Krystal: Instant Satisfaction

The Krystal Square Off III World Hamburger Eating Championship begins its two-month qualifying circuit this weekend and fans across the world will be able to witness every second of the hamburger-eating action.

Live webcasts of all qualifiers will run at www.krystalsquareoff.com.

Fans away from their computers will also be able to follow the action via instantaneous text messages sent directly to their mobile phones.

By logging onto www.krystalsquareoff.com, the official website for the World Hamburger Eating Championship, competitive eating fans can watch local Krystal Lovers go head-to-head and burger-for-burger at each of the 157 two-minute preliminary contests that will take place in eight cities across the South starting August 24, 2006, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Fans will also be able to watch live as the top eaters in those cities square off in the eight-minute qualifying finals against Major League Eaters like Joey Chestnut and Sonya Thomas.

The qualifying finals will decide which competitors will compete at the ESPN-televised World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga on October 28, 2006. At the finals, competitors will square off against each other and the current world champion, Takeru Kobayashi, for the coveted title and a share of the unprecedented $30,000 cash prize purse.

In addition to watching live webcasts of this year’s Krystal Square Off III, competitive eating fans eager to be the first to know how many Krystal Hamburgers were eaten after every eight-minute qualifying final can sign up to have results text messaged directly to their mobile phones by logging onto www.krystalsquareoff.com and entering their mobile phone number.

"Krystal has recognized the growth of competitive eating in recent years, and is proud to offer the sport’s die-hard fans the opportunity to follow the action at this level," said Mike Williams, Vice President of Marketing for The Krystal Company.

The Krystal Square Off III World Hamburger Eating Championship is one of the majors in the sport of competitive eating and the only world hamburger-eating championship sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi is the current eight-minute world record holder, setting a mark of 69 Krystals at the inaugural Krystal Square off in 2004. Joey Chestnut, of San Jose, Calif., is the American record holder in the eight-minute event with 62 Krystals, and is the current world record holder in the two-minute sprint event with 28 Krystals, a mark he set this past July at a press conference for Krystal Square Off III.