The Sceney London Pub World Cup 2025

Welcome to the very first edition of the Sceney London Pub World Cup – a tournament dedicated to the capital’s national sport: ‘Having opinions about where to drink fizzy Spanish lagers at £9 a pop that are actually brewed in Burton-on-Trent.’ Before we dive in, a word on methodology and ethics, lest anyone call me “West Kensington’s Sepp Blatter” again. The initial list of 32 public houses was drawn up by representatives from the PAWLBMC (Pub Association of West London but Mostly Chelsea); from the GDNELWDBI (Guinness Drinkers of North East London or Wherever De Beauvoir is); and one from Surrey, which does feel a shame. The criteria was simply that each entrant should be a pub of renown with an outsized brand cachet that stretched beyond its humble premises.

Pubs were unseeded, this being the inaugural tournament, and placed into a random bracket generator that was free online because that’s modern publishing for you. They were then put on the editor's Instagram Stories to be voted for by followers in a series of head-to-head bouts. Participants had 24 hours to vote for their favourite pubs and the contest progressed accordingly. The tournament has not been without its controversies or upsets. The organisers would like to remind critics that they “do not make the rules”, except for the fact that, in this very particular case, they do. Binary choices are never easy, and we hope that participants agree that it is “the taking part” that “counts”. As one armchair pundit put it: “I hope you don’t end up with egg on your face like Cameron post-Brexit.” Gratifyingly, aside from a little Scotch egg action here and there, our faces remain relatively un-Cameroned.