Another year of the world’s greatest flair bartending competition is over, the Roadhouse Grand Finals 2019 were as great as they have ever been, with a packed out crowd and competitors flying in from all over the globe to take part all for a chance of fame and a huge £10,000 in prize money.
There were a couple of new additions this year to balance the playing field and ensure that all the flair bartenders are bartenders first, and flair bartenders second. This meant the introduction of two new qualification rounds, the speed pour round and accuracy pour round.
It was interesting to see the results of the qualification rounds, with some of the top-rated flair bartenders failing to make it to the finals. So it was all to play for, who came away with that number 1 spot and title of World Champion in both the solo and tandem competitions?
The Result
It was hyped up to be a big competition this year, the Roadhouse is where you are guaranteed to see the world’s best flair bartenders bring their A-game, this year was no different.
We had it all this year, from new bartenders breaking into the Top 6, one of the tightest results in the finals between the Top 3 we have had for a long time, and even an on-stage proposal! Congratulations to Naty and Sikky!
As the bottles stopped flying and the dust settled, we were left with our solo champion and it was FOR THE SECOND TIME the amazing Alexander Shtifanov (@alexandershtifanov). Congratulations to Shtifa, on an exceptional performance all round.
Congratulations are also in order for our previous champion Marek Posluszny (@marasboston) who took 2nd place and Michael Moreni (@michaelflaironepiece) who has had an incredible year, taking 3rd place in the World Finals and getting his first WFA Black Grade!
Congratulations also to Riky Bin (@rikybin) and Bryan Levato (@bryan), who showed that hard work pays off in the world of exhibition flair and were awarded their first-ever WFA Purple Grade.
A final huge congratulations to Bar Story Show, Ivan Usov and Olya Sabanina, who retained their Tandem Flair World Championship title. with a fantastic DC Comics-inspired performance.
