Quick Bites: The Birmingham Krystal Square Off V Qualifier

Takeru Kobayashi will be joined by the likes of Eric "Badlands" Booker at this Saturday's Krystal Square Off qualifier in Birmingham.

The seven-city qualifying circuit for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship heads to Birmingham this Saturday to decide who will compete for an unprecedented $50,000 cash purse at this year’s World Championship in Chattanooga on September 28, which will be televised live on FSN South. Below we have some quick bites of info for you to chew on between now and then. Enjoy.

Contest Bites:

• The Birmingham Qualifier will take place on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Blazer Village/Legion Field.
• The 8-minute contest will start at 1:30 p.m.
• Registration is now closed for Birmingham, however five amateur hopefuls will be selected on the spot to compete. Those wishing to be selected can register on site starting at Noon.
• Former world champion Takeru Kobayashi is making his much-anticipated return to the Krystal Square Off by competing in the Birmingham qualifier. He has not competed in a Krystal eating contest since the 2006 Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga.
• After eating 51 Krystals in Nashville last Saturday, Eric “Badlands” Booker will be back at it on the Krystal qualifying circuit, this time hoping to better his number in Birmingham. He’s currently among the top three in the wild card race, but with this weekend’s two qualifiers loaded with top eaters, all gunning for those wild card spots, Badlands knows it may take a bigger number to make it to the finals on Sept. 28.
• Below is a list of eaters confirmed as of today for Birmingham:

Takeru Kobayashi
Eric Booker
Paul Barlow
Andrew Lane
James Hawkins
Kip Phillips

Historical Bites:

• Takeru Kobayashi’s only previous appearance at a Krystal Square Off Qualifier was in Jacksonville in 2004 when he ate 50 Krystals in eight minutes.
• Kobayashi’s personal best is 97 Krystals in eight minutes, set at Krystal Square Off III.
• Birmingham has hosted two Krystal Square Off qualifiers prior to this year.
• In 2004, the Birmingham qualifier was held at Sloss Fright Furnace on Halloween. Bill “Pit” Pendleton won with 26. Moose Abercrombie finished in a close second with 25.
• In 2005, the qualifier took place at the Greater Alabama Fall Fair where Chip “The Phenom” Simpson was victorious with 32 Krystals. Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough was the runner-up with 30.
• The state of Alabama did not host a Krystal qualifier in 2006.
• In 2007, the qualifier was held in Tuscaloosa before the Alabama football game. Joey Chestnut set a qualifier record that day by downing 87 Krystals in eight minutes. Tim “Gravy” Brown earned a wild card birth in the finals by eating 43 Krystals.

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Full Results From Nashville And Knoxville Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers

Many of the biggest names in competitive eating were in Tennessee this past weekend to battle for a seat at the Fox Sports South-televised World Championship on Sept. 28.

The Volunteer State was home to two hotly contested Krystal Square Off V qualifiers this past weekend, with Juliet Lee taking the top prize in Nashville (and being the impetus behind the new “Mustard Yellow Card” rule) and Tim “Eater X” Janus cruising to victory in Knoxville.

We now have the official results from both events posted below.

Nashville
1. Juliet Lee 51 (winner by Eat-Off)
2. Eric “Badlands” Booker 51
2. Juris “Dr/ Bigtime” Shibyama 51
4. Erik “The Red” Denmark  43
5. Nasty Nate Biller 32
6. Pretty Boy Pete Davekos 27
7. Wild Bill Myers 26
8. Dave “US Male” Goldstein 24
9. Steve Larson 18
10. Andrew Wong 14
11. Raymond Denton 13
11. Mark Lefevbre 13
13. Noel Ellorin 12
14. Steve Ramirez 11
15. Diamond Wright  10

Knoxville
1. Tim “Eater X” Janus 63
2. Crazy Legs Conti 50
3. Pretty Boy Pete Davekos 32
4. Nasty Nate Biller 31
5. Dave “US Male” Goldstein 30
6. Wild Bill Myers 25
6. Steve Spinosa 25
8. Paul Egger 21
9. Sean Morris 18
10. Sean Russell 14
11. Steven Ramirez DQ
12. Scott Simmons DQ

Check out our reports and photos from the Nashville and Knoxville qualifiers here and here.

Only two more qualifiers left on the tour. Next up is Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday, Sept. 20, featuring the return of Takeru Kobayashi to Krystal country as he looks to set up his rematch against the No. 1 ranked Joey Chestnut.

Badlands Booker Releases ‘Krystal Square Off’ Rap On Facebook

Eric "Badlands" Booker beat a young Pat Bertoletti at the Nashville Krystal Square Off qualifier in 2005.

If you’re following Eric “Badlands” Booker on Twitter, then you know he has released a new rap about the Krystal Square Off on his popular Facebook page.

The hook-filled, ready-for-radio song has the acclaimed recording artist and competitive eating legend laying down rhymes about “the burgers that come in the red box, burgers that you can only get in the Deep South.”

Check it out here.

Badlands is one of the giants in the sport of eating and is coming off a two year retirement in which he dropped 90 pounds. A finalist at both Krystal Square Off I and II, Badlands will make his first attempt to qualify for this year’s Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship this Saturday at the Nashville qualifier.