The competition season simply refuses to slow down. After crowning new barista champions in both Canada and the United States over the last two weeks, the eyes of the coffee world turn now to Belgium, where over the weekend World of Coffee’s European leg took place in Brussels. And while the SCA’s premier trade show series was chockablock with booths and new tech, it was the coffee competitions that got things heated up.
Not one, not two, but three World Coffee Championships coincided with WoC Brussels. The World Brewers Cup, World Coffee in Good Spirits, and World Roasters Championship all took place over the weekend, and they all placed new champions. Each is a culmination of a year’s worth of effort by the competitors and represents the highest achievement in each respective discipline. These are career-defining moments, and we were lucky enough to get three of them.
And so without further ado, let’s find out who they are, shall we. Here are the winners and Finalists for the 2026 World Brewers Cup, World Coffee in Good Spirits, and World Roasters Championship.
World Brewers Cup
Champion: Nas Jaafar, Malaysia
Runner-Up: Simon Gautherin, Australia
Third: Bavis Kwong, Hong Kong
4th: Jackie Tran, Czech Republic
5th: Ethan Junseong Park, South Korea
6th: Angie Molina, France
World Coffee In Good Spirits
Champion: Andy Philein, China
Runner-Up: Sion Wu, Taiwan*
Third: Akira Zushi, Japan
4th: Serene Yu, Australia
5th: Dmitrii Shkliarov, Indonesia
6th: Ricky Chan, Hong Kong
World Roasters Championship
Champion: Benjamin Brassart, Belgium
Runner-Up: Li Zhong Xiang, China
Third: Thanasis Angelopoulos, Greece
4th: Ashton Huang, Taiwan*
5th: Andrea Trevisan, Austria
6th: Wang JianNing, China
Congratulations to all the winners and Finalists!
*Editor’s Note: World Coffee Championships now designate competitors from Taiwan as representing “Chinese Taipei.” Read more about the change here.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Photos via World Coffee Championships on Instagram
