Video Blog: Humble Bob Shoudt On His Krystal Square Off V Qualifier Win

Pro eater Humble Bob Shoudt was disappointed but not defeated after winning the Chattanooga Krystal Square Off V Qualifier.

As we mentioned yesterday, competitive eating pro “Humble” Bob Shoudt wasn’t exactly pleased with his 58-Krystals performance in Chattanooga yesterday at the first Qualifier for this year’s Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship. The mark was far off his best of 95 Krystals in eight minutes and was only seven Krystals better than the amount he gobbled when he set the two-minute world record last September.

So was it the buns sticking to the boxes? The Beijing-like, humidity and 90-plus degree heat? Or is this all part of Humble Bob’s master plan — to dog the qualifier, safely win it without threat of a reversal and come back on Sept. 28 to take down competitive eating’s biggest cash prize?

We caught up with Shoudt immediately afterwards to see what he had to say. Hear his thoughts in the video blog below:

For more coverage from yesterday’s Qualifier in Chattanooga, check out the below links:

- Humble Bob Wins Krystal Square Off V Chattanooga Qualifier - Krystal Square Off Blog

- Full video of Krystal Square Off V Chattanooga Qualifier - YouTube.com

- 58 Krystals Gets Shoudt in Finals - Chattanooga Times Free Press

- Krystal Square off V, Humble Bob Wins - WDEF-TV

- Live Twitter coverage from Chattanooga Qualifier - Twitter.com/ksquareoff

- Eatfeats.com coverage and comments from Chattanooga Qualifier - EatFeats.com

Thanks to all of those who have already signed up to follow the Krystal Square Off via our Twitter feed. We’ll continue to provide as-it-happens coverage from each event, and sorry for the occasional typos as we are texting messages via our phones. Remember if you want to reply to any “tweet”, simply type “@ksquareoff” and then your message. For more on Twitter, go here.

Humble Bob Wins First Qualifier, Earns Seat At Krystal Square Off V Finals - UPDATE

Humble Bob Shoudt meditates backstage prior to the start of today's Krystal Square Off V Qualifier in Chattanooga, where temperatures soared to over 90 degrees.

Humble Bob Shoudt said yesterday that it will take more than 120 Krystals in eight minutes to win this year’s Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship.

Today, in front of a large crowd on the Riverfront in Chattanooga, it only took 58 Krystals–less than half that amount–for the 40-year-old competitive eating pro to earn his seat at the final table this Sept. 28, where he’ll compete for the $50,000 total cash purse and attempt to dethrone Joey Chestnut as the King of the Krystal.

Despite earning him the win and berth in the final, Shoudt’s mark of 58 Krystals at the Chattanooga Qualifier today was no doubt disappointing. Shoudt, the number five ranked eater in the world, ate 95 Krystals at last year’s championship, and he wanted to set a big number early this year to give other eaters something to chew on over the next five weeks. And at the very least, he wanted to break Sonya Thomas‘ Chattanooga Qualifier record of 62 Krystals, which she set back at the 2006 event.

We spoke with Shoudt moments after finishing, and he didn’t hide his disappointment. “I feel like I am about to pass out, not from the food, just so lightheaded today,” said Shoudt, who confided that he hadn’t eaten anything over the past three days. “I’m so disappointed today. It’s the first time I didn’t improve my numbers with Krystal. I’m looking forward to coming back to finals.”

While Shoudt wasn’t pleased with his number today, the rest of the field seemed content finishing in the big man’s shadow, even if they did eat less than half his amount. Finishing in second was Larry “The Legend” McNeil, with 28 Krystals, and in third was young gun Rick Petralia, of New York, who ate 20 Krystals. Super Paul Barlow, dressed in Army camouflage as a tribute to a friend who has served three times in Iraq, finished in 5th place with 18 Krystals.

Here are the full results from today:

1. “Humble” Bob Shoudt - 58
2. Larry McNeil - 28
3. Rick Petralia - 20
4. Steve Spinosa - 19
5. Super Paul Barlow - 18
5. Brian Smith - 18
7. Michael Weber - 15
8. Rick Schumacher - 14
8. Mike Nafziger - 14
10. Ryan Gayden - 13
11. Larry Patterson - 10
11. Craig Cheatham - 10

The next qualifier for Krystal Square Off V takes place Labor Day, Sept. 1, in Jacksonville, Fla. on the Landing. Among the eaters already confirmed for the contest include Hall “Hoover” Hunt and The Hangman, and it looks like The Black Widow is in fact going to show up in J-ville to challenge the boys for a seat at the finals.

Stay tuned for more coverage from today’s event, including videos and photos, and for info on the remaining qualifiers, go here.

UPDATE: Video of today’s 8-minute Chattanooga Qualifier below.

Humble Bob Shoudt On Mission To Be King Of The Krystal

Humble Bob Shoudt is gunning to be number 1 at this year's Krystal Square Off World Championship.

To say competitive eating pro “Humble” Bob Shoudt wants to win the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship this year would be an understatement.

He wants it badly.

Shoudt, who already owns the two-minute Krystal eating world record of 39 Krystals, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press in an article published today: “I want the eight-minute record. It’s a big deal for me.”

Humble Bob Shoudt made a similar statement during our audio podcast interview with him, saying that he circled his calendar immediately after last year’s final, when he finished second to Joey Chestnut.

Shoudt will take the first step toward his goal of Krystal domination tomorrow when he competes in the first qualifier of the year along the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga at 3:00 pm EST. Stay tuned here for coverage from the event and sign up for our Twitter feed to get the results first.

KSOV Podcast: Interview with Humble Bob Shoudt

Competitive eater Humble Bob Shoudt is looking to cruise to victory this Saturday in Chattanooga.

When it comes to the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship, talk is cheap. The only thing that matters is who puts away the most Krystals by the time the clock strikes 8 minutes.

With that said, what competitive eaters have to say along the tour is often priceless, and for this reason alone, krystalsquareoff.com is introducing a regular series of audio podcasts featuring your favorite eaters talking trash, squashing (or starting) rumors and sharing their perspectives on anything and everything in the world of competitive eating.

Today, we’re getting things started with “Humble” Bob Shoudt, who will seek to earn a birth to this year’s final at the kick off qualifier this Saturday. During our interview, Shoudt proves less-than-humble about his chances to win it all this year and shares why he considers the Krystal Square Off “better than the Olympics.” He also let’s us know what we can expect from him Saturday (may not be the century mark, as we mentioned), whether he’s in it for the money and who he thinks will be joining him in the top three at this year’s championship.

Click below to listen to the audio interview.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Humble Bob Eyes Century Mark at Chatty Krystal Square Off Qualifier

Humble Bob looks to improve upon his previous mark of 95 Krystals at the kick off qualifer this Saturday.

We can confirm that “Humble” Bob Shoudt, the number-five ranked competitive eater in the world, will compete in the kick-off Krystal Square Off V qualifier this Saturday in Chattanooga.

And rumor is he’s planning to throw down the gauntlet with at least 100 Krystals in eight minutes.

Shoudt’s personal best is 95 Krystals in 8 minutes, which won him the bittersweet title of runner-up at last year’s World Hamburger Eating Championship after losing to Joey Chestnut’s world-record breaking 103 Krystals.

Shoudt is the clear favorite to win this first of seven regional qualifiers. He’ll go head-to-head against a total of 12 eaters, including SuperPaul Barlow (ranked 37th), Larry McNeil (ranked 38th) and five amateur hopefuls who will be selected on the spot.

While we know Shoudt is focused on winning Krystal Square Off V, which he recently proclaimed the “Super Bowl of competitive eating” and an event “bigger than the Olympics”, we’ll have to see if his eyes are bigger than his stomach when it comes to eating 100 Krystals or more.

We’re also a bit curious as to whether the ribs he devoured this past weekend in the Ash Creek Saloon contest to claim his first-ever victory over Chestnut will still be sticking to his bones, affecting his gurgitating greatness. Shoudt ate 6.8 lbs of ribs in 12 minutes to Chestnut’s 6.6 lbs.

Shoudt’s quest for the century mark and a coveted seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship final table will kick off at 3:00 p.m. on the Main Stage of the Southern Brewer’s Festival at the Chattanooga Riverfront.

We recommend arriving early to claim your ground in the front row if you want to witness this possible history in the making, or you can stay tuned here at krystalsquareoff.com, as we’ll post all the results.

Below is a complete list of eater’s set to compete in the Chattanooga Qualifier on Saturday:

“Humble” Bob Shoudt
Larry McNeil
Steve Spinosa
Rick Schumacher
Rick Petralia
SuperPaul Barlow
Mike Nafziger
Brian Smith
+ 5 amateurs chosen on the spot