WORLD CHAMPION JOEY CHESTNUT TO COMPETE IN BUFFALO AT THE US NATIONAL WING CHAMPIONSHIP

Top National Talent to Include Gideon Oji, Sonya Thomas, Geoffrey Esper and Yasir Salem

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Champion chicken wing eater Joey Chestnut will compete at the National Buffalo Wing Festival’s Annual U.S. National Buffalo Wing-Eating Championship at 5 P.M. on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at The Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY. 

Challenging Chestnut in the event will also be 6’ 9” rookie sensation Gideon Oji from Atlanta, GA, who recently ate 170 chicken wings in ten minutes. Former wing-eating champion Sonya Thomas will seek a comeback. 

Eating competitions at the two-day National Buffalo Wing Festival get underway on Saturday, September 3 at 6 P.M with the Buffet Bowl, a first-to-finish contest headlined by a deep field of Major League Eaters, including Joey Chestnut, Gideon Oji, Sonya Thomas, Geoffrey Esper, Yasir Salem and the great Badlands Booker. On Sunday, September 4, at 5 P.M., all eyes will be on Chestnut at the U.S. National Buffalo Wing-Eating Championship, a 12-minute, all-you-can-eat contest. At stake over the weekend are two championship titles and a total of $5,000 in cash prizes. Both events will be held at the main stage at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, NY.

" Major League Eating events have become a festival favorite for our Wingfest attendees. Joey Chestnut and Sonya Thomas have been adopted as sports legends here in Buffalo,” said Drew Cerza, National Buffalo Wing Festival founder.

"Competitive eating is the crucible through which true champions are forged," said Major League Eating Chairman George Shea. "This year we will witness one of the most monumental match-ups ever in sports at one of the greatest festivals in history.  Buffalo is literally the best place to be on Labor Day, especially if you love chicken wings and America."

The U.S. National Buffalo Wing-Eating Championship is a contest to see who can consume the wing meat off the bone. A debris-food, the wings are weighed before and after the contest. Competitors in the Buffet Bowl race to finish a five-pound bowl of food that features various staples of Buffalo cuisine. In past years, Buffet Bowl items have included Buffalo-style chicken fingers, BBQ wings, Buffalo-style chicken salad, sausages and pierogies.

National Buffalo Wing Festival

At last year’s National Buffalo Wing Festival more than 500,000 wings were served to 71,000 attendees. Throughout the festival’s history, more than 865,000 visitors have consumed 4.5 million wings.  The annual event has raised more than $325,000 for Western New York charities. For more information on the National Buffalo Wing Festival, visit www.buffalowing.com. 

Major League Eating

Major League Eating (MLE) is the world governing body of all stomach-centric sports and conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. For more information visit www.MajorLeagueEating.com, www.facebook.com/eatfast, www.twitter.com/eatingcontest.