KSO VI Nashville Qualifying champ Tim "Gravy" Brown shows a little love to the second place winner Erik "The Red" Denmark.
This past Saturday, the most colorful of characters came down to Nashville for the second-to-last Krystal Square Off VI Qualifying round. A gold-clad Tim “Gravy” Brown and fan favorite Erik “The Red” Denmark were neck and neck throughout the entire competition, but Brown stepped up his game at the very end to pull out the win with 54 Krystal Burger Points. Denmark finished in second with a count of 51, which didn’t match his first qualifying tally but ensured that he’d be a definite for the Wild Card picks.
Be sure to catch both of these guys in action once again this Sunday, Sept. 27 at the Krystal Square Off VI World Hamburger Eating Championship at Ross’ Landing in Chattanooga. And in the mean time, check out the video footage below of one of the most nail-biting qualifying rounds to take place on this year’s circuit.
A selection of photos from the Nashville Qualifier is below. Full photo gallery here.
Tim "Gravy" Brown took first place at the KSO VI Nashville Qualifier with 54 Krystal Burger Points. Maybe it was the gold jacket that gave him the extra edge over the competition.
Folks watching the Krystal Square Off VI Nashville Qualifier this past Saturday experienced the closest qualifying competition for the World Hamburger Eating Championship yet. While Erik “The Red” Denmark, “Crazy Legs” Conti and plenty of other top-rate competitors showed up to chow down, in the end Tim “Gravy” Brown ate his way to the top with 54 Krystal Burger Points to advance on as a finalist in the Krystal Square Off Championship taking place in downtown Chattanooga on Sept. 27.
Having also competed at San Antonio in late August, Nashville was the second Qualifier for Erik “The Red” Denmark. Unsure if his first Krystal Burger Point total of 55 would keep him in the lead for a Wild Card spot, Denmark felt the trip down South was necessary. And although finishing at the Nashville Qualifier with a lower tally of 52 Krystal Burger Points was disappointing, it stands as the second highest total for the Wild Card race (although he can only hold one spot); thus confirming that Denmark will be a major contender at the finals.
Coming in at third place was 15th-ranked eater in the world, Jim Reeves, who was very satisfied with his 50 Krystal Burger Points, as the score put him in second for the Wild Card race behind Denmark. Finishing in the 5th and 6th place spots, “Nasty” Nate Biller, “Crazy Legs” Conti (who both tied) and Russell Keeler all plan to compete in the Knoxville Qualifier as well with hopes to knock Reeves out and put themselves in the running for a Wild Card seat.
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.
It was a thrilling contest in Atlanta this past Saturday as a huge crowd came out to Lenox Square Mall to witness the latest Krystal Square Off V Qualifier. In action were some of the biggest names from the sport of competitive eating including Pat Bertoletti, Tim “Gravy” Brown, “Buffalo” Jim Reeves, Eric “Steakbellie” Livingston, Allen “Shredder” Goldstein, Micah “Wing Kong” Collins, Beautiful Brian and Super Paul Barlow.
If you missed the contest, we now have the full video of the eight minute contest, which you can view below or on YouTube here. Watch as Bertoletti cruises to victory and Brown and Reeves struggle to put down big enough numbers to earn them a wild card birth in the finals on Sept. 28.
Also we have just posted more than 100 photos from the contest. Check those out here.
Atlanta’s Lenox Square Mall is known for its world-class shopping but today it was the scene of world-class competitive eating as Chicago’s Pat Bertoletti and a host of other top ranked eaters faced off in an eight-minute Krystal eating contest with the winner earning a spot at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship on Sept. 28 in Chattanooga.
Bertoletti, the number-two ranked eater in the world, was no doubt the odds on favorite to win and he did not disappoint as he devoured 66 Krystals to capture the Atlanta title, out-eating his nearest competitor and fellow Chicagoan Tim “Gravy” Brown by 21 Krystals. Finishing just one behind Brown with 44 Krystals was “Buffalo” Jim Reeves of Buffalo, New York.
With his victory today, the 23-year-old Bertoletti has earned a berth in the finals on Sept. 28 where he’ll compete live on FSN South against defending champ and Krystal world record holderJoey 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.
While good enough for him to move on to the finals, Bertoletti’s mark of 66 Krystals today is far from his best of 94 Krystals, which he did at last year’s championship, and is much less than the 85 he downed at the Atlanta qualifier a year ago.
Both Brown and Reeves, the 13th and 28th ranked eaters in the world, respectively, achieved their personal bests today and remain in contention for one of three coveted wild card spots. The two eating pros join Sonya Thomas, who finished second in Jacksonville last week with 55 Krystals, as the top three so far this year who are hoping to sneak into the finals without winning a qualifier.
Here are the official results for today’s final:
1. Pat Bertoletti – 66
2. Tim Brown – 45
3. Jim Reeves – 44
4. Eric Livingston – 35
5. Allen Goldstein – 33
5. Micah Collins – 33
7. Beautiful Brian – 23
8. Damien Boykin – 21
8. Paul Barlow – 21
10. Steve Martin – 18
11. John Russell – 12
12. Eric Young – 11
12. Paul Aarrington – 11
14. Jason Birch – 10
15. Carl Oden – 8
Eight of the eaters who competed today are ranked in the Top 40 of Major League Eating’s world rankings. At least 9 different cities and four states were represented at the table today.
Stay tuned to the Krystal Square Off blog for photos from today’s Qualifier.
Pat Bertoletti, the number two ranked eater in the world, will lead a stacked roster of competitive eating pros at the Atlanta Krystal Square Off Qualifier this Saturday, Sept. 6.
The 23-year-old eating phenom, who won last year’s Atlanta event with an astounding 85 Krystals in eight minutes, will be joined by the likes of Tim “Gravy” Brown, Allen Goldstein, Eric “Steakbellie” Livingston and many more as they battle for a seat at the World Championship in Chattanooga on Sept. 28.
While the 2007 Atlanta Qualifier took place outside under extreme conditions of heat and humidity, this year’s contest will be held in the cool, climate-controlled environs of Lenox Square Mall. Action will get underway at 2:00 p.m. with registration for the 5 amateur on-the-spot slots starting at 1:00 p.m.
Known as Deep Dish, the Chicago-based Bertoletti set the Atlanta record last year with his 85 Krystals, the second best number ever posted in qualifier history. Making his Krystal debut in Nashville in 2005, where he finished second to Badlands Booker with 28 Krystals, Bertoletti has made huge improvements over the past couple years, achieving his personal best of 94 Krystals at the 2007 championship last October.
As a preview to this Saturday’s contest, three Atlanta-based eaters who are set to compete this Saturday–Super Paul Barlow, Steve Martin and Ben Griffith–will put on an eating demonstration live on FOX 5 Good Day Atlanta tomorrow morning.
Sign up for live updates during this year’s Krystal Square Off via Twitter here.
