Amateurs Continue To Shake Up Krystal Square Off VI Wild Card Race

Amateur hopeful Erik Unger took second in Birmingham and is now tied for second in the KSO VI Wild Card Race.

The race is on, and it’s about to get interesting.

With five Krystal Square Off VI Qualifiers already completed and only two more to go, it is Erik “The Red” Denmark who currently holds the number one Wild Card spot with 55 Krystal Burger Points from his performance at the San Antonio Qualifier.

And with the release of the new tallies from this past weekend, there has already been a shift in second place.

While unranked amateur Jon Bello, who finished second at the Jacksonville Qualifier with 36 Krystal Burger Points, has been surpassed and is no longer a possible contender, another unknown eater has stepped up in his place. The unranked amateur, Erik Unger, surprised eating fans in Birmingham this past Saturday by amassing 42 Krystal Burger Points after putting away 17 Krystals and 5 Big Angus Burgers in eight minutes. The impressive feat by the amateur hopeful puts him in a dead-even tie for the second Wild Card spot with the 22nd-ranked eater in the world, Eric “Steakbellie” Livingston, who scored 42 at the Atlanta Qualifier on Saturday.

The tiebreaker typically goes to the second best Krystal Burger count held by the eaters in question. However, with some of the big names scheduled to compete at the Nashville and Knoxville Qualifiers this weekend, we predict that a tiebreaker for the second Wild Card spot won’t be needed; unless of course, it’s between a few of the eaters listed below who have not yet had the chance to compete.

NASHVILLE QUALIFIER – Sept. 19

• Crazy Legs Conti, New York, NY
• Bryan Beard, Aurora, CO
• Wild Bill Myers, Breinigsville, PA
• Buffalo Jim Reeves, Boston, NY
• Tim “Gravy Brown”, Chicago, IL

KNOXVILLE QUALIFIER – Sept. 20

• Tim “Eater X” Janus, New York, NY
• Crazy Legs Conti, New York, NY
• Russell Keeler, Kingston, PA
• Juliet “The Lovely” Lee, Germantown, MD
• “Nasty” Nathan Biller, Briarwood, NY

A pretty impressive line up, don’t you agree? Looks like Denmark will be watching our @ksquareoff tweets closely on Saturday as we give real time updates from the Nashville Qualifier. Depending on the final numbers put up from the eight-minute contest, Denmark might be jumping on a plane to compete in the Knoxville Qualifier on Sunday to ensure he keeps his number one Wild Card spot.

Like we said folks, the race is on. And with just one more weekend of qualifiers, it’s almost over.

Erik “The Red” Denmark Leads Krystal Square Off VI Wild Card Race

Erik "The Red" Denmark downed a total of 5 Big Angus Burgers and 30 Krystals at the San Antonio Qualifier to grab the current first place spot in the KSO VI Wild Card Race.

With the Chattanooga, San Antonio and Jacksonville Qualifiers already completed, the Krystal Square Off VI wild card race is in full force and getting even more intense with the two upcoming competitions this Saturday and Sunday in Birmingham and Atlanta.

Currently, Erik “The Red” Denmark, who won second place at the San Antonio Qualifier with a total of 55 Krystal Burger Points, leads the Wild Card contenders. The unranked amateur Jon Bello, who finished second at the Jacksonville Qualifier with 36 Krystal Burger Points, is second.

The professional eaters that are tentatively scheduled for this weekend include 5th-ranked Humble Bob Shoudt, 11th-ranked Eric “Badlands” Booker, 17th-ranked Micah Collins, 22nd-ranked Eric Livingston, 31st-ranked Kevin Ross and 38th-ranked Super Paul Barlow. These competitors will all be throwing back as many Krystal Burgers and Big Angus Burgers as possible in hopes of guaranteeing themselves a seat with a win or at least putting up a big enough score to grab one of the two Wild Card spots.

The Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship will feature 12 finalists on Sept. 27 in Chattanooga. Seven of the 12 spots will consist of winners from the Qualifying tour. Joey Chestnut, as defending champ, earns an automatic seat to the final in Chattanooga. As three-time world champ of the Krystal Square Off, Takeru Kobayashi has earned a Krystal Blitz sponsor’s exemption giving him an automatic seat at the final table. Two “Wild Card” spots will go to the two best scores posted by eaters who did not win a Qualifier. Finally, the 12th spot will go to a competitive eating fan picked from the crowd on Sept. 27.

For a list of remaining Krystal Square Off VI Qualifiers, go here. Don’t forget to follow @ksquareoff on Twitter for the most up-to-date KSO news.

Where The Wild Cards Are

The wild card race is heating up for Krystal Square Off V, and looks to get even hotter this weekend as both Nashville and Knoxville host qualifiers.

Among the early confirmations for this weekend include Tim “Eater X” Janus, Crazy Legs Conti, Eric “Badlands” Booker, Erik Denmark, Juliet Lee, Juris Shibayama and Loren Yarbrough.

While this list is subject to change, what won’t change is the least amount of Krystals they’ll have to put down just to be in contention for one of the three backdoor slots into the championship on Sept. 28. That number right now is 44 Krystals, which “Buffalo” Jim Reeves did this past Saturday in Atlanta. Just ahead of Reeves in the wild card race is Tim “Gravy” Brown with 45 Krystals, and Sonya Thomas leads the way with 55 Krystals.

Last year, Erik Denmark, with 43 Krystals, held the top spot from the wild card group.

With four more qualifiers left and so many top eaters still waiting for their shot, Reeves and Brown may want to call their travel agents and start planning another trip back South.

Check out EatFeats for a list of the current top 10 non-winning performances so far.

For a list of remaining Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers, go here.

Register for a chance to win a weekend getaway vacation for 4 to Chattanooga for Krystal Square Off V.