Bottega Claims Victory in a Historic Pizza Cup Championship

For the first time since the creation of the Beijing Pizza Cup in 2011, voters have chosen a champion in a live taste-off as the Final Four contenders battled it out at the home of the cup's official beer sponsor, Boxing Cat Brewery. Each put up a valiant effort, but only one could come out on top: Italian-style pizzeria, Bottega reclaimed its crown for the first time since 2016.

As the five sessions kicked off, each of the four competitors were roughly even in vote count. After the second session, Bottega and Q Mex stayed roughly neck-and-neck with a clear lead over Great Leap Brewing and Pizza Saporita. In the end, however, Saporita managed to climb its way back in the polls, landing just two votes over Q Mex at a count of 117. That landed Saporita the respectable slot of second place after taking the crown last year. Still, Bottega bested them all and took the cup with 161 votes.

We also asked online voters to rate the runners up in the Elite 8 round, giving us the full picture of the top 8 pizzas in Beijing this year:

1. Bottega 
2. Pizza Saporita 
3. Q Mex
4. Great Leap
5. Pie Squared
6. Gung Ho Pizza 
7. Annie’s
8. Jing-A

Meanwhile, tasters had a blast at Boxing Cat, downing beers and pizza with equal delight while also taking part in our quiz that tested their knowledge of Beijing's pizza scene. The winning table at each session snagged a bottle of wine per person, courtesy of the Cup's sponsor, JSS Delivery, which happens to be a great app to order pizza, wine, or just about anything else you're craving.

And if you're not craving pizza yet, you will be after you browse the pics of the taste-off below.

READ: Cold Out? Stay Toasty and Tipsy With 3 Mulled Wine and Cider Recipes

To wrap it all up, here is the final rankings of all 98 competitiors in the 2020 Pizza Cup:

1. Bottega 
2. Pizza Saporita 
3. Q Mex
4. Great Leap
5. Pie Squared
6. Gung Ho Pizza 
7. Annie’s
8. Jing-A
9. Tube Station 站点比萨
10. Forno 意角
11. La Pizza 那匹萨
12. The Pizza Show 披萨秀
13. Pizza Marzano 比萨玛尚诺
14. Frasca, The Opposite House
15. The Local
16. Pyro Pizza 火鬼餐吧
17. Kro's Nest 乌巢 
18. Xian Bar, EAST,Beijing 北京东隅仙酒吧 
19. Pizza Hut 必胜客 
20. Hulu 琥禄 
21. Baozza 包萨 
22. Boxing Cat Brewery 拳击猫精酿啤酒馆 
23. Domino's Pizza 达美乐比萨 
24. Papa John's 棒约翰比萨 
25. Turkish Feast 西庭·秀色 
26. EATALIA 意塔利意式餐厅 
27. TIAGO 
28. Yummy Box 美盒披萨 
29. Green Cow City Cafe 单太太绿牛咖啡 
30. Paddy O'Shea's 
31. Plan B 
32. The Rug 33. Saizeriya 萨莉亚意式餐厅 
34. The Cheesecake Factory 芝乐坊 
35. Lily's American Diner 
36. Mao Mao Chong 毛毛虫酒吧 
37. MIAM MIAM 咪吖咪吖·福楼 
38. Big Pizza 比格比萨 
39. Laker's 湖人餐吧 
40. Tavola Italian Dining 
41. Tribe Tribe有机餐厅 
42. Scott's Family Ristorante Italiano 意大利家庭料理 
43. Peiping Machine 北平机器 
44. Brotzeit Bier Bar & Restaurant 博璨德国啤酒餐厅 
45. MIO, Four Seasons Hotel 
46. LMPLUS 
47. BUONA BOCCA Italian Bistro 
48. Assaggi 尝试意大利餐厅 
49. Mr. Pizza 米斯特披萨 
50. Get Pizza 披萨工廠 
51. Eudora Station 亿多瑞站 
52. Via Roma, Kempinski Hotel 花样罗马意大利餐厅 
53. Ponte Ponte意大利餐厅 
54. 1st Floor 壹楼餐吧 
55. La Cucina 后厨意餐 
56. Legend Beer 老牌酒廠 
57. Jazz-Ya 爵士屋 
58. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房 
59. NBeer Pub 牛啤堂 
60. Pizza Fuoco 岩火比萨 
61. Groovy Schillers 大明餐厅 
62. Peter Pan Peter Pan意大利餐厅 
63. The Veggie Table 吃素的西餐 
64. Bacchus Bistro 酒神食馆 
65. Cafe Ruhe 如何餐厅 
66. Agrilandia 意大利农场餐厅 
67. Nine Road Pizzeria 速度披萨 
68. QS 
69. Alpha Omega Club 甲丁坊.新德餐吧 
70. Pizza Now 披萨到 
71. Pi Italian Wine & Restaurant 意派·酒肆 
72. Nasca Cafe 
73. Joe's Bar & Kitchen 后厨餐吧 
74. Passby Bar 过客 
75. La Mezzaluna 伴月意大利餐厅 
76. Flypizza & Hoodadak Chicken 
77. Lenbach 兰巴赫西餐·啤酒坊 
78. Pinvita 大品大爱 
79. Tomcado 花厨 
80. Bene 
81. Casalingo 
82. Pomona 波莫娜 
83. Byone 百万庄园 
84. Dongli Brewery Restaruant 东里手工啤酒·精酿餐厅 
85. CHAPTER，北京康莱德酒店 
86. FestinTable 佩斯汀西餐 
87. Ummm Classic 最意·经典 
88. Happy Bites I派.纽约手工披萨 
89. Casa Gusto 
90. Jushi Pizza 巨时比萨 
91. Olive Restaurant and Bar 橄榄餐吧 
92. Sesto Senso 食巳意大利菜 
93. Hisewel Brew-pub 海森威精酿啤酒餐吧 
94. Atta BJ 
95. CUP ONE 
96. Lonely Us 一人食·融合餐 
97. PBD Pizza Bar 
98. BLT BLT美式西餐厅 

Images: Uni You