Chicken wing expert, Hooters, named Joey Chestnut the official Wing-Eating World Champion after his performance at the original Hooters restaurant in Clearwater, Fla., during the culmination of the 10-city Hooters Wing-Eating World Championship tour. Chestnut, the number one ranked world champion eater from San Jose, Calif., ate 144 wings in 10 minutes to claim the title and take home $7,500 in cash prizes.
Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan, from Baton Rouge, La., took placed second, finishing 140 wings. The 100-pound Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, from Alexandria, Va., finished third with 131 wings.
Officially sanctioned by Major League Eating, the Hooters Wing-Eating World Championship is the first time the chicken wing eating discipline has been part of a championship circuit to identify and crown an official world champ.
The competition is part of a weekend celebration of National Chicken Wing Day, which is Sunday, July 29. That day, participating Hooters locations across the country will offer a special promotion, “buy 10 wings, get 10 wings free” for dine-in guests.
Chestnut beat 11 other competitors from around the country for the title. Professional eating hopefuls competed regionally throughout the summer as part of a 10 city championship tour to qualify for the event.
The other Hooters World Wing-Eating Championship competitors included Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti, Chicago, Ill.; Bob “Notorious B.O.B.” Shoudt, Royersford, Pa.; “Lovely” Juliet Lee, Germantown, Md.; Erik “The Red” Denmark, Seattle, Wash.; Tim “Gravy” Brown, Chicago, Ill.; “Nasty” Nate Biller, Austin, Texas; Crazy Legs Conti, New York, NY; and Lewis Richards, London, England.
