James Hoffmann is the winner of the 2025 Sprudge Final Espresso Bracket Problem. A World Barista Champion and co-founder of Sq. Mile Espresso, Hoffmann is maybe finest identified right here in 2025 as a content material creator (or at the very least that’s most likely how his 2.3 tens of millions subscribers on YouTube and 700K extra on Instagram would possibly know him). He’s an influencer, in trendy parlance, and the most well-liked one, because the Semi-Closing spherical of Bracketsprology confirmed us, the place he beat Morgan Eckroth by a 3:1 margin. It was a route.

And what we are able to now affirm one different reality from the end result of this yr’s event: James Hoffmann is extra common than espresso itself.

But it surely was a detailed one. Within the closing matchup, towards the espresso drinks bracket champion, the V60, Hoffmann gained by the slimmest of margins. Simply 50 votes separated the 2. This was the second closest contest in Bracketsprology historical past, behind solely the Spherical One bout this yr, the place Iced Americano finest Mocha by simply eight votes. (I’m nonetheless not over how soiled y’all did Mocha. Disgrace!)

 

Now, like Dr. Frankenstein, we should reckon with the monster of our personal creation.  There are quite a lot of methods to interpret the win. There are some who thought the complete conceit of the Finals was completely cringe, pitting a human versus a drink in a recognition contest. To which I’d say, please, sit back. They’re influencers who selected to place themselves within the public eye and whose whole livelihood is actually a recognition contest. I feel they’ll be nice.

However assuming you don’t hate enjoyable, you most likely picked a aspect and also you noticed this one among two methods. You noticed this, like Wrecking Ball’s Trish Rothgeb did, as a battle of human versus inanimate object. Of Man versus Machine, the complete conceit round which whole American folklore legends have been constructed. Or, you noticed this as a battle between a factor in the true world versus its on-line simulacrum. As espresso versus espresso influencer and all of the brainrotted ethical decay implied therein. All of this to say, it doesn’t matter which aspect you had been on, the stakes couldn’t have been greater.

And Hoffmann beat their brains out. I’ll go away it as much as you to preach on who foolish or profound or profoundly foolish all of it is.

That’s a wrap on the 2025 Sprudge Final Espresso Bracket Problem. Thanks for tuning in and being a part of the half-million votes we acquired over the 2 weeks. We’ll be again subsequent March for extra thrilling espresso matchups, extra gorgeous upsets, extra Bracketsprology.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Community and a employees author based mostly in Dallas. Learn extra Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.