Seen here at the Krystal Square Off VI, Tim "Eater X" Janus pounded back enough Krystals for a repeat win of the Knoxville Qualifier.
Not even the threat of a torrential downpour put a damper on what was a fierce competition between Tim “Eater X” Janus and Juliet “The Lovely” Lee at the last Krystal Square Off VI qualifying round held at the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville on Sunday, Sept. 20. Clouds may have loomed overhead, but the only things the audience could see falling were the hopes and dreams of Juliet Lee, “Crazy Legs” Conti and the nine other competitors that champ Tim “Eater X” Janus left in the dust by chomping down a winning 30 Krystals and 5 Big Angus Burgers for a total of 55 Krystal Burger Points.
If you’re bummed you opted to stay in last weekend, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered with all the action via video. And chin up, tiger: you still have one last chance to see Janus kill some Krystal burgers this Sunday, Sept. 27 as the sixth annual Krystal Square Off World Championship goes down in Chattanooga starting at 2 p.m.
See photos below from the Knoxville Qualifier. Full photo gallery here.
Knoxville's "Fairest of the Fair" pageant winner Tori Martin congratulates Tim "Eater X" Janus on his Krystal Square Off Qualifying win.
The rain stopped and clouds began to part just as eaters took the stage yesterday afternoon at the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville for the last eight-minute eating contest of the Krystal Square Off VI Qualifying Tour. The man behind the mask, Tim “Eater X” Janus, took home the trophy with 30 Krystals and 5 Big Angus Burgers for a total of 55 Krystal Burger Points.
After receiving a deduction of 2 Krystal Burgers, Juliet “The Lovely” Lee finished in second place with a controversial 49 Krystal Burger Points. Eaters were required to swallow all food in their mouths within 30 seconds after the time stopped, but Lee was not able to get the last few Krystals down. Therefore, judges decided that the 2 burger deduction was fair. However, Lee was not in agreement, especially since her original 51 Krystal Burger count would have put her in second for a Wild Card spot, which has now been secured by Jim “Buffalo” Reeves.
Janus’ win earns him a seat at the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga this Sunday, Sept. 27, where he will compete against the great Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi and more for a piece of the $50,000 cash purse. Stay tuned for more updates about the KSO VI finals and the 11 finalists who will make their way down for the main event.
Knoxville Qualifier results below:
Tim “Eater X” Janus – 30 Krystals, 5 Big Angus = 55 Krystal Burger Points
Juliet “The Lovely” Lee – 26-2 Krystals, 5 Big Angus = 49 Krystal Burger Points
Seen here at the KSO V Knoxville Qualifier last year, Tim Janus (middle) and Crazy Legs Conti (right) finished in first and second place. Can they do it again this year to earn seats at the KSO VI finals?
On Sunday, Sept. 20, The Krystal Square Off VI Qualifying Circuit will head to Knoxville for it’s very last stop on the World Hamburger Eating Championship tour. The Knoxville Qualifier will be the final chance for Wild Card hopefuls to give it their all for one last shot at a coveted spot at the live televised main eating event in Chattanooga on Sept. 27, where the Knoxville winner will compete against eleven other masters of mastication. Below are some quick bites of info for you to chew on between now and then.
Contest Bites:
The Knoxville Qualifier will take place on Sunday, Sept. 20 at the Tennessee Valley Fair.
For any out-of-towners traveling to the event, there are four hotels in the Knoxville area offering special discounts for Fairgoers. Click here for more information.
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.
Tim “Eater X” Janus, the 4th-ranked eater in the world, is no doubt the favorite to win on Sunday. Janus placed fifth at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship last year with 64 Krystals. His personal best is 74 Krystals.
The race for second should be a close one between 14th-ranked eater in world, “Crazy Legs” Conti and 2nd-ranked female eater in the world, Juliet “The Lovely” Lee. The two will be battling it out for a shot at one of the two Wild Card Spots.
Four of the eaters confirmed for the Knoxville Qualifier are in the Top 30 of Major League Eating’s world rankings.
The current list of confirmed eaters includes:
Tim “Eater X” Janus, New York, NY – ranked 4
Juliet “The Lovely” Lee, Germantown, MD – ranked 8
“Crazy Legs” Conti, New York, NY – ranked 14
Russell Keeler, Kingston, PA – ranked 28
“Nasty” Nathan Biller, Briarwood, NY – unranked
Historical Bites:
The Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship has held a Qualifying event in Knoxville since the competition started in 2004.
“Crazy Legs” Conti competed in the Knoxville Qualifier last year, where he put up his biggest number to date – 50 Krystals.
Tim “Eater X” Janus participated in the closest Krystal Square Off event in history with just half a Krystal separating him and Chip “The Phenom” Simpson (53 Krystals) and Eater X (52.5) at the 2006 Atlanta Qualifier.
Fourth-ranked eater in the world, Tim “Eater X” Janus dominated the KSO V Knoxville Qualifier last year with 63 Krystals in eight minutes. Janus’ mark shattered the previous Knoxville Qualifier record of 49 hamburgers set in 2007 by Chip Simpson.
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.
Crazy Legs Conti is one of the stars of the new docudrama "I'm A Major League Eater."
A new competitive eating docudrama featuring many of the biggest names from past Krystal Square Off seasons is set to air tomorrow night at 10 p.m. EST on the BIO Channel.
Titled “I’m a Major League Eater,” the show promises to give a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to prepare for a major league eating contest.
Check out the “I’m a Major League Eater” trailer below featuring some of the sport’s top eaters including: Juliet Lee of Maryland, Gravy Brown of Chicago, Eater X Janus of NYC and his roommate Crazy Legs Conti. And as always, stay tuned here for all your Square Off news.
ESPN’s prime-time television newsmagazine, E:60, will spotlight this year’s Krystal Square Off V on Tuesday, October 21, at 7 p.m. ET, as the show takes an in-depth look at the sport of competitive eating.
A press release from ESPN describes the coverage as follows:
There are 80-100 competitive eating events a year at venues across the country. The top two are Nathan’s in New York and Krystal’s hamburgers in Tennessee. In a sport replete with colorful personalities, E:60 correspondent Jeremy Schaap takes an in-depth look at competitive eating . . . Highlights include interviews with some of the greatest “eaters” in the world such as Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut, Juliet Lee, “Crazy Legs” Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus.
Set your TiVo for ESPN, tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET. We’ll send a tweet beforehand to remind you of the broadcast.
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.
Yesterday’s Nashville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier, and the controversy surrounding excessive debris from several eaters, including the winner Juliet Lee, has led to the creation of a new rule by Major League Eating that will allow judges to disqualify competitors for “messy eating” during a contest after an initial warning is given.
Major League Eating announces today the creation of a new rule called the Mustard Yellow Card. The rule allows league officials and judges to formally caution a competitor if the official or judge feels said competitor is eating in a fashion that is so messy it impedes the ability to determine the amount of food consumed.
After one caution is given the judge has the right to disqualify the warned competitor if the competitor has not satisfactorily corrected his or her eating style.
While no formal definition need be given, messy eating can include food and debris on a competitor and in a competitor’s eating area and cups.
The Mustard Yellow Card rule could have a major impact at this year’s biggest event, the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Sept. 28. Top competitive eaters from around the world, including Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, will battle for a share of a $50,000 cash prize purse, the largest in the sport’s history, and with the winner alone taking home $20,000, the new rule could prove extremely costly to eaters who fail to abide by proper competitive eating etiquette.
The Krystal Square Off V qualifier in Nashville this Saturday is shaping up to be the most fiercely contested showdown of the season.
Three of competitive eating’s top gurgitators–Erik “The Red” Denmark, Juliet Lee and Eric “Badlands” Booker–are all confirmed to compete, and while they’re no equals in looks (the glamorous Lee wins by a landslide there), the trio are virtually a dead heat when it comes to Krystals.
Both Badlands and Lee have put down 44 Krystal hamburgers as their career best, and Denmark has done just one better, chowing 45 at last year’s finals in Chattanooga.
And not to be dismissed is long shot local Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama, who brings a personal best of 39 Krystals to the table Saturday.
So who has the edge? It’s tough to say, but with the wild card race getting tougher every week, the three will be gunning for nothing short of victory. Anything less and they’ll be sweating it out until the final qualifier is over on Sept. 21. Or even worse, they’ll be staying home on Sept. 28 when the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship takes place in Chattanooga.
The Nashville qualifier will be held at the Tennessee State Fair on Saturday, Sept. 13. Registration for the five amateur on-the-spot slots begins at 1:00 p.m. and contest starts at 2:00 p.m.
Eaters confirmed as of today include:
Juliet Lee
Eric Booker
Erik Denmark
Juris Shibayama
Nathan Biller
Pete Davekos
Bill Myers
Dave Goldstein
Andrew Wong
Steve Larson
