PYRO PIZZA 火鬼比萨 (#1)* beats Nine Road Pizzeria 速度披萨 (#16)
• GUNG HO! 叫板！比萨 (#2)* beats Assaggi 尝试意大利餐厅 (#15)
• Q Mex Bar & Grill 库迈墨西哥餐吧 (#3)* beats Kitty & Daniel 大牛好莱坞餐吧（蓝色港湾） (#14)
• Pizza Saporita 意块披萨 (#4) beats Saizeriya 萨莉亚意式餐厅 (#13)
• LA PLATEA 兰蒂地中海餐厅 (#5)* beats Ponte Ponte意大利餐厅 (#12)
• Domino's Pizza 达美乐比萨 (#6) beats MOJAR 么哈 (#11) (New)
• Georgia's Feast 格鲁•秀色 (#7)* beats Wobbit Bistro 窝边草意大利小酒馆 (#10)* (New)
• Hulu 琥禄 (#8) beats Tavola Italian Dining  (#9)

BRACKET B

• BOTTEGA 意库 (#1)* beats Mr Pizza 米斯特披萨 (#16)
• Pie Squared 方派披萨 (#2) beats Xian Bar (EAST, Beijing) 北京东隅仙酒吧 (#15)
• Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒 (#3)* beats BUONA BOCCA 意大利小馆儿 (#14)
• Kro's Nest 乌巢 (#4) beats Frasca (#13)
• The Local (#5) beats Lily's American Diner 莉莉斯美式西餐厅 (#12)
• Peter Pan Peter Pan意大利餐厅 (#6) beats Canotto by The Pizza Show 卡诺托•披萨秀（国贸商城店） (#11) (New)
• Yummy Box 美盒比萨 (#7) beats 闲Barblu (#10) (New)
• Turkish Feast 西庭•秀色 (#8)* beats Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano 意大利家庭料理 (#9)

BRACKET C

• Tube Station 站点比萨 (#1) beats Champion Pizza 尊宝披萨 (#16) (New)
• Jing-A Brewing Co. 京A (#2)* beats Laker's 湖人餐吧 (#15)
• Joe's Pizza Joe's Pizza北京中骏世界城店 (#3)* (New) beats Big Pizza 比格比萨 (#14)
• COMMUNE RESERVE COMMUNE RESERVE北京华贸甄选店 (#4)* beats Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫酒吧 (#13)
• Pizza Marzano 比萨玛尚诺 (#5) beats EATA EATA西班牙餐厅（国展店） (#12) (New)
• COMMUNE•X COMMUNE•X北京太古里设计店 (#6)* (New) beats Paddy O'Shea's 爱尔兰餐厅 (#11)
• The Rug (#10) beats Pizza Hut 必胜客 (#7)
• EATALIA 意塔利意式餐厅 (#8) beats Citywalk Red Oven Pizza Bakery 城市大道红炉披萨烘焙坊 (#9)

BRACKET D

• FORNO 意角 (#1)* beats MIO, Four Seasons Hotel 北京四季酒店•MIO (#16)
• Annie's 安妮意大利餐厅 (#2) beats La Mezzaluna 伴月意大利餐厅 (#15)
• La Pizza 那匹萨 (#3) beats TOWNSQUARE CAFE • ARTYZEN HABITAT BEIJING 思方汇咖啡厅•雅辰悦居酒店 (#14) (New)
• IL Fuoco 意燔 (#13) (NEW) beats PAPA JOHN'S PIZZA 棒约翰比萨 (#4)
• THE PIZZA SHOW 披萨秀 (#5) beats NBeer Pub 牛啤堂 (#12)
• The Cheesecake Factory 芝乐坊 (#6) beats TIGERS 老虎西餐 (#11) (New)
• Home Plate BBQ 本垒美式烤肉 (#7) beats Brotzeit German Bier Restaurant 博璨德国啤酒餐厅 (#10)*
• Plan B (#8) beats TIAGO (#9)

And here are the matchups moving into the Round of 32:

BRACKET A

• PYRO PIZZA* (1) vs Hulu (8)
• GUNG HO!* (2) vs Georgia's Feast* (7)
• Q Mex Bar & Grill* (3) vs Domino's Pizza (6)
• Pizza Saporita (4) vs LA PLATEA* (5)

BRACKET B

• BOTTEGA* (1) vs Turkish Feast* (8)
• Pie Squared (2) vs Yummy Box (7)
• Great Leap Brewing* (3) vs Peter Pan (6)
• Kro's Nest (4) vs The Local (5)

BRACKET C

• Tube Station (1) vs EATALIA (8)
• Jing-A Brewing Co.* (2) vs The Rug (10)
• Joe's Pizza* (3)  (New) vs COMMUNE•X* (New) (6)
• COMMUNE RESERVE* (4) vs Pizza Marzano (5)

BRACKET D

• FORNO* (1) vs Plan B (8)
• Annie's (2) vs Home Plate BBQ (7) (New)
• La Pizza (3) vs The Cheesecake Factory (6)
• THE PIZZA SHOW (5) vs IL Fuoco (13) (New)

Here are the remaining rounds in the 2023 Cheesy Pizza Cup:

Round of 32: Today
Sweet 16: Jan 20
Elite Eight: Jan 31
Final Four: Feb 6
Final Taste-Off: TBA

In other cheesy news, 13 of the restaurants participating in our Cheesy Pizza Month have made it into this round. If you haven't tried them yet, now's your chance to do so and be in the running for some great prizes with the more you eat! Check here for details on how to participate.

We asked you in the previous round to work out your best pizza memes and comic strips, and below are the best of the best:

As is our custom, we asked you to rank the contestants that did not make the Round of 64. Here's what you had to say, and these are now these venues' final ranking in the 2023 Pizza Cup:

65. La Cucina 后厨意餐
66. Via Roma·Kempinski Hotel 花样罗马意大利餐厅
67. Fufú 福fú
68. LMPLUS
69. SIGMORE 自由地露营餐吧
70. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房
71. Groovy Schillers 大明餐厅
72. Yum Yummy
73. Tomcado 花厨
74. Eudora Station 亿多瑞站
75. MOBIUS 莫比餐厅（五道口店）
76. FELICHITA
77. FLYPIZZA & HOODADAK CHICKEN
78. Jazz-Ya 爵士屋
79. Tribe Tribe有机餐厅
80. Bene 班妮意大利餐厅
81. Pizza Now 披萨到
82. Atta BJ
83. Steam Pizza 蒸汽披萨
84. Festin Table 佩斯汀西餐
85. Agrilandia 意大利农场餐厅
86. Legend 老牌餐吧
87. QS 奎妮妙选
88. Casalingo 卡萨琳戈
89. The Veggie Table 吃素的西餐
90. Get Pizza 披萨工廠
91. German Restaurant 甲丁坊.新德餐吧
92. Long Table Restaurant Bar (Qianmen)
93. Wine Bistro by Bacchus 玖十肆
94. CUP ONE
95. Sesto Senso Se·食巳意大利餐厅
96. Nasca Cafe
97. CHAPTER, CONRAD BEIJING CHAPTER
98. Byone 百万庄园
99. Olive Restaurant & Bar 橄榄意大利餐吧

READ: Get Out and Participate in Cheesy Pizza Month Today Until Feb 13!

Images: The Beijingers, giphy