Final Table Set For Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship

A showdown of epic proportions is set to take place as the 2007 champion Joey Chestnut (ranked No. 1 in the world) will defend his title against three-time Krystal Square Off Champion Takeru Kobayashi.

The table is finally set for Major League Eating’s biggest event of the year: the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.

This Sunday, Sept. 28 in Chattanooga eleven of the finest eaters from around the world, including American phenom Joey Chestnut and Japan’s legendary gurgitator Takeru Kobayashi, will battle live on FSN South for the top burger title and an unprecedented $50,000 cash purse. FSN South will air a live, 60-minute special on Krystal Square Off V, including the championship event, starting at 2 p.m. EST.

This year’s winner will walk with a whopping $20,000 and the coveted Krystal Square Off Champion’s Belt and Trophy made out of crystal. The runner-up and third place finisher will each take home $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, and the remaining finalists will receive payouts ranging from $3,000 to $500.

While Chestnut received an automatic seat at this year’s final table as the defending champ, the ten other finalists had to battle it out during a seven-city qualifying circuit in which the winner in each city won a spot at the finals and the rest fought for three wild card seats. Kobayashi posted the top qualifying number this year, easily winning the Birmingham qualifier last Saturday by devouring 89 Krystals in eight-minutes. His mark betters Chestnut’s all-time qualifier record of 87 Krystals set at the trials in Tuscaloosa last year.

The 11 finalists for Krystal Square Off V are:

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, San Jose, Calif. (Automatic seat as defending champ)
Takeru Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan (89 Krystals in Birmingham, Ala.)
Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, Chicago, Ill. (66 Krystals in Atlanta)
Tim “Eater X” Janus, New York, N.Y. (63 Krystals in Knoxville)
Hall “Hoover” Hunt, Jacksonville, Fla. (60 Krystals in Jacksonville)
“Humble” Bob Shoudt, Philadelphia, Pa. (58 Krystals in Chattanooga)
Rich “The Locust” LeFevre, Henderson, Nev. (52 Krystals in Memphis)
Juliet “The Lovely” Lee, Germantown, Md. (51 Krystals in Nashville)
Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (51 Krystals in Nashville - Wild Card)
Eric “Badlands” Booker, Long Island, N.Y. (51 Krystals in Nashville - Wild Card)
Crazy Legs Conti, New York, N.Y. (50 Krystals in Nashville - Wild Card)

In addition to the 11 finalists, for the first time in Krystal Square Off history, one person from the crowd will be chosen on the spot to compete in the championship event, giving them the chance to compete alongside some of the best eaters in the world live on television.

Last year at Krystal Square Off IV, Joey Chestnut shocked the world and a live audience of 10,000 by eating 103 Krystals in eight minutes, shattering Takeru Kobayashi’s previous world record mark of 97 set in 2006. Due to a debilitating jaw injury, Kobayashi did not compete in last year’s final. With Kobayashi hoping to reclaim his title from Chestnut, this year’s showdown is the most hotly anticipated event in competitive eating and thousands of spectators from across the U.S. and as far away as Japan are expected to witness Krystal Square Off V in person.

Now in its fifth year, the Krystal Square Off is one of the two majors in the sport of competitive eating and the only world hamburger eating championship sanctioned by Major League Eating, the official governing body of all stomach-centric sports. An eight-minute eating contest, Krystal Square Off V is presented by the fast food icon Krystal and features the famous, fresh, hot, small, square Krystal Hamburger.

Rich LeFevre Wins Nail Biter In Memphis To Earn Krystal Square Off V Seat

Wherever competitive eating pro Rich LeFevre goes, the ladies are sure to follow, and they did in Memphis after he won the Krystal Square Off qualifier with 52 Krystals.

The Mid-South Fair in Memphis has been a familiar site on the Krystal Square Off circuit the past five years, and yesterday it drew many familiar names from the world of competitive eating as Krystal hosted the final qualifier of the year.

As expected, the event drew a tough field featuring some of eating’s finest including Rich LeFevre, Crazy Legs Conti, Juris Shibayama and Erik Denmark. All were looking to win a seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship this Sunday in Chattanooga, whether by victory or by grabbing one of the three wild card spots.

The sixty-four year old LeFevre, who has qualified for all four previous Krystal Square Off finals, was considered the slim favorite going into Sunday’s competition, and while he struggled to maintain the lead for most of the contest, in the end his experience triumphed over the youth and bravado of his competitors, earning him the win with 52 Krystal burgers. Shibayama, aka “Dr. Bigtime,” took second with 51 burgers, the same number he was credited with in Nashville a week ago.

Denmark, who promised a victory this week via his Twitter feed, improved upon his performance from a week ago when he ate just 43 Krystals, but he was penalized in Memphis for cramming two Krystals in his mouth after time was called. After deductions the Seattle-based eater was deemed the third place finisher with 50 Krystals. Crazy Legs, who last week downed half a century in Knoxville, finished two behind that mark in Memphis to finish fourth with 48 Krystals.

Click here for photos from the Krystal Square Off V Qualifier in Memphis.

Tim Janus Notches Win In Knoxville To Earn Birth In Krystal Square Off V Finals

Flanked by the "Fairest of the Fair" girls, Tim "Eater X" Janus was the fiercest of the fair today at the Krystal Square Off V Qualifier in Knoxville.

Competitive eating’s man of mystery Tim Janus was the king of the Krystal today in Knoxville, Tenn. The 31-year-old from New York, N.Y. known as “Eater X” devoured 63 of the fast food icon’s famous hamburgers in eight minutes to win the Knoxville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier. Janus’ mark shattered the previous Knoxville Qualifier record of 49 hamburgers set last year by Chip Simpson.

Janus’ victory earns him a spot at the FSN South-televised final table of the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship on Sept. 28, held in Krystal’s hometown of Chattanooga. There, Janus will go up against reigning World Champion and record holder Joey Chestnut, three-time champion Takeru Kobayashi and all of the top finishers from the regional qualifiers held in cities across the South.

Never challenged the entire contest, Janus finished a baker’s dozen ahead of his closest competitor, Crazy Legs Conti, whose 50 Krystals one short of placing him in wild card contention.

Watch WBIR-TV’s coverage of today’s contest here. And for a news story and video of Crazy Legs on WBIR’s Sunday morning show just ahead of the contest click here.

Click thumbnails below for some photos from today’s event.

Tim ‘Eater X’ Janus, Crazy Legs Conti Confirmed For Knoxville Qualifier

Competitive eating pro Tim "Eater X" Janus will be a huge favorite to win in Knoxville this Sunday.

The seven-city qualifying circuit for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship makes its way to Knoxville, Tenn. this Sunday, Sept. 14, and among the eaters who will be competing for a spot at this year’s World Championship include the world’s No. 4-ranked gurgitator Tim “Eater X” Janus and the 11th ranked Crazy Legs Conti.

It should be a relatively easy run for Eater X, who brings with him a high mark of 74 Krystals to Knoxville. Conti’s personal best is 45, which may not be good enough to challenge his fellow New Yorker, but puts him the ballpark to earn one of the three wild card spots in the finals. Right now, the bottom number in the wild card race is 44 Krystals, but that is all but guaranteed to change this weekend either in Nashville or Knoxville.

The Knoxville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier takes place at the Tennessee Valley Fair. Action starts at 2:00 p.m. Registration for the five amateur on-the-spot slots begins at 1:00 p.m.

Here’s a list of eaters confirmed as of today for the event this Sunday:

Tim Janus
Crazy Legs Conti
Pete Davekos
Nathan Biller
Bill Myers
Dave Goldstein
Steve Spinosa
Loren “Bubba” Yarbrough

Follow the action in Knoxville and every contest this season as it happens at Twitter.com/ksquareoff.

Where The Wild Cards Are

Crazy Legs Conti, seen above making his entrance at Krystal Square Off IV, is just one of the many eaters who will be gunning for a spot at Krystal Square Off V this weekend.

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.