This year's cohort spans Edinburgh to Birmingham, Liverpool to London, representing hotel institutions, internationally acclaimed destination bars and independent venues. 

From thousands of entries, the selected ten bartenders will now compete for the chance to represent Great Britain at the World Class Global Finals in Scotland.

The World Class GB final will take place from 1-3 June 2026, hosted at The Ned, London. 

Over three days, the ten finalists will face a series of challenges designed to test their bartending skill including technical precision, menu development, performance under pressure and depth of knowledge. 

The winner will be announced on the final day on 3 June and will go on to represent Great Britain at the Diageo World Class global finals, competing against national champions from across the world for the title of World Class Bartender of the Year.

Diageo World Class GB 2026 top ten finalists:

• Alex Goacher, head bartender at Sister Ray Liverpool
• Carrie Smith, bartender at Hawksmoor Edinburgh
• Chelsie Bailey, drinks development lead at Stonegate
• David Alexander Riera, bartender at The Rivoli Bar, The Ritz London
• Laurie Howells, bartender at Archive & Myth
• Luke O'Toole, bartender at Lyaness
• Matt Arnold, co-founder of Passing Fancies
• Oscar Perry, general manager at Murder Inc.
• Rory Sorrell, bartender at The Royal Cocktail Exchange and founder of Dead Good Drinks Ltd
• Yen-Cheng Chen, bartender at Tayēr + Elementary