Last Grand Slam of the Year: Las Vegas Flair Bartending World Championship
For the third time, Rodrigo Delpech and Vahe Manoukian, together with HYPER X Arena, organized one of the biggest flair bartending competitions in the world!
Why is it so special? Well — the total prize money reached $25,000, the stage was absolutely incredible, the arena was purpose-built for competition, and of course, it all took place in Las Vegas!
Once again, this competition was part of the WFA Grand Slam, and as the final event of the year, there was a lot at stake.
This year, the organizers added something fresh for both competitors and spectators — updated rules, a fantastic livestream with interviews so the crowd could get closer to each competitor, and a brand-new feature after the final performances: the BAM (Big Ass Move) battle. Instead of waiting for results, the audience got to enjoy a knockout-style bracket showdown packed with — you guessed it — many, many, many big moves!
The competition took place over two days:
- Day 1 – Qualifications: 32 competitors from all over the world battled for a spot in the finals.
- Day 2 – Finals: the Top 10 bartenders plus the Top 3 highest-scoring women shared the stage to compete for $25,000 in prize money, the Las Vegas World Champion title, the BAM Champion title, and the final Grand Slam points of the season.
We witnessed incredible performances and saw some new faces on stage — and we knew right away the judges wouldn’t have an easy job!
Special mention goes to Juliana Buda and Luana Cerami, who qualified for the finals from 8th and 9th place, and Adri De Lucia, who made it from 14th. It was clear we were in for an exciting final.
Everyone went all in, and the results didn’t disappoint. Pietro Puccio with 6th place taking another WFA Purple Level, while Juliana Buda and Chen Wu Liang achieved the Purple Level for the very first time — congratulations to all!
A huge congratulations to Juliana Buda for her outstanding performance, finishing 5th overall, taking the Female Champion 2025 title, and becoming the highest-ranked woman in the world on the WFA Grand Slam Leaderboard for 2025.
The Black Level was achieved for the first time by Pietro Fumarola, who placed 3rd after an incredible round — earning his first black shaker and valuable leaderboard points.
The top two spots came down to two flair veterans: Roman Zapata and Michael Moreni (last year’s champion). Both delivered fantastic routines with new moves, but the 2025 Las Vegas Champion title ultimately went to Roman Zapata!
Interestingly, the same duo faced off again in the BAM battle final. This time, Michael Moreni took the win after landing an insane six-bottle move — one of the bottles even landing on his foot! It gave everyone goosebumps and earned him the BAM Champion 2025 title!
With the results from this amazing event, we now know the World Final Rankings for 2026:
- WFA Grand Slam World Champion 2025 – Michael Moreni, who successfully defended his title and earned his second consecutive WFA Gold Level.
- Silver Level – Roman Zapata, for the third year in a row.
- Bronze Level – Deniss Trifanovs, achieving his fourth consecutive Bronze
- We also have some exciting new names in the Top 10 for next year — and we can’t wait to see what 2026 brings!
- Once again, congratulations and thanks to all competitors, spectators, organizers, sponsors, and everyone involved in Grand Slam 2025
- Full leaderboard: https://worldflairassociation.com/wfa/competitions/leaderboards/
Bonus: Interviews
We asked the top finishers from the Las Vegas Flair Bartending World Championship — including the overall winner, second and third place, and the Best Female — a few questions about their experience, preparation, and what their results meant to them personally. Here’s what they had to share:
Juliana Buda – Best Female & 5th Place ( WFA Purple level )
1.What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?
The hardest part of the competition was that during my routine, I had five drops within just thirty seconds… 🙁 I don’t even know what happened to me there. But I managed to handle it mentally, pulled myself together, and gave everything I had to come back strong and stay completely focused for the rest of the performance. That’s why I felt so happy when I finished. I was really proud that I didn’t give up and kept fighting until the very end.- How long did you prepare for this competition?
My last competition was in August, so I had quite a lot of time to prepare for this one. With my family, two kids, and work, I can usually practice for just one, at most two, hours a day. - What does winning Best Female and achieving 5th place with WFA Purple Level mean to you personally?
It was my first time competing in the U.S. This year, my biggest dream was to win this competition. Finishing fifth was almost unbelievable. It’s hard to put into words just how happy I was when I came home from this amazing competition, and the purple tin was just the cherry on top 🙂 We’re lucky to be able to take part in such amazing competitions and have these incredible experiences.
Pietro Fumarola – 3rd Place ( WFA Black level )
- What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?
The most challenging part for me was staying calm before my round. I felt a lot of pressure from the crowd and from the stage, but everything was amazing. - How long did you prepare for this competition?
I only found out about the competition two months before, and from that day, I started thinking about what I could bring to that stage. - What does placing 3rd in this competition mean to you personally?
It was something insane for me! Everyone saw my face when they announced 4th place, and it was unbelievable. Sharing the podium with Roman and Michael was an honor, especially in a Grand Slam competition. For me, it was truly a dream.
Roman Zapata – Winner
- What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?
The most challenging part of the competition, as always, was myself. In this one in particular, I went on stage focused only on doing my best and landing every move precisely, without letting any external factor interfere with my goal.
Another challenging aspect of competing overseas, especially in Vegas, was adapting as quickly as possible to the environment — the dry weather and the extreme temperature changes throughout the day. But this time, I managed not to get sick like the year before. In 2024, I performed on the same stage with a 39°C fever due to the air conditioning and jet lag.
- How long did you prepare for this competition?
I had been preparing for the entire month, but the last week was really hard due to the loss of my cat, who passed away one day before my flight. I almost canceled the trip. - What does winning this competition mean to you personally?
This achievement means a lot to me — winning another world champion title and performing on the grandest competition stage today, organized and judged by some of the biggest legends in flair bartending, such as Christian and Rodrigo Delpech, Dario Doimo, and Vache and Vahe. Seeing them amazed is truly priceless.
Michael Moreni – 2nd Place
- What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?
The most challenging part was definitely landing my new 6-bottle move by catching the last one on my right foot. I wanted to completely restructure my routine by adding that move, so I decided to start with something everyone expected me to save for the end — the Unicorn 🦄.
But I decided not to hold back, so I threw the hardest version of the Unicorn 🦄 I have right now — right at the beginning of my routine.
I can say I used the Unicorn 🦄 as a kind of hook 🪝 — something to catch everyone’s attention and keep their eyes on me until the last second, when I would reveal my new 6-bottle move.
Deciding to go this way made it very difficult to control my emotions: first, because I landed that Unicorn upgrade only 4 or 5 times during competitions this year, and every time I hit it, the adrenaline rush was insane. Doing it at the beginning of the routine instead of the end made it even harder.
Another challenge was knowing that I had my new biggest move waiting at the end (something I had never shown on stage before), which made it a real mental game throughout the whole round, especially because everyone was expecting me to do the Unicorn on the bar top again, like in Poland at the Food Town Flair Challenge.
A third challenge, not less important, was the new scoring system this year, which included deductions. But I didn’t want to change my routine — I had decided before the rules came out that I would give 100% and include my hardest moves:
- Mickey Mouse Upside Down (the biggest move during Zante Flair Open)
- The 7T1B (my biggest move at Roadhouse Grand Final 2019)
- The hardest version of the Unicorn with the lampshade behind the back
- And of course the new 6-bottle foot move 🦶🏻❌📈
Preparing this routine really pushed me to my limits. The practice sessions were really intense, which led to a few injuries during the year: an arm tendinitis (from April, just before the Legends World Flair Competition in Albufeira, Portugal 🇵🇹, until the end of August at the Dyynit Flair Derby in Kalajoki, Finland 🇫🇮) and an inguinal hernia just one week before the Vegas competition.
But honestly, the hardest challenge came after my round. I was on a phone call with Ilaria — she knew how hard I had worked for that move, and she couldn’t stop crying because I didn’t land it. She just wanted to make me feel better, but she couldn’t find any way, especially because she wasn’t even there with me.
I tried to pretend it was all good, and I told her: “Keep your eyes on the screen — I’m about to land that s**t in the Bad Ass Move.”
And then the magic happened on my last attempt — once again, it was: E❌TREME, NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
After I landed it, Ilaria sent me a really beautiful message saying: “You didn’t land them during your round because the 6 bottles needed their own space — they took off the bar station so everyone could enjoy them at 100%.”
- How long did you prepare for this competition?
I prepared a lot for this one. The main goal was to perform this routine for the Grand Final, but since this year there wasn’t an official Grand Final, I decided to give my 100% in one of the most important competitions out there — the Las Vegas World Flair Championship.
As I mentioned before, the preparation was a real rollercoaster — injuries first, then all the amazing competitions around the world — but I enjoyed every single moment. I don’t regret anything.
- What does 2nd place mean to you personally after winning it last year?
Winning 🏆 the Las Vegas World Flair Championship 2024 last year was like dreaming with my eyes open. Winning a competition in front of the legends I grew up watching was a feeling I can’t even describe with words.
Of course, I would have loved to win again this year, but after all the work I’ve done throughout the year, I wanted to win it my way. So I decided to go all the way in — or, since it was Vegas, let’s say ALL IN 🎲. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
I don’t feel like I lost anything — at the end of the day, I truly believe we are all winners. Just stepping on stage and performing what we love in front of hundreds or thousands of people around the world is already a blessing.
When I finally landed the Biggest Move, the feeling inside me was what truly makes me feel alive — that’s why I flair, and that’s what I’m always chasing.
I’m also super happy that my brother Roman Zapata took the title this time. I saw his round — he was on fire 🔥. I’m really happy for him. I respect him so much, and he deserves it 100%.
What a year!
Get ready for the next one ?