Eater's Poll (March edition)

TOP 25 Ranked Eaters

Rank. Eater's Name (First-place votes) (Points) [Previous Rank]

1. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (197) (Still the man to beat.)

2. Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti (187) (Ocassionally can catch Joey slacking. Very fast and huge capacity.)

3. Tim "Eater-X" Janus (175) (Always has had a huge capacity. His speed is getting better every year.)

4. Rich "The Locust" LeFevre (155) (Has been one of the best for what seems like forever now. Very energetic and positive too. You know you are my hero Rich, but I am going to catch you in a contest very soon! ;o) PS I still need to get some deep fried Oreo's and Twinkies at Mermaids.)

5. "Humble" Bob Shoudt (150) (Amazing with the Krystal burgers. Also very good speed and capacity with everything else. No question one of the most skilled eaters ever.)

6. Sonya "The Blackwidow" Thomas (149) (How good is she? Sonya has been doing amazing for years now and continues to dishearten men who challenge her on a regular basis.)

7. Hall "Hoover" Hunt (142) (I try and learn from the best to be the best. I have so much respect for every eater who travels and pours their heart and soul into competing.)

8.(tie) Takeru Kobayashi (128) (LEGEND! Everyone has had to copy this man to acheive anything in CE. He did it when nobody else could. He showed everyone how it is done. I hope to see him much much more.)

8.(tie) Erik "The Red" Denmark (128) (I remember meeting him in Vegas eating the Big Daddy Burger. He has improved quite a bit since then!)

10. Juliet Lee (122) (An awesome representation for all the females out there who think they can do some eating damage. I wish more females would follow her lead and not be scared to get messy at the CE table.)

11. Chip "Phenom" Simpson (107) (I remember being so upset when I saw him beat out Bubba in Krystal. Now I have gotten to know him better and am very excited for all his success.)

12. Crazy Legs Conti (87) (Continues to stay in all the big contests. No question he is one of the smooth talkers in MLE. Very fun guy and skilled eater.)

13. Tim "Gravy" Brown (76) (This guy is a great debris eater! Continues to impress me with every contest and shows there is more than one top notch eater in Chicago.)

14. Pat "Baby Bird" Philbin (70) (Super talent, but needs to compete more.)

15. "Dr. Bigtime" Juris Shibayama (63) (He says he wants top 10 this year. That will be very tough, but I definitely think he is a solid eater and a natural.)

16. Allen "Shredder" Goldstein (55) (I love how he gets better every year and has fun with his eating. I hope you continue qualifying for all majors.)

17. Arturo Rios (52) (Super talent. Would love to see him compete more. Great attitude and very friendly.)

18.(tie) Micah "Wing Kong" Collins (47) (Loves the RepoMan soundtrack. Best buds with Steakbellie. I have a feeling they will push each other to greatness.)

18.(tie) Brad "Lunatic" Scuillo (47) (Nice work at Wing Bowl. I thought you were on a roll. I don't know what happened. Tons of talent and potential here!)

20. Eric "Steakbellie" Livingston (43) (Very humble and caring. With a little more improvement you will challenge some people for qualifiers.)

21. Russ "Black Hole" Keeler (39) (Don't know too much about the tie-dye crusader, but seems very friendly and can put down some serious food when the time calls for it.)

22. Jim Reeves (34) (How are you still in the rankings here? Seriously though you always prove you have the talent of a top notch eater. No matter how long Jim sits out he comes back and puts up some big numbers at the table.)

23. "Big" Brian Subich (29) (The ladies love this guy and call him a "big teddy bear". I don't mean to embarrass him, but it is true. Has been competing very well for many years now.)

24. "Mad Greek" Abatsas (21) (Crazy guy with some crazy speed. Good potential here.)

25. "Nasty" Nate Biller (15) (Haven't really competed with him I don't think, but I noticed he did very well at matzoh balls getting 4th place.)

The Eater's Poll Board of Voters is made up of competitive eaters and media that cover the sport. All are involved in participating or following IFOCE/MLE contests. The board for the November edition of the Eater's Poll: Hall "Hoover" Hunt, Don "Moses" Lerman, "Humble" Bob Shoudt, Liz Kellermeyer, Eric "Steakbellie" Livingston, Eric Duclos, Tim "Eater-X" Janus, ojrifkin, "US Male" Goldstein, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, "Nasty" Nate Biller, and "Big" Brian Subich.

***This article and the final totals of the votes do not solely reflect the thoughts or opinions of either Hall "Hoover" Hunt, or anyone else operating this website. All of the rankings and points are a compilation of all the votes from all the previously listed voters above and do not represent any single individuals thoughts or opinions. If you would like to participate in the next month's poll, please feel free to email me at HallHunt@comcast.net and I will add you to the reminder email list or just send in your votes to the same address at least a week before the end of each month with the subject line specifying what poll you are emailing in reference to.***

I am sorry the rankings are not as detailed as they usually are. Recently I have been very busy and have not had as much free time. Hopefully you will still enjoy seeing some sort of rankings.