FSN South To Televise World Hamburger Eating Championship
Posted on September 22, 2008
FSN SOUTH TO TELEVISE 2008 WORLD HAMBURGER EATING CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 28 at 2:00 p.m. EST
World’s Top Competitive Eaters, Including Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, to Square Off for $50,000 Cash Purse at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – American competitive eating phenom Joey Chestnut, Japan’s legendary gurgitator Takeru Kobayashi and nine other masters of mastication will battle live on FSN South for the top burger title and a $50,000 cash purse this Sunday, Sept. 28 at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.
FSN South will air a live, 60-minute special on Krystal Square Off V, including the championship event, starting at 2 p.m. EST.
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.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Krystal Square Off V televised this year for the first time on FSN South,” said Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing, The Krystal Company. “FSN South is the leading sports network in the South, and together, we’re committed to providing eating fans the best coverage possible of this year’s ‘must see’ rematch between Chestnut and Kobayashi.”
At Krystal Square Off V, 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. Last year at Krystal Square Off IV, Joey Chestnut shocked the competitive eating 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.
This year’s winner will walk with $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, including Kobayashi, 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 (Finalist – Hometown – No. of Krystals Eaten in Qualifier):
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, NY (50 Krystals in Knoxville – 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.
While this is the fifth year of the Krystal Square Off, Krystal has been hosting eating contests ever since it first opened its doors in 1932. Indeed, Krystal’s second customer, Roy Ward, claimed he could eat twice as many Krystals as French Jenkins, the chain’s first customer. He did just that by eating 12 Krystals. The years have passed, but Krystal Lovers have never stopped challenging each other to Krystal Eating Contests. This longstanding tradition became official in 2004 with the first Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship.
THE KRYSTAL COMPANY
Founded in 1932, Krystal restaurants have become more than sparkling-clean eateries where friendly employees serve up fresh, delicious food. Krystal has become a cultural icon and an experience that virtually every man, woman and child in the South has shared. The Krystal brand and the great food, service, value and setting that it represents has taken a prominent place in the South’s cultural landscape. The Krystal Company is the oldest quick service restaurant chain in the South and the second oldest in the United States. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company currently has nearly 400 restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.krystal.com.
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FSN SOUTH TO TELEVISE 2008 WORLD HAMBURGER EATING CHAMPIONSHIP LIVE ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 28 at 2:00 p.m. EST
World’s Top Competitive Eaters, Including Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, to Square Off for $50,000 Cash Purse at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – American competitive eating phenom Joey Chestnut, Japan’s legendary gurgitator Takeru Kobayashi and nine other masters of mastication will battle live on FSN South for the top burger title and a $50,000 cash purse this Sunday, Sept. 28 at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.
FSN South will air a live, 60-minute special on Krystal Square Off V, including the championship event, starting at 2 p.m. EST.
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.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Krystal Square Off V televised this year for the first time on FSN South,” said Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing, The Krystal Company. “FSN South is the leading sports network in the South, and together, we’re committed to providing eating fans the best coverage possible of this year’s ‘must see’ rematch between Chestnut and Kobayashi.”
At Krystal Square Off V, 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. Last year at Krystal Square Off IV, Joey Chestnut shocked the competitive eating 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.
This year’s winner will walk with $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, including Kobayashi, 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 (Finalist – Hometown – No. of Krystals Eaten in Qualifier):
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, NY (50 Krystals in Knoxville – 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.
While this is the fifth year of the Krystal Square Off, Krystal has been hosting eating contests ever since it first opened its doors in 1932. Indeed, Krystal’s second customer, Roy Ward, claimed he could eat twice as many Krystals as French Jenkins, the chain’s first customer. He did just that by eating 12 Krystals. The years have passed, but Krystal Lovers have never stopped challenging each other to Krystal Eating Contests. This longstanding tradition became official in 2004 with the first Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship.
THE KRYSTAL COMPANY
Founded in 1932, Krystal restaurants have become more than sparkling-clean eateries where friendly employees serve up fresh, delicious food. Krystal has become a cultural icon and an experience that virtually every man, woman and child in the South has shared. The Krystal brand and the great food, service, value and setting that it represents has taken a prominent place in the South’s cultural landscape. The Krystal Company is the oldest quick service restaurant chain in the South and the second oldest in the United States. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company currently has nearly 400 restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.krystal.com.
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