We’re less than three weeks away from Nathan’s World Hot Dog Eating Championship, which means that The Krystal Square Off isn’t far behind (hint: think August). To help you get in the spirit, we wanted to highlight the Major League Eating’s (MLE) current Top Ten Eaters on the circuit worldwide. And, for a quick introduction and description of each, check out this article on Examiner Atlanta.

Top Ten Eaters:

Stay tuned for information about Krystal’s upcoming KSO VI to learn about dates, qualifying tour locations, new competition highlights and much more!

To see MLE’s top 50 list and to learn more great eater stats, visit http://majorleagueeating.com.

Pat Bertoletti moves up to second place in the Major League Eating Eater's Poll after coming in second at the Krystal Square Off V, defeating Takeru Kobayashi who came third.

Krystal compeititive eater Hall Hunt has posted the October edition of the Major League Eating Eater’s Poll on his blog.  This poll is the first to come out after the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.

Joey Chestnut remains at the top of the list with Pat Bertoletti moving up one spot to claim second.  Takeru Kobayashi moves down one taking third.  “Humble” Bob keeps his fourth place ranking and Hunt himself moves up to fifth from seventh.

The complete list of the top 10 are below.

1. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut
2. Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti
3. Takeru Kobayashi
4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt
5. Hall “Hoover” Hunt
6. Tim “Eater-X” Janus
7. Rich “The Locust” LeFevre
8. Sonya “The Blackwidow” Thomas
9. Eric “Badlands” Booker
10. Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama

For a complete list of the top 25 eaters, head over to Hunt’s blog.

Tim "Eater X" Janus claims victory at the Knoxville qualifier for the Krystal Square Off V with 63 Krystals.

This past weekend was a busy one for the Krystal Square Off V qualifying circuit.  Not only was there the hectic, back-to-back event schedule to content with, but there was also a bit of controversy surrounding the contest in Nashville, which ultimately led to the IFOCE instating a new rule.

Here’s a recap of the Nashville contest courtesy of the Krystal Square Off Blog:

In a contest marked by controversy and the hottest and most humid conditions seen on the tour so far, Juliet Lee’s victory had some calling foul due to excessive debris during the eight-minute regulation period. After a lengthy conference with judges, Major League Eating made the decision to hold a three person eat-off, the first ever in Krystal Square Off history, between “The Lovely” Lee, Eric “Badlands” Booker and Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama. Each was presented with 10 Krystals, and Lee was first to consume hers, earning her the win.

Because of the excessive debris issue and the difficulty judges had tallying the number of Krystal burgers actually consumed by a number of eaters, include Lee, Major League Eating held an impromptu conference call Saturday evening to discuss establishing a new rule that will help prevent confusion in future contest.

Coined the Mustard Yellow Card, the rule will allow judges to disqualify competitors for “messy eating” after an initial warning is given.

A full explanation of the rule from IFOCE.com:

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.

Thankfully, Sunday’s contest in Knoxville was straightforward with Tim “Eater X” Janus the clear winner with 63 Krystals.  Janus did break the previous Knoxville record of 49, which was set by Chip “Burger” Simpson last year.  Crazy Legs Conti finished second with 50 Krystals, just one burger short of what he needs to be a Wild Card contender.

For more details and information about this weekend’s contest, including photos and links to video news coverage, head over to the Krystal Square Off Blog.

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.