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Email this story [5]When Krystal holds the inaugural Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Championship from this September to November, the winner will receive the largest cash prize offered on the U.S. competitive eating circuit today.
Krystal has boosted the total cash purse to $17,500, with a $10,000 cash prize to be awarded to the winner. Second place will receive $5,000, and $2,500 will go to third place. The new prize amounts surpass previously announced sums of $5,000 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500 for third.
"We’re certainly not tiptoeing into this," said Brad Wahl, manager of marketing and promotions at The Krystal Company. "The interest in the Krystal Square Off has been tremendous from the moment we announced the event, and we want to match the excitement with an unprecedented cash prize. We already expected the competition to be fierce, and now, with so much at stake, we expect it to be ferocious."
Those vying for the grand prize package of $10,000 will first be put to the challenge at one of the 11 qualifying events to be held throughout the Southeast beginning September 3, 2004, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where The Krystal Company is headquartered. The winner of each qualifier will earn a seat at the final world championship table on November 13, 2004 in Chattanooga.
The Krystal Square Off is the first hamburger eating world championship sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), the governing body for that discipline, and the organization that has transformed gustatory battles into a worldwide craze.
David Baer, director of global expansion for the IFOCE, said, "The prizes offered by Krystal for the Krystal Square Off mark a major milestone for the sport of competitive eating. By offering a cash purse of this magnitude to our athletes, we have joined the ranks of professional tennis and golf."
