After an intense day yesterday for the 14 competitors (pictured above) being put through their paces in the Semi-final, just after 9am this morning the three who would be participating in the Final were announced.

To rapturous applause from a packed audience estimated at almost one hundred members and their guests, all the competitors paraded into Galleria, the exhibition hall of the Skansen Hotel Båstad.

Head Judge Officier Maître Sommelier Yohann Jousselin then announced that Australia’s Charlie Richards, Canada’s Junxing (James) Li and John Fuller from the USA were to compete for the Winner, Runner up and Third Place spots.

And now, after a morning during which the three of them were questioned and tasked by the judges, we await the Awards Presentation in about three hours’ time to find out which of Charlie, Junxing and John will be crowned the Chaîne’s Best Young Sommelier for 2026.

Andrew Jarrowson
Chaîne News Online Co-ordinator

For info the 14 competitors this year are:
• Australia - Charlie Richards
• Belgium - Colin Lurot
• Canada - Li Junxing (James)
• Finland - Leila Karhunen
• Germany - Tom Zink
• Great Britain - Kamila Błaszczyk
• Korea - Dahee Kang
• Malaysia - Thong Way Chern
• Mexico - Pablo Gutierrez Lezama
• Norway - Robin Winje
• Portugal - Tiago Franco
• Sweden - Isak Kristian Lauridsen
• Türkiye - Merve Biçak
• USA - John Fuller