Sonya Thomas Says Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi To Surpass Century Mark, World Record

Sonya Thomas seen above competing at Krystal Square Off III. For the first time ever, she will not be competing in the Krystal Square Off finals.

While Sonya Thomas has sadly been sidelined from competing at the Krystal Square V World Hamburger Eating Championship, that hasn’t stopped her from chiming in with a prediction on Sunday’s big event, where the top competitive eaters from around the world will battle it out in Chattanooga for the top hamburger title and a $50,000 cash purse.

Just yesterday on her popular website, the Black Widow commented:

“I expect both Koby and Joey to eat over 100 Krystals in the Finals, and a new World Record to be established. It will truly be something to witness, almost to the point that some of the other participants will almost be inclined to put down their Krystals and stop eating, just to witness the drama between these two best eaters in the world. (Of course, given the money at stake, everyone will keep eating to the end, I’m sure.)”

Read her entire post here.

Thomas has never shied away from prognosticating on eating competitions, especially the Krystal Square Off. During our podcast interview with her earlier this month, the world’s No. 1 female eater predicted that the top number this year at Krystal Square Off V would be in the 105-110 range. Considering Joey Chestnut did 103 last year and Takeru Kobayashi is reportedly putting away 100 in under eight minutes during his practices this week, she may be spot on.

So who does she pick to win it all? Listen to our podcast interview with her.

Who’s your pick? Post a comment and let us know.

KSOV Podcast: The Sonya Thomas Interview

Sonya Thomas, seen above facing off with Takeru Kobayashi in 2006, is ready to take on the boys this year at Krystal Square Off V.

Every week during this year’s Krystal Square Off V tour, we’re interviewing the biggest names in competitive eating, and this week the spotlight is on Sonya Thomas and Hall Hunt as they prepare for the Jacksonville Qualifier this Labor Day. As we stated yesterday, the contest down in J-Ville looks to be a good one, with Hall competing on his home turf and constantly improving his numbers and Sonya looking to hush her critics who say she’s no longer a threat when it comes to Krystals.

We talked with Sonya via phone yesterday and asked her how she felt about this Monday’s event and whether she thinks Hall “Hoover” Hunt will challenge her. The Black Widow also shared with us who she’s picking to win it all at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship (it isn’t Joey Chestnut), what she thinks the top number will be (it isn’t as high as Humble Bob’s prediction), what she predicts for herself and what kind of pressure she’s putting on herself this year.

Finally, we asked Sonya some of the great questions our readers submitted via the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed and on this site.

Hear all Sonya Thomas had to say by listening to the audio podcast below, and stay tuned for our podcast with Hall Hunt later today.

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Tale Of The Tape: Sonya Thomas Vs. Hall Hunt

Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas will square off this Labor Day in Jacksonville for a seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.

While the Chattanooga Qualifier proved to be a cake walk for “Humble” Bob Shoudt, this Labor Day’s Krystal Square Off Qualifier in Jacksonville is shaping up to be a grudge match of epic proportions between two of competitive eating’s biggest stars: Sonya Thomas and Hall “Hoover” Hunt.

So who has the edge? Let’s break it down.

“The Black Widow” is one of the sport’s all-time greats, and on paper, she has the edge over Hoover in both experience and numbers. She’s one of a few eaters who has competed all four years of the Krystal Square Off and she has never lost a qualifier. Her personal best at Krystals is 62, which she did back in 2006. Her lowest tallies were 42 and 46, which she did at the 2004 Chattanooga Qualifier and 2004 finals, respectively. Since then she’s been over the 50 mark at every contest, averaging just above 53 Krystals lifetime. Most recently, she qualified for last year’s World Championship by downing 51 Krystals and went on to eat 58 at the finals.

As for Hall, he missed the first year of the Krystal Square Off, but he more than made up for that absence by competing in three qualifiers in 2005 alone, each time improving upon his performance, going from 24 to 26 to 30. Looking at the EatFeats database, Hall has competed in a total of six Krystal Square Off qualifiers in addition to his three final appearances over the past three years, so he actually has an edge over Thomas on the number of times he’s handled Krystals. That experience has helped him make considerable strides over the years. Last year he took down the Jacksonville Qualifier by wolfing down 49 Krystals and he went on to gobble up 51 at the finals to finish in 7th place.

In addition to steadily improving at every contest, another plus for Hall this Labor Day will be crowd support. He’s a Jacksonville local and the steady roar of “Hoover…Hoover…Hoover” from the audience may give him the extra edge needed to propel him to victory.

Finally, Hall lives in Krystal country with Jacksonville one of the fast food icon’s biggest markets, so he has plenty of opportunities to train. Thomas, on the other hand, is a few hundred miles away from the nearest Krystal, and as stated the other day, she hasn’t been practicing. So the first Krystal to her mouth since last year’s final will likely be the one she eats when the 8-minute clock starts on Monday.

So who do you think has the edge? And what numbers do you think these two eaters will put up?

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Sonya Thomas To Defend Her Qualifier Win Streak This Labor Day

Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas is looking to keep her perfect qualifier record alive this Labor Day in Jacksonville.

The world’s top female competitive eater Sonya Thomas has confirmed via her website that she will indeed compete this Labor Day at the Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier. The Black Widow has a 12-0 lifetime record in qualifier contests, according to EatFeats.com, and she will try to extend her streak as she faces off against local hero Hall “Hoover” Hunt and a host of other eaters, all who are gunning for one of the coveted spots at the World Championship in Chattanooga on Sept. 28.

Hunt is the defending Jacksonville champ, earning his birth in the final last year by eating 49 Krystals.

While Thomas admits she hasn’t been practicing for the Krystal contest, she says she’ll be ready:

“As for me, I was not able to attend Chatty this year, but as it turned out, I will be in Jacksonville next weekend.. I have no idea how many Krystals I will be able to eat, as I have not practiced, and typically do not practice. With me, what I do is what I do — take it or leave it. But I do hope not to disappoint BW fans.”

We’re sure she won’t. Thomas has proven herself more than tough in qualifier contests over her illustrious career. At the Chattanooga Qualifier for Krystal Square Off II, Thomas famously held off the now number-one ranked eater in the world, Joey Chestnut, out-Krystaling him 57 to 56. The next year she improved upon her best by chowing down 62 Krystals in eight minutes, a mark that still stands today as the Chattanooga Qualifier record.

We’ll be recording an audio podcast with Sonya and Hall Hunt this week so if you have any questions you’d like us to ask, shoot us an email at ksquareoff [at] gmail.com.

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Check out the great photos from last Saturday’s qualifier in Chattanooga on our photo page here.

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