How has it already been a year since our last Pizza Madness Tournament?

After doubling the field last year to 128, and the championship victory by Rosati’s, we go into Year 4 of Chicago Pizza Madness with another new twist! We have moved the local chains into their own 32-competitor division, and will allow 128 “Mom & Pop” pizza places to duke it out in their own bracket-style tournament. Listen to our Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast preview with Kevin Powell and Michael Piff for more info.

The 2026 edition of Chicago Pizza Madness starts Tuesday, March 3rd at 10 AM. Champions will be crowned on Thursday, March 26th, after the final polls close at 10 AM. Sponsored by Chicago Brick Oven – the finest U.S. made pizza ovens for your backyard.

Congrats to Bartolini’s of Midlothian for winning our Mom and Pops Championship, and Rosati’s for winning our Local Chains Championship! We also appreciate Uncle Jerry’s and Antioch Pizza Shop, and the communities that support them, for all of their work, energy and enthusiasm to make the runs that they did in our 2026 Tournament.

Below is the full “Mom and Pops” bracket, which you can view closer by clicking on the graphic:

The Local Chains Division Voting will take place entirely in the link below, starting March 3rd at 10 AM. [UPDATE] The Local Chains Division Championship between Antioch Pizza Shop and Rosati’s goes until Thursday, March 26th at 10 AM.

Throughout the tournament, TUNE IN to WGN Radio 720 AM for round-by-round score updates or stream on wgnradio.com. After each round, we will post the results of each matchup here.

Uncle Jerry’s over Pequod’s with 64% of the vote

Bartolini’s over Wooden Paddle with 59% of the vote

Uncle Jerry’s (Cary) over Nick’s (Crystal Lake) with 67% of the vote

Pequod’s (Lincoln Park) over Pat’s (Lincoln Park) with 51% of the vote

Wooden Paddle (Lemont) over Dan’s (Downers Grove) with 63% of the vote

Bartolini’s (Midlothian) over Fox’s (Orland Park) with 85% of the vote

Antioch Pizza Shop over Pizzeria Uno with 73% of the vote

Rosati’s over Lou Malnati’s with 74% of the vote

Uncle Jerry’s over Emil’s with 68% of the vote

Nick’s over Bill’s with 50.1% of the vote

Pequod’s over Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder Company with 62% of the vote

Pat’s over Zaza’s with 69% of the vote

Dan’s over Nonnie’s with 65% of the vote

Wooden Paddle over Mamma Maria’s with 68% of the vote

Bartolini’s over Village Pizza with 62% of the vote

Fox’s over Palermo’s of 63rd with 62% of the vote

Pizzeria Uno over Nancy’s with 50.2% of the vote

Antioch Pizza Shop over Aurelio’s with 64% of the vote

Rosati’s over Gino’s East with 80% of the vote

Lou Malnati’s over Giordano’s with 60% of the vote

Uncle Jerry’s over JJ Twigs with 79% of the vote

Emil’s over Chicago Pizza Authority with 57% of the vote

Nick’s over Georgio’s with 53% of the vote

Bill’s over Mug’s with 62% of the vote

Pequod’s over Coalfire with 72% of the vote

Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder over D’Amato’s with 56% of the vote

Zaza’s over Art of Pizza with 54% of the vote

Pat’s over Pizz’Amici with 55% of the vote

Nonnie’s over Kim’s Uncle with 53% of the vote

Dan’s over Barone’s with 63% of the vote

Wooden Paddle over Papa’s Place with 59% of the vote

Mamma Maria’s over Positano’s with 53% of the vote

Bartolini’s over Vito & Nick’s with 62% of the vote

Village Pizza over Phil’s with 62% of the vote

Fox’s over Palermo’s on 95th with 51% of the vote

Palermo’s of 63rd over Angie’s with 51% of the vote

Uno’s over Barraco’s with 69% of the vote

Nancy’s over Salerno’s with 53% of the vote

Antioch Pizza Shop over Pizano’s with 54% of the vote

Aurelio’s over Moretti’s with 59% of the vote

Rosati’s over Tortorice’s with 91% of the vote

Gino’s East over D’Agostino’s with 66% of the vote

Giordano’s over Home Run Inn with 57% of the vote

Lou Malnati’s over Paisan’s with 79% of the vote

Uncle Jerry’s over Italian Pizza Kitchen with 83% of the vote

JJ Twigs over Buddyz with 52% of the vote

Emil’s over Burt’s Place with 57% of the vote

Chicago Pizza Authority over Tievoli with 64% of the vote

Georgio’s over Silo with with 71% of the vote

Nick’s over Barnaby’s with 56% of the vote

Mug’s over George’s with 57% of the vote

Bill’s over White Cottage with 72% of the vote

Pequod’s over Professor Pizza with 68% of the vote

Coalfire over Pompei with 54% of the vote

Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder over Robert’s with 65% of the vote

D’Amato’s over Paulie Gee’s with 67% of the vote

Zaza’s over Spacca Napoli with 60% of the vote

Art of Pizza over Piece with 51% of the vote

Pat’s over Labriola with 64% of the vote

Pizz’Amici over Zarella with 73% of the vote

Kim’s Uncle over Little Italian with 53% of the vote

Nonnie’s over Fast Eddy’s with 73% of the vote

Dan’s over Amato’s with with 66% of the vote

Barone’s over Angelo’s with 50.5% of the vote

Papa’s Place over Capri Pizza with 69% of the vote

Wooden Paddle over Armand’s with 61% of the vote

Positano’s over Pizza Napoli with 52% of the vote

Mamma Maria’s over Rosario’s with 50.6% of the vote

Vito & Nick’s over Danny’s Place with 85% of the vote

Bartolini’s over Fat Ricky’s with 78% of the vote

Village Pizza over Joe’s Italian Villa with 60% of the vote

Phil’s over Connie’s with 56% of the vote

Palermo’s on 95th over Mid Villa with 76% of the vote

Fox’s over Ed & Joe’s with 54% of the vote

Angie’s over Chicago Dough Company with 66% of the vote

Palermo’s of 63rd over Rico’s with 76% of the vote

Pizzeria Uno over Papa Saverio’s with 63% of the vote

Barraco’s over Dimo’s with 66% of the vote

Salerno’s over Slyce with 74% of the vote

Nancy’s over Little Pops with 74% of the vote

Antioch Pizza Shop over Maciano’s with 56% of the vote

Pizano’s over Riverside Pizza and Pub with 63% of the vote

Moretti’s over Beggars with 62% of the vote

Aurelio’s over Gia Mia with 75% of the vote

Rosati’s over Taylor Street with 89% of the vote

Tortorice’s over Italian Fiesta with 59% of the vote

Gino’s East over Bob’s Pizza with 77% of the vote

D’Agostino’s over Jimano’s with 69% of the vote

Home Run Inn over Parlor with 73% of the vote

Giordano’s over Bacci with 78% of the vote

Paisan’s over Falco’s with 65% of the vote

Lou Malnati’s over Billy Bricks with 81% of the vote

Uncle Jerry’s over Tammy’s with 84% of the vote

Italian Pizza Kitchen over Little Joey’s with 53% of the vote

Buddyz over Joe’s with 56% of the vote

JJ Twigs over Nonna Silvia’s with 66% of the vote

Burts Place over Pizzeria DeVille with 53% of the vote

Emil’s over Kaiser’s with 65% of the vote

Tievoli over Hitz with 59% of the vote

Chicago Pizza Authority over Quonset with 70% of the vote

Georgio’s over Buffo’s with 80% of the vote

Silo over Trattoria Poretta with 51% of the vote

Barnaby’s over Nino’s with 68% of the vote

Nick’s over Frato’s with 85% of the vote

George’s over Joanie’s with 59% of the vote

Mug’s over Wayne’s with 50.1% of the vote

White Cottage over Geo’s with 54% of the vote

Bill’s over Station 34 with 71% of the vote

Pequod’s over Ranalli’s with 81% of the vote

Professor Pizza over Flo & Santo with 53% of the vote

Coalfire over Pizza Lobo with 55% of the vote

Pompei over Michael’s with 61% of the vote

Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinder over Peanut Park with 72% of the vote

Robert’s over Exchequer with 76% of the vote

Paulie Gee’s over JB Alberto’s with 68% of the vote

D’Amato’s over Milly’s with 69% of the vote

Spacca Napoli over Bellona’s with 50.1% of the vote

Zaza’s over Bartoli’s with 61% of the vote

Art of Pizza over Jimmy’s with 63% of the vote

Piece over Pizzeria Portofino with 55% of the vote

Labriola over Candlelite with 71% of the vote

Pat’s over Novel Pizza with 81% of the vote

Zarella over Roots by 50.1% of the vote

Pizz’Amici over Forno Rosso with 69% of the vote

Kim’s Uncle over Dough with 67% of the vote

Little Italian over Mattone with 70% of the vote

Nonnie’s over Pie Life with 79% of the vote

Fast Eddy’s over Nemec Bros. with 62% of the vote

Dan’s over Pyramid with 89% of the vote

Amato’s over Giardino Trattoria with 63% of the vote

Angelo’s over V&V Paesano with 80% of the vote

Barone’s over Bertoli’s with 59% of the vote

Papa’s Place over Al’s with 54% of the vote

Capri Pizza over Euro Crepes & Pizza with 84% of the vote

Wooden Paddle over Brasi’s with 63% of the vote

Armand’s over Nonno Carm’s with 65% of the vote

Pizza Napoli over Dominick’s with 65% of the vote

Positano’s over Gulliver’s with 51% of the vote

Mamma Maria’s over Freedom Bros. with 72% of the vote

Rosario’s over Gianorio’s with 64% of the vote

Vito & Nick’s over Fasano’s with 82% of the vote

Danny’s Place over Punky’s with 75% of the vote

Fat Ricky’s over Milano’s with 60% of the vote

Bartolini’s over Villa Nova with 83% of the vote

Joe’s Italian Villa over Rosangela’s with 54% of the vote

Village Pizza over Pizza Nova with 81% of the vote

Phil’s over Louisa’s with 60% of the vote

Connie’s over Mama Vesuvio’s with 51% of the vote

Palermo’s 95th over Russo’s with 81% of the vote

Mid Villa over Route 66 Pizza with 60% of the vote

Ed & Joe’s over Chesdan’s with 77% of the vote

Fox’s over Jullianni’s with 78% of the vote

Chicago Dough Company over Cipriani with 55% of the vote

Angie’s over Pizza Castle with 80% of the vote

Rico’s over Pudgy’s with 63% of the vote

Palermo’s of 63rd over Old Chicago Pizza with 71% of the vote

As it was 4 years ago when we first launched our Chicago’s Very Own Eats food tournaments, the goal of Chicago Pizza Madness is to promote local businesses. While we encourage everyone to support and promote their favorite pizza places, we also highly recommend trying as many of this year’s participants as possible. A resource to help you find each pizza place will be made available soon.

Stay updated on tournament results and all things Chicago food by subscribing to Chicago’s Very Own Eats on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. All episodes are available on the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast page at WGNRadio.com.