Though La Pizza is the underdog in this year's competition, having never held high the gilded pizza trophy, they similarly have faired very well in previous cups, placing fifth, ninth, fifth, and seventh in 2014-2017, respectively. In this year's competition, the Gung Ho crew has had to fight off a number of strong competitors, including Pizza Saporita, last year's winners Pie Squared, and 2016's champs Bottega in the Final Four, proving that year-to-year it's still anyone's game.

A strong marketing campaign and some brilliantly thought out games at this year's Pizza Festival undoubtedly put the New Zealand-hailing restaurant in the minds of this year's voters. Additionally, they placed third in 2016 and fifth last year, dropping a couple of places but still leaving close to 100 venues trailing in their wake. Now eight years old, Gung Ho has proved a formidable foe in every single one of our Pizza Cups, showings that have culminated in their winning of the crown in 2014 and 2015. Following just over six weeks of intense, lip-lickingly delicious competition, the two venues to duke it out in this year's Championship Round of the 2018 Pizza Cup stand before us, proud, defiant, and slightly burnt around the edges: Gung Ho and La Pizza.

Tower of pizza in key largo