Krystal Qualifiers Announced: Joey's In It To Win It

Joey Chestnut may have won ribs over the weekend, but he was ready to get to work on some burgers today. At a press conference held in Chattanooga, the rising star set a new world record in an eating sprint, putting down 28 Krystal burgers in just two minutes to beat the previous record by 7 burgers. Okay, yes the burgers are tiny, but we're still talking a lot of meat and bun!

The Krystal Square Off is another eating competition that ranks among Nathan's and Wing Bowl in its intensity. It's also one of the only other US competitions Kobayashi regularly competes in. Last year, there was some foreshadowing of the greatness to come when Joey actually led Koby by several hamburgers up until the last minutes. Now, with his narrow loss at Nathan's, Joey is pushing harder than ever to own this year's Krystal title.

His technique seems to be mostly "stuff as fast as you can," no meat and bun separation. Though there's the added challenge here of freeing the little guys from their packaging.

Of course, rules are rules, and he'll still have to qualify to make it to the final round. Unlike Nathan's, every eater who makes it through the qualifying round will walk away with some cash in hand. Granted, the $300 prize for 13th place is a far cry from the $10,000 prize for first place, but a little guaranteed money never deterred anyone.

Everything gets underway next month, gearing up for the finals on October 28th, which will be aired live on ESPN.
The dates and cities for the qualifying circuit and championship final are as follows:

Aug. 24-27 Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sept. 1- 4 Jacksonville, Fla.
Sept. 8-10 Nashville, Tenn.
Sept. 15-17 Knoxville, Tenn.
Sept. 21- 24 Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Memphis, Tenn.
Oct. 5-8 Perry, Ga.
Oct. 13-15 Jackson, Miss.
Oct. 28 Chattanooga, Tenn.