Pat Bertolleti, the no. 2 eater in the world, is expected to put up high numbers in Atlanta.

The Georgia Qualifier for the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship will take place at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., determining who will join Humble Bob Shoudt, Hall Hunt, plus the remaining TBD qualifiers and Wild Card picks at the World Championship table in Chattanooga on September 28.

Pat Bertolleti, the number two eater in the world, is the favorite in tomorrow’s competition with a personal best record of 94 Krystals in eight minutes.  Tim Brown (no. 13) and Allen Goldstein (no. 15) will also compete and are expected to battle it out for second.

Head over to the Krystal Square Off Blog for more interesting facts and “quick bites” on tomorrow’s eating competition, including a completle list of confirmed eaters.

Hall Hunt claims victory over Sonya Thomas with 60 Krystal burgers, setting a new Jacksonville record.

Courtesy of the Krystal Square Off Blog

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.

In other competitive eating news, Eatfeats is reporting that Humble Bob Shoudt claimed his second victory over Joey Chestnut and Pat Bertoletti in the spaghetti chili contest at King’s Island.  Shoudt consumed 13.5 lbs to win $2,500 while Chestnut downed 13.2 lbs to take home $1,500.  Bertolleti was in third with 11 lbs.

It will be interesting to see if Shoudt can out-eat Chestnut when the two meet up again in Chattanooga at the final table of the Krystal Square Off V on September 28.

In the meantime, stay tuned as we’ll bring you all the latest in Krystal Square Off V news.  You can also check out the Krystal Square Off Blog for photos and podcast interviews with the eaters.  And don’t forget to sign up to follow the Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers via Twitter for live, instant updates.

Joey Chestnut remains at the top of the Major League Eating Eater's Poll for another month.

Krystal competitive eater Hall “Hoover” Hunt has posted the August edition of the Major League Eating Eater’s Poll.

Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi and Pat Bertoletti once again round out the top three respectively.

Humble Bob Shoudt, however, has jumped up two spots to claim the fourth position, probably due to his wins at Ash Creek and the Krystal Square Off Qualifier in Chattanooga.

Tim “Eater X” Janus moves down one spot this month to claim fifth.

You can check out the entire poll over on Hunt’s blog.

Also, don’t forget to follow Hunt this weekend as he goes head-to-head against the top-ranked female competitive eater in the world Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas at the Jacksonville Qualifier for the Krystal Square Off V.

Read more about this competitive eating match-up and listen to what both eaters have to say about this weekend’s competition over at the Krystal Square Off Blog.

And remember to sign up for live updates from the Krystal Square Off Tour via Twitter. 

Humble Bob Shoudt takes Chattanooga with 58 Krystal Burgers

Humble Bob Shoudt took the Krystal Square Off Chattanooga Qualifier on Saturday, downing 58 Krystal burgers in eight minutes.

Although Shoudt was disappointed with his performance, he did earn the first seat to this year’s World Hamburger Eating Championship, which will take place back in Chattanooga on September 28.

Head over to the Krystal Square Off Blog for complete coverage of this past weekend’s hamburger happenings, including photos on our Flickr page and a video blog of Humble Bob after the contest.

Remember, you can also sign up to receive Live Twitter coverage of each event at Twitter.com/ksquareoff.

Next stop on the hamburger competitive eating tour: Jacksonville.

It’s been a tough couple of days for reigning Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Champion Joey Chestnut.

First he lost a beer chugging contest to Dewey Hammond, the managing editor of Yardbarker.  Deadspin.com has a great post (and photo!) about the contest.  We’ve got the video below.

Now Eatfeats is reporting Chestnut came in second at the Ash Creek Saloon Rib Eating Contest this past weekend.  Chestnut lost to “Humble” Bob Shoudt, who consumed 6.8 lbs of ribs in 12 minutes to Joey’s 6.6 lbs.  Tim “Eater X” Janus came in third and Juliet Lee was fourth.  For full results, head over to Eatfeats.

Maybe beer and ribs really don’t go well together?

The Krystal Square Off website has posted an interview with Joey Chestnut, the reigning Krystal hamburger eating champion.

According to the site, Chestnut spoke with the Times Free Press in Chattanooga about the upcoming Krystal Square Off V and discusses what it is that drives him to compete and how he trains for each contest.

He also shared his thoughts on Takeru Kobayashi saying:

“I guess, if his pride is located in his jaw, it was hurting pretty bad,” referring, of course, to Kobayashi’s decision not to compete in last year’s Krystal Square Off due to a jaw injury.

The Times Free Press article also includes an interview with “Humble” Bob Shoudt, who shares his predictions for this year’s hamburger eating competition and discusses how he thinks amateurs will fair in the contest.

To read the full article, head over to the Times Free Press.

To listen to Chestnut talk about how he is training for the KSO V, click here.

To hear “Humble” Bob’s thoughts on an amateur’s chance to win and who he thinks will be the top four competitors, click here.

And remember, check out the Krystal Square Off site for all the latest KSO news and information.

“After experiencing the [Nathan's] contest the last three years and the Krystal [Square Off] finals the last three years, I would say that Krystal is now our Super Bowl.  I know other eaters that are saying the same thing.  It doesn’t really matter though as everyone has their own opinion.  Regardless, they are both still our big two events.  I think you all know which one I would prefer to win. Give me a K – R – Y – S – T -A – L.”

- Competitive eater “Humble” Bob Shoudt, on the Krystal hamburger eating contest vs. Nathan’s Hot Dog eating competition.

*Image courtesy of Valerie Bromann via www.humblebob.com

Courtesy of KrystalSquareOff.com:

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which takes place this Friday, July 4, is often referred to as “The Super Bowl of Competitive Eating,” but if you ask champion competitive eater “Humble” Bob Shoudt what he thinks, he’ll say the Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship is the competition most eaters consider to be the “big one.”

“My focus is on the Super Bowl of competitive eating – the Krystal Square Off V,” Shoudt told the Philadelphia Inquirer, just moments after qualifying for the Nathan’s finals. “This is the contest that most competitive eaters agree is the big one.”

The fifth-ranked eater in the world, Shoudt finished second at last year’s Krystal Square Off World Championship, consuming 95 Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes and finishing just behind the number-one ranked eater in the world Joey Chestnut, whose mark of 103 Krystal burgers established a new world record.

With Chestnut looking to repeat as champion and three-time Krystal Square Off champion Takeru Kobayashi, whose personal record is 97 Krystal burgers, back in the mix, the top spots will be hotly contested at this year’s nationally televised championship. The Krystal Square Off V takes place at The Chattanooga Riverfront this fall, with the exact date to be announced here soon.

To read the full article about Shoudt, the Nathan’s qualifier and his statement about the Krystal Square Off, click here.

Thanks to our good friend and Krystal Square Off competitive eater Hall “Hoover” Hunt for the May edition of the Eater’s Poll. As we mentioned in a previous post, the Eater’s Poll rankings are determined by a group of competitive eaters and media that cover the sport. They basically vote to determine who they think make up the Top 25 in Major League Eating.

There aren’t really any surprises with the rankings as you can see from the top five, which we’ve listed below. It’s always good however, to see our Krystal competitive eaters remain on the top.

For the complete poll rankings, visit Hunt’s blog.

1. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut

2. Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti

3. Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi

4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt

5. Tim “Eater-X” Janus

Below is a video of Chestnut breaking the record for the most Krystal burgers eaten in two minutes. Just in case you needed a reminder as to why he’s ranked number one.

The Eater’s Poll Board of Voters, which is made up of competitive eaters and media that cover the sport, has come out with its rankings for March and the list is pretty interesting – especially the tie for 8th place between Takeru Kobayashi and Erik “The Red” Denmark.

Our good friend and Krystal competitive eater, Hall “Hoover” Hunt, has the full rankings on his blog along with some of his thoughts about each eater. If you’re a fan of competitive eating, definitely check it out.

It’s good to see so many of our Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating competitors at the top and looking at this list is making us very excited about this year’s competition.

Anyone else think “Humble” Bob Shoudt may take the title from Joey Chestnut this year?