Hall Hunt To Compete In Krystal Square Off Qualifier In Jacksonville

Jacksonville's hometown champion will compete once again in the Krystal Square Off to earn a seat next to reigning title holder, Joey Chestnut, in downtown Chattanooga on Sept. 27

No surprise here.

Hall “Hoover” Hunt, the seventh-ranked eater in the world and a Krystal Lover Hall of Fame member, will once again seek his spot at the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship by competing in the Jacksonville, Fla. Qualifier this Labor Day.

The Jacksonville native, who placed sixth at the final table of Krystal Square Off V with 63 Krystals in eight minutes, will seek to repeat as the hometown champion when the 8-minute qualifying event is held on Monday, Sept. 7 at the Jacksonville Landing. Hunt won last year’s Jacksonville Qualifier in convincing fashion with 60 Krystals in 8-minutes, out-chomping Sonya Thomas and eclipsing Joey Chestnut’s previous Jacksonville record of 52 Krystals set in 2006.

This year, Hunt may not have to contend with the likes of Sonya Thomas on his hometown turf but he will have to tackle both the famous Krystal Burger and the new Big Angus Burgers while adhering to the new “No Dunking” policy. His “academic” approach to eating and the new rules could give him the competitive advantage he needs to dominate his fellow eaters and push him into the Top 5 at the Krystal Square Off VI Championship.

Open registration for amateur contenders will begin at 1 p.m. at the Jacksonville Landing, where five hopefuls will be chosen “on-the-spot” to compete against Hunt in the eight-minute event and earn a seat at the finals next to the world’s number one ranked eater Joey Chestnut. The Jacksonville Qualifier will commence shortly after at 2 p.m.

For more information on the New Rules, watch the Krystal Square Off VI video here.

Full Results, Photos From Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier

As competitive eating fans look ahead to the Atlanta Krystal Square Off V Qualifier this Saturday, we have the full, official results from this past Monday’s qualifier in Jacksonville. As previously reported, Hall Hunt put up the biggest number of the day with 60 Krystals, earning himself a guaranteed spot at the finals on Sept. 28. In second was Sonya Thomas with 55 and far behind in third was local amateur Richard Guadagnolo who put away 15.

Here are the complete results:

1) Hall Hunt 60
2) Sonya Thomas 55
3) Richard Guadagnolo 15
4) Kenneth Musgrove 14
5T) Carl Vose 12
5T) The Hangman Bruce Pobanz 12
7) Andrew Zagoria 10
8T) Jeremy Kirch 9
8T) Zach Unger 9
10) Glen Owens 8
11T) Farrell Hoffman 5
11T) Kara Scremin 5

Also, we have just posted photos from the Jacksonville Qualifier including some excellent shots of the great fans who came out to cheer on their favorite eaters. Check them out on our photo page here.

Hall Hunt Wins, Shatters Joey Chestnut’s Jacksonville Krystal Square Off Record – UPDATE

The second of seven regional qualifiers for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship took place today in front of a boisterous crowd in a hot and sticky Jacksonville, Fla., and it was the hometown hero Hall Hunt, the eighth ranked eater in the world, who reigned supreme by devouring 60 of the fast food icon’s famous hamburgers in eight minutes. On his way to victory over a field that included the fiercely competitive Sonya Thomas, Hunt eclipsed the previous Jacksonville Qualifier record of 52 Krystals set in 2006 by Joey Chestnut, the world’s top ranked eating pro.

The win earns Hunt a spot at the FSN South-televised final table of Krystal Square Off V on Sept. 28, held in Krystal’s hometown of Chattanooga. There, Hunt will go up against defending champ and Krystal world record holder Joey Chestnut, three-time Krystal Square Off World Champion Takeru Kobayashi, the top finisher from each regional qualifier and three wild card entries. On the line will be a $50,000 cash purse, the largest in competitive eating history.

Hunt’s win over Thomas, who finished second today with 55 Krystals, brings The Black Widow’s impressive 12-0 lifetime qualifier streak to an end. Her mark today though could be good enough to earn her one of the coveted wild card spots at this year’s final table.

Finishing in third today was Rich Guadagnolo of Jacksonville with 15 Krystals. Guadagnolo was one of the five amateur eaters chosen on the spot to compete right before the contest began.

Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz, who rightly predicted he’d lose to Sonya Thomas, ate just 12 Krystals.

Stay tuned to the Krystal Square Off blog for complete results and photos from today’s Qualifier.

UPDATE: Below are photos of Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas from today’s Qualifier in Jacksonville. Click to enlarge. More photos to be added soon to the Krystal Square Off Flickr pages.

Hall Hunt In The Spotlight Ahead Of Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier

With the Jacksonville Krystal Square Off Qualifier just three days away, the local media is putting the spotlight on its hometown boy Hall Hunt, who is looking to repeat as the local champ and earn a seat at the finals on September 28. The 8th-ranked competitive eater in the world was just featured in Folio Weekly, the city’s alternative weekly, and he appeared on WJXT Channel 4 this morning where he put on a Krystal eating demonstration.

Hall also sat down with Jacksonville.com’s Amanda Warford at a local Krystal restaurant where the two chatted about his competitive eating career, and then he gave her a tutorial on the fine art of speed eating Krystals. Check out Amanda’s great interview with the always-a-class-act Hall below.

Competitive eating fans are sending us their predictions for this weekend via Twitter. Get in on the action here.

KSOV Podcast: Hall Hunt Dishes on Sonya Thomas, Krystal Square Off

After posting our audio podcast with Sonya Thomas this morning, we had the chance to chat with her main competition this Labor Day in Jacksonville, Hall “Hoover” Hunt. One of the sport’s rising young stars, Hall Hunt is currently ranked eighth in the world according to Major League Eating, and he’s focused on continuing his meteoric rise up the ranks with a strong performance at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.

In our phone interview, the Jacksonville-based eater talks about competing in Prague recently, what he loves about the sport of eating and what is next on the horizon for him. Hunt also shares his thoughts on training for the Krystal Square Off, going up against The Black Widow on Monday, how the weather may affect the contest and whether he thinks he has a “home table” advantage as he expects a huge contingent to come out and cheer for him down on the Landing in Jacksonville.

And like Sonya and Humble Bob Shoudt did during their podcasts, Hunt looks ahead to the finals and gives his prediction on the number of Krystals the champion will put down.

Check out our full interview with Hunt below and be sure to check out our podcast with Sonya here. Also, check out Hall’s blog here.

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