Update 12:57 p.m. Joey Chestnut has won his 15th mustard belt in 16 years, and does it with 63 hot dogs consumed. The previous record of 76 remains safe on a tough day for the competitors on Coney Island. Geoffrey Esper finished second with 47 1⁄2 hot dogs.
There was also a protestor who stormed the stage during Chestnut’s competing, whom the champion took out without much difficulty.
Chestnut just obliterated him pic.twitter.com/dry7Oy8KZK
— jonah block (@JonahBlock05) July 4, 2022
Update 12:45 p.m. The competitors have all been announced, including a WrestleMania 3-style entrance for Joey Chestnut, and we’re about to be underway at Coney Island.
A 4th of July tradition like no other, the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is back! Coverage of the annual event begins at 10:45 a.m. ET with the Women’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, where Miki Sudo will look to make a comeback after missing 2021’s event due to pregnancy. Coverage for the men’s contest will begin at 11:30 ET, with the event officially kicking off at noon. Both events will air on ESPN3 with live stream options available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
Joey Chestnut remains the juggernaut in this event, having won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest every single year dating back to 2007. The last victor other than Chestnut was Takeru Kobayashi, whose personal record sat at 53 3⁄4 hot dogs eaten. Chestnut’s personal best came in 2021, where he ate 76 hot dogs and buns to break the world record.
Prior to the event, Chestnut was the heavy favorite to win at -5000 with the field at +2000. If there were hopes of an underdog, DraftKings Sportsbook has them laying with Geoffrey Esper, who is the favorite to be the men’s outright winner excluding Chestnut from the field with odds at -250. Esper is Major League Eating’s second-ranked eater in the sport, holding records for most SPAM eaten (9.75 pounds) and most slices of a 10” pizza (83) in a 10-minute span, among others.
We’ll be updating this article with the final results and video once the contest wraps.