We would like to offer more details about the semi-final round of this year’s World Barista Championship, in which the competitor from Ireland, Ian Kissick, was not initially announced as a semi-finalist.
Following a comprehensive review by scorekeepers, staff, judge operation leads, and the Competition Strategic Committee, it was determined that Ian’s Round One scores put him in the Top 15 and qualified him for the Semi-Finals.
His name was omitted in the announcements, due to a technical error. Once discovered, Ian was given an opportunity to perform his competition routine for semi-finals.
After the individual and team ranking calculations were reviewed, it was discovered that the competitor who advanced to the semi-finals as part of the Top 15 instead of Ian, would have advanced to the semi-finals round as the wild card slot winner. This means that the semi-finals round consisted of the Top 15 competitors and two, instead of one, wild card slots.
Ian performed his semi-finals routine on Saturday, May 4th, before the final round. Ian’s scores from his semi-finals put him in the Top six competitors, which meant that he had earned a spot in the finals. He was added to the Finals Day roster, and is scheduled to compete after the sixth competitor of the day.
No competitors were removed from the finals Round, despite Ian’s inclusion. The SCA, Judge Operation Leads, and Competition Strategic Committee believe that this decision best supports competitors for this particular scenario. The resolution to support all seven competitors is the best way to embody our values in this difficult situation. All of the finalists are remarkable representatives for specialty coffee, and we wish all competitors the best of luck today in their performances.
