Hall Hunt's 60 Krystals in eight minutes at the Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is the season's best so far.
As competitive eating fans look ahead to the Atlanta Krystal Square Off V Qualifier this Saturday, we have the full, official results from this past Monday’s qualifier in Jacksonville. As previously reported, Hall Hunt put up the biggest number of the day with 60 Krystals, earning himself a guaranteed spot at the finals on Sept. 28. In second was Sonya Thomaswith 55 and far behind in third was local amateur Richard Guadagnolo who put away 15.
Here are the complete results:
1) Hall Hunt 60
2) Sonya Thomas 55
3) Richard Guadagnolo 15
4) Kenneth Musgrove 14
5T) Carl Vose 12
5T) The Hangman Bruce Pobanz 12
7) Andrew Zagoria 10
8T) Jeremy Kirch 9
8T) Zach Unger 9
10) Glen Owens 8
11T) Farrell Hoffman 5
11T) Kara Scremin 5
Also, we have just posted photos from the Jacksonville Qualifier including some excellent shots of the great fans who came out to cheer on their favorite eaters. Check them out on our photo page here.
Hall Hunt comes up with the big win today against Sonya Thomas to take the Jacksonville Krystal Square off V Qualifier and earn seat at the finals on Sept. 28.
The second of seven regional qualifiers for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship took place today in front of a boisterous crowd in a hot and sticky Jacksonville, Fla., and it was the hometown hero Hall Hunt, the eighth ranked eater in the world, who reigned supreme by devouring 60 of the fast food icon’s famous hamburgers in eight minutes. On his way to victory over a field that included the fiercely competitive Sonya Thomas, Hunt eclipsed the previous Jacksonville Qualifier record of 52 Krystals set in 2006 by Joey Chestnut, the world’s top ranked eating pro.
The win earns Hunt a spot at the FSN South-televised final table of Krystal Square Off V on Sept. 28, held in Krystal’s hometown of Chattanooga. There, Hunt will go up against defending champ and Krystal world record holder Joey Chestnut, three-time Krystal Square Off World Champion Takeru Kobayashi, the top finisher from each regional qualifier and three wild card entries. On the line will be a $50,000 cash purse, the largest in competitive eating history.
Hunt’s win over Thomas, who finished second today with 55 Krystals, brings The Black Widow’s impressive 12-0 lifetime qualifier streak to an end. Her mark today though could be good enough to earn her one of the coveted wild card spots at this year’s final table.
Finishing in third today was Rich Guadagnolo of Jacksonville with 15 Krystals. Guadagnolo was one of the five amateur eaters chosen on the spot to compete right before the contest began.
Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz, who rightly predicted he’d lose to Sonya Thomas, ate just 12 Krystals.
Stay tuned to the Krystal Square Off blog for complete results and photos from today’s Qualifier.
UPDATE: Below are photos of Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas from today’s Qualifier in Jacksonville. Click to enlarge. More photos to be added soon to the Krystal Square Off Flickr pages.
Sonya Thomas, doing her best Dale Boone impression above, will seek to earn her fifth consecutive berth in the Krystal Square Off finals today in Jacksonville.
The Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is less than 30 minutes from starting, and the word on the scene is that the heat, humidity and occasional downpour hasn’t stopped hundreds of competitive eating fans from coming down to the Jacksonville Landing to cheer on their favorite eaters as they battle it out for a seat at the live, televised World Championship on Sept. 28.
While Hall Hunt is hands down the hometown favorite today, we hear there are some big time Sonya Thomas supporters among the crowd with a few people donning “I Love Sonya Thomas” shirts and one sign that says “Marry Me Sonya.” The Black Widow surely doesn’t like to disappoint, and we expect today to be a bite-for-bite battle until the very end between the two competitive eating pros.
For those not following along on the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed, you’re missing out on the action as it happens. As mentioned via Twitter earlier today, the below is the official list of eaters confirmed for today’s event:
Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas–Alexandria, VA
Hall “Hoover” Hunt–Jacksonville, FL
Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz–Jacksonville, FL
Glen Owens–Hilliard, FL
Michael Parish–Tamarac, FL
Jeremy Kirch–Jacksonville, FL
Mark Barnes–Orlando, FL
Mike Greenspan–North Hollywood, CA
More than 50 “average Joes” have also signed up today for the chance to be one of the five amateur hopefuls picked on the spot to compete.
Don’t miss out on the action as it happens. Sign up to follow the Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers via Twitter. To read what you’ve missed so far, click on the “up” and “down” arrows on the Twitter box located on the right of this page.
To steal a line from Badlands Booker, Hall "Hoover" Hunt is hungry and focused for this Monday's Krystal Square Off qualifier in Jacksonville.
With the Jacksonville Krystal Square Off Qualifier just three days away, the local media is putting the spotlight on its hometown boy Hall Hunt, who is looking to repeat as the local champ and earn a seat at the finals on September 28. The 8th-ranked competitive eater in the world was just featured in Folio Weekly, the city’s alternative weekly, and he appeared on WJXT Channel 4 this morning where he put on a Krystal eating demonstration.
Hall also sat down with Jacksonville.com’s Amanda Warford at a local Krystal restaurant where the two chatted about his competitive eating career, and then he gave her a tutorial on the fine art of speed eating Krystals. Check out Amanda’s great interview with the always-a-class-act Hall below.
Competitive eating fans are sending us their predictions for this weekend via Twitter. Get in on the action here.
Takeru Kobayashi made his Krystal debut at the Jacksonville Qualifier in November of 2004. It remains his only qualifier appearance to this day.
The seven-city qualifying circuit for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship makes its way to Jacksonville this Labor Day to decide who will represent the state and 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 Jacksonville Qualifier will take place on Monday, Sept. 1, at the Jacksonville Landing. For directions to the Landing, go here.
Registration is now closed for Jacksonville, however five amateur hopefuls will be selected on the spot to compete. Those wishing to be selected can register on site starting at 1:00 p.m.
The 8-minute contest will start at 2:00 p.m.
Sonya Thomas brings with her to Jacksonville this Labor Day a 4-0 Krystal and 12-0 lifetime qualifier record. Her Krystal best is 62.
Hall Hunt, whose best is 51 Krystals, is the defending Jacksonville Qualifier champ.
Hunt will appear on the WJXT TV Morning Show tomorrow, Friday, in the 8:00 a.m. hour. The segment will include a 30-second Krystal eating contest.
Historical Bites:
Takeru Kobayashi’s only appearance at a Krystal Square Off Qualifier was in Jacksonville in 2004 when he ate 50 Krystals in eight minutes.
Crazy Legs Conti won the 2005 Jacksonville Qualifier with 31 Krystals. Hall “Hoover” Hunt runner-up’d with 30 Krystals.
In 2006, Joey Chestnut won the Jacksonville Qualifier by eating 52 Krystals. Crazy Legs finished second with 36.
Hall Hunt won the 2007 Jacksonville Qualifier with 49 Krystals.
Last year’s Jacksonville Qualifier saw Elizabeth Canady and Tim Brown tie for second with 38 Krystals apiece. Juliet Lee finished 4th with 35. Both Brown and Lee went on to the finals by claiming wild card spots at subsequent qualifiers.
The Jacksonville Qualifier has been held on Labor Day every year except for the first year when it was held on Nov. 7
Hall "Hoover" Hunt is hungry for a win on his home turf at the Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier on Labor Day.
After posting our audio podcast with Sonya Thomas this morning, we had the chance to chat with her main competition this Labor Day in Jacksonville, Hall “Hoover” Hunt. One of the sport’s rising young stars, Hall Hunt is currently ranked eighth in the world according to Major League Eating, and he’s focused on continuing his meteoric rise up the ranks with a strong performance at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.
In our phone interview, the Jacksonville-based eater talks about competing in Prague recently, what he loves about the sport of eating and what is next on the horizon for him. Hunt also shares his thoughts on training for the Krystal Square Off, going up against The Black Widow on Monday, how the weather may affect the contest and whether he thinks he has a “home table” advantage as he expects a huge contingent to come out and cheer for him down on the Landing in Jacksonville.
And like Sonya and Humble Bob Shoudt did during their podcasts, Hunt looks ahead to the finals and gives his prediction on the number of Krystals the champion will put down.
Check out our full interview with Hunt below and be sure to check out our podcast with Sonya here. Also, check out Hall’s blog here.
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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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“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?
Want to know what’s happening along the tour as it happens? Sign up to get messages from this year’s tour via Twitter here.
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.
Don’t miss out on the action as it happens. Sign up to get messages from this year’s tour via Twitter here.
Check out the great photos from last Saturday’s qualifier in Chattanooga on our photo page here.
