Two days down, only two to go. We’re halfway through the 2022 World Barista Championship in Melbourne, Australia, and it has already been a wild ride. Nearly 50 competitors gave it their best shot on Tuesday and Wednesday for Round One at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo, hoping to make it to the Semi-Finals taking place tomorrow. But unfortunately not all will be able to be carried over into the next round, and alas, after the dust has settled, only 16 will be moving on.

There are more than a few familiar names who will be giving their routine a second run-through here in 2022, but it’s not all vets; there are a handful of fresh faces striking their way into the Semis on their first go at the World level of competition. And the stakes will only be raised even higher from here on out, the margins even thinner. One technical point here or there could be the difference between going on to the Finals or watching them from the stands. But all that will get sorted out tomorrow. For now, here are the 16 competitors who made it to the Semi-Final round of the 2022 World Barista Championship.

Claire Wallace, United Kingdom
Rui Pedrosa, Portugal
Matteo Pavoni, Italy
Nikos Antzaras, Greece
Benjamin Put, Canada
Takayuki Ishitani, Japan
Boram Um, Brazil
Abdullah Almasan, Saudi Arabia
Junior Vargas Otero, Austria
Michaela Ruazol-Recera, United Arab Emirates
Morgan Eckroth, United States
Jasper de Waal, The Netherlands
Keith Koay, Malaysia
Anthony Douglas, Australia
Kévin David, France
Patrik Rolf, Sweden

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Schedule for the 2022 World Barista Championship Semi-Finals can be found here.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

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