Joey Chestnut led from the start and dominated his much-hyped hot dog-eating matchup with Takeru Kobayashi on Labor Day. The 16-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion blitzed his his most famous competitor in a one-on-one matchup years in the making.
Chestnut finished with a world record 83 hot dogs, while Kobayashi set his own personal best record with 66. The two biggest names in competitive eating lived up to the hype.
The event, titled Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: "Unfinished Beef" aired on Netflix and had been advertised for months. Before the matchup, Kobayashi had announced the event would be his final performance before retiring.
This event was set up much like the July 4 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, because both competitors had 10 minutes to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they could. Unlike the Nathan's event, the two competitors were not allowed to dunk the hot dogs or buns in water, they had to eat them in the buns.
The last time Chestnut and Kobayashi faced each other in a hot dog-centered showdown was in 2009 when Chestnut won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for the third year in a row. He downed 68 hot dogs and buns, while Kobayashi set a personal best with 64 1/2. Kobayashi has not competed in the Nathan's event since that year. The 15-year break between matchups left fans excited to see the two duel again.
Kobayashi won the Nathan's contest six consecutive times from 2001 through 2006 and became widely recognized as the world's best eater. In 2007, Chestnut pulled off an upset, winning the first of his 16 titles. In 2008, the two men tied at 59 hot dogs and buns in regulation and proceeded to an "eat-off." Chestnut won by downing five hot dogs in 50 seconds. The 2009 contest marked the final time they would face off at the event.
Like Kobayashi before him, Chestnut is now at odds with Major League Eating, the organization that governs the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. He didn't compete this year after signing a contract with Impossible Foods. It was the first time since 2004 that Chestnut didn't participate. Patrick Bertoletti won the event in his absence after downing 58 hot dogs.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joey Chestnut Sets World Record In Netflix Hot Dog Eating Contest, Beats Kobayashi.
