The number five professional eater in the world, Geoffrey Esper, caused a major upset last night at the sixth annual Hooters World Wing Eating Championship, held poolside at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The Oxford, Massachusetts man skillfully devoured a record-breaking 250 world-famous Hooters chicken wings in 10 minutes to clinch the coveted title over defending champion Joey Chestnut, who held the previous record at 241 wings in 2015.
“I competed two years ago and came in seventh,” said Geoffrey Esper, 2017 Hooters World Wing Eating Champion. “I went to my local Hooters, bought a bunch of wings, and I guess it paid off!”
Esper, 42, took down a field of 11 professionally-ranked eaters in the grueling 10-minute all-you-can-eat contest of world-famous Hooters chicken wings which tested jaw strength, endurance, hand speed and
stomach capacity. He demolished more than 113 additional wings than his last Hooters Wing Eating Championship in 2015, his first year on the professional eating circuit. Hooters commissioned Major League Eating to officially sanction the competition.
Esper takes home the top cash prize of $8,500, along with bragging rights to the coveted world title. In total, $17,500 in cash prizes were awarded collectively among the top seven finishers – one of the largest purse prizes on the Major League Eating calendar.
2017 Hooters World Wing Eating Championship Results:
- Geoffrey Esper, Oxford, Massachusetts – 250 wings
- Matt “Megatoad” Stonie, San Jose, California – 229 wings
- Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan, New Orleans, Louisiana – 210 wings
- Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, San Jose, California – 191 wings
- Gideon Oji, Morrow, Georgia – 168 wings
- Michelle “Cardboard Shell” Lesco, Tucson, Arizona – 158 wings
- Josh Miller, Denver, Colorado – 152 wings
- Richard “the Locust” LeFevre, Henderson, Nevada, 124 wings
- Miki Sudo, Las Vegas, Nevada – 114 wings
- Steve Hendry, Dixon, California – 110 wings
- Eric “Badlands” Booker, Selden, New York – 108 wings
The championship event also celebrated Hooters latest craveable wing innovation: Smoked Wings, now available in participating locations across America. Hooters Smoked Wings are marinated overnight with a dry rub before being hickory smoked in-house, with Hooters oven smokers. Guests can then opt to enhance their wings with several dry rub flavors or sauce them with any of Hooters signature sauces, including teriyaki-style samurai, lemon pepper and chipotle honey.
They’re so good Hooters is issuing a warning – Smoking Can Be Addictive. Hooters invites fans to try its new Smoked Wings on National Smoked Chicken Wing Day, celebrated Saturday, July 29. Buy any ten wings and get ten new Hooters Smoked Wings free at participating Hooters locations nationwide. Just try to stop after ten, we dare you.
To learn more about Hooters World Wing Eating Championship visit www.majorleagueeating.com. To watch the action on Facebook Live playback, visit: