Humble Bob Shoudt
Joey Chestnut

Cramming 103 Krystal hamburgers down your gullet in eight minutes is something you do not for fame, not for food and not for finances.

It’s all about the bragging rights, Joey Chestnut says.

And he should know. He won those rights with that performance just last year in the finals of the Krystal Square Off championship.

“Why would you run 26 miles? Why would you get into a boxing ring?” he asked Wednesday. “Just the thrill of competition and knowing the people next to you can’t keep up with you no matter how hard they try.”

On Sept. 28, the slender Mr. Chestnut — known as “Jaws” and world famous for his ability to inhale vast amounts of foods such as hot dogs, asparagus, jalapenos, waffles, ribs and buffalo wings in short bursts of time — will be sitting in front of a massive mound of miniburgers at Ross’s Landing when the Krystal Square Off V World Championship takes place in Chattanooga. As last year’s winner, he gets an automatic seat at the table.

Qualifying rounds — yes, you have to eat a lot of Krystals in more than one place to reach the finals — start Aug. 23 in Chattanooga and pass through Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

Last year’s purse was $35,000, and this year’s will be even bigger, said Brad Wahl, Krystal vice president of marketing. The amount hasn’t been finalized and will be announced soon, he said, but he promised it’ll be the largest cash purse in the history of Major League Eating, the organization that regulates eating contests.

This year’s event also features a new twist. From the opening qualifying round in Chattanooga to the World Championship finals, amateurs will have stronger chances than ever, Mr. Wahl said.

This year, five amateurs will be chosen at random for guaranteed spots at each of the seven qualifier tables, he said.

“We each year look forward to trying to find a new amateur who might step up on the competitive eating stage and show that Southerners are strong Krystal leaders as well as some of these professionals,” he said.

“I don’t think an amateur stands a chance,” said “Humble” Bob Shoudt, who came in second in last year’s Square Off, also held at Ross’s Landing.

Only the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, N.Y., matches the Square Off, according to George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating. About 8,000 people were in the crowd for last year’s Square Off final, said Mr. Wahl.

The competition will pit a higher number of amateurs against folks such as Mr. Chestnut, Mr. Shoudt and Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi, the only participant for whom competitive eating is a full-time job. When he’s not eating, Mr. Chestnut is a project engineer for a construction company in San Diego, where he lives.

Mr. Chestnut, 24, and Mr. Shoudt, 41, said they’ll soon begin practicing for the contest since each food type is different on the competitive eating circuit. Mr. Chestnut said training is intense, with a few days of fasting before he starts drinking lots of water to stretch his stomach and eating large amounts of whatever type of food he’s competing in next.

Krystal burgers have picked up nicknames such as “gut bombs” and are popular with the competitors, who stuff them down their throats in rapidfire manner. They’re also the ideal contest food, organizers said, because almost everyone eats several Krystal burgers in one sitting.

Mr. Shoudt said he’s aiming to eat 120 burgers to get the win this year.

THE COMPETITION

Mr. Chestnut is ranked No. 1 in the world of competitive eating.

In February, he won the Wing Bowl in Philadelphia for the third consecutive year, pounding down 241 wings in 14 minutes. The contest netted him a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle 883 Sportster, valued at $9,000, and a 2008 Toyota Tundra truck, valued at $23,000.

On July 4, he won the Nathan’s contest by wolfing down 59 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. He was defending his 2007 Nathan’s win, when he ate 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes, a world record. In both Nathan’s contests, he beat Mr. Kobayashi.

Mr. Kobayashi won the Square Offs from 2004 through 2006 but didn’t compete in 2007 because of a jaw injury.

“I guess, if his pride is located in his jaw, it was hurting pretty bad,” Mr. Chestnut said.

Organizers said the coming event — which should feature both Mr. Chestnut and Mr. Kobayashi — will decide the true king of competitive eating.

“In my mind this is a Kobayashi do or die,” Major League Eating’s Mr. Shea said. “This will decide whether or not he maintains his position — not at No. 1, because Joey’s already got that — but as a true contender to Joey.”