Matt Stonie's Best And Worst Eating Competitions
Everyone has that one thing they excel at. Some people may not discover it until they're older, and others know almost immediately the life route they're going to embark on. Well, when it comes to Matt "Megatoad" Stonie, you just get a feeling from the earliest age he knew competitive eating was in his blood. It coursed through his veins like fine wine, and instead of cowering down at the intimidating thought of overstuffing his stomach, he met it head-on with immense success.
One look at his slim frame immediately casts doubt in your mind that he could compete with the best competitive eaters in the world. However, once that time clock starts, you realize his appetite came to win. Matt Stonie is willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to toss back as many pounds of food into his gullet as possible until the metaphorical fat lady sings. But, that doesn't always mean he comes out on top in every gluttonous contest he enters.
As with anyone who attains the level of world champion, there's a healthy amount of disappointment and struggle on the way up the ladder of success. But, the failures and stumbles only make the gleaming prize at the top of the last rung all the more special. And although Stonie's held that first place trophy over his head countless times, he knows what it's like to be bested, as well.
Best: Nathan's Official Hotdog Eating Contest at Coney Island
There are few eating competitions more widely regarded than the famous Nathan's Famous hot dog competition that takes place in Brooklyn's Coney Island every year. Here, all the greats arrive for an epic showdown to see who can choke down the most dogs (with bun, of course) in 10 minutes flat. Sure, you might enjoy a hot dog or two from time to time, but the sheer amount Matt Stonie puts down within the time limit is enough to turn anyone off to hot dogs for years.
Situated right next to reigning champion Joey Chestnut, Stonie has a mountain to climb. He's literally competing against the man whose name is synonymous with "Coney Island Hot Dog Champion." But, like a tried and true competitor, he ushers his stomach's butterflies aside to make room for the incomparable amount of encased tubes of meat ready to force their way into it. And, the aggressive confidence pays off!
It was the year 2015 that Stonie stepped up to the plate to best... well, the best. Chestnut continuously crushed the competition year after year, but that was until a player named Matt Stonie threw on his jersey and entered the gluttonous gridiron. After 10 minutes of wincing faces and body shaking — to wriggle food down — Stonie won with two hot dogs more than Chestnut. Now that's a trophy worth telling the grandkids about.
Best: Bangkok's Biggest Eater Competition
Wontons are one of those foods that, when you're hungry, you feel like you can eat them by the dozens. However, when you actually find yourself faced with more than, let's say 10, you quickly realize your eyes were way bigger than your stomach. Matt Stonie has the advantage that his stomach is actually bigger than his eyes, and he proved it in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2012.
A massive live exhibition was organized to showcase the eating talents of Stonie and two other hopefuls. Of course, these other two guys were stepping up to the plate with the Babe Ruth of eating, and they were just coming out of the minors — they stood no chance. But, events like this one are all about sportsmanship and respect, and that's exactly the vibe that emanated throughout the whole arena while the clock ran. Those vibes pushed Stonie to his limit as he surpassed his competitors in substantial spades.
After all was said and done, Stonie out ate his closest competitor by 53 wontons. That amount alone is enough to feed two families for days. Of course, smiles danced across everyone's faces — including the competitors — as the winners were announced. Stonie's hand was held high by the judge as everyone stared in awe at the 255 shrimp wontons he put away without puking. You'd think Stonie wouldn't want to even look at wontons ever again, but knowing him, he'll be back in no time.
Worst: World Gyro Eating Championship
Let's be honest, there's a certain level of gross that naturally comes with binge eating competitions. At some point, we've all watched someone scarf down their meal like a savage while our stomachs turned over in disgust. Well, this feeling is amplified tenfold when it comes to gyro eating competitions — that tzatziki sauce makes for quite the sloppy face mask. However, our Megatoad didn't think twice about it during the 2016 Niko Niko's World Gyros Eating Championship.
Squared up against his arch-rival Joey Chestnut (among other lesser competitors), Stonie was ready to plunder the gyro village and leave no lamb unscathed. Behind each competitor was a scorekeeper ready to tally up the insane amount of gyros inhaled by everyone onboard. Stonie and Chestnut were clearly the heavyweights, however, and most of the crowd's eyes were on them.
Well, that tzatziki sauce we mentioned earlier came into play immediately, coating the cheeks and fingers of all the competitors like white paint — towards the end, it looked like some of the competitors were wearing white surgical gloves (yuck!). Once the final bell rang, however, it didn't matter how much sauce was splattered all over Stonie; he ended up two gyros behind Chestnut for a second-place win. Next time Stonie. Next time.
Best: World Donut Eating Championship
Copious amounts of processed sugar are one of the worst things to incorporate into a diet — not only is sugar a major cause of obesity, but prolonged exposure leads to all kinds of diseases, including diabetes. But, if you're Matt Stonie, you tell Wilford Brimley to take a hike while you step up to the 2018 Salvation Army National Donut Day World Donut Eating Championship in Hollywood, California, to put up a "W" on your scoreboard.
Dentists all over the world surely cringed as the competition got underway, but the competitors beamed with pride. Stonie, with his cup of warm water in hand, immediately started slamming down as many glazed donuts as possible. Those doughy cavity-filled rings cowered in fear as he scarfed down one after another like they were Tic-Tacs. With only eight minutes to eat as many as possible, Stonie never showed any signs of weakness, and although he had a winning look in his face throughout many of the minutes, his mouth kept chewing and his throat kept swallowing.
In the end, Megatoad's stomach skills rose to the top of the ranks and he walked away with first place. He received $1,000 for devouring 48 donuts in the allotted time. Now, whenever Stonie passes one of those Salvation Army donation boxes he can proudly know he donated his stomach mass to the cause.
Worst: Waffle Eating Championship
In 2019, the San Jose Barracudas hockey team hosted the first-ever waffle eating competition, and you better believe Stonie was on board to put Eggo to shame. Your morning might start with a hot stack of frozen waffles and Aunt Jemima's sweet nectar filling those square craters, but competitors here weren't looking for a satisfying morning treat. They simply wanted to crush as many circular disks of dough as humanly possible for a cash prize. And Stonie was once again facing off with none other than arch-rival Joey Chestnut. Let the games begin!
Now, while Chestnut and Stonie were clearly the favorites, there was a third competitor among them named Tanya Dubrul. She took the plunge in an attempt to keep up with the two heavy-hitters but bailed out after six waffles — which meant all eyes on the Stonie/Chestnut battle royale. What a bout of eating it became, too. Both men had their eyes on the prize as they forced waffle after waffle into their mouths. Megatoad, in his waffle-munching glory, however, had to bow down to Chestnut once everything came to its gluttonous end.
Stonie ended with a whopping 75 waffles in eight minutes — that's nearly 10 waffles a minute! Chestnut, however, not only bested him by six waffles but he set a new world record with 81. Although, Aunt Jemima looked down with pride on everyone involved.
Best: Rib Eating World Championship
In 2015, the ears of carnivores all around the world perked up once they caught wind of the John Ascuaga's Nugget Rib Eating World Championship that went down in Sparks, Nevada. Literal hotel pans full of ribs were placed before each competitor, and while some of them may have seen an unbeatable challenge on the table, Stonie saw bone-suckin' dominance. And, once again, he was placed right next to his nemesis, Joey Chestnut.
You can tell by now when Stonie and Chestnut are involved in a contest it's likely one of them that reigns supreme. Others try their best, but the stomachs of Stonie and Chestnut exist in a different realm of intensity. The ensuing chaos once the timer began was one for the books. Stonie was consumed with a tornado of meat and bones that seemingly never ended, but it never looked like he lost pace the whole time. Obviously he was concerned with Chestnut devouring his own tray of ribs out of the corner of his eye, but he never let it distract him from the goal at hand.
After 12 minutes finally elapsed — everyone's tired stomachs were keeping an eye on that timer towards the end — Stonie finished nearly 11 pounds of barbecue ribs! Chestnut pulled into the finish line with just under 10 pounds, which meant Stonie, once again, successfully walked off with a trophy after defeating the almighty Chestnut.
Best: World Pasta Eating Championship
Move over Olive Garden, you're no longer the only place that challenges people to consume as many bowls of pasta as possible during one sitting (never-ending pasta bowl much?). The people who attempt to break that culinary record might have a voracious appetite, but it doesn't hold a candle to the appetites brought to the 2015 World Pasta Eating Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now, as anyone knows who's tried to eat copious amounts of pasta knows, it's hard. Like really hard. Pasta fills you up quickly, so forcing pounds of it into your belly makes for a nauseating task. But, Matt Stonie wouldn't deserve his "Megatoad" nickname if he wasn't prepared to embark on such an adventure. With plenty of half-pound bowls set before him, he plunged face first into Martorano's Signature Pasta & Sauce in hopes he came out alive on the other side.
Well, in true Megatoad style, not only did he emerge at the finish line with a smile on his face, but he took down 20 bowls (10 pounds) of pasta in the eight-minute timespan for a first-place trophy and two thousand bones in his wallet. After a contest like this one, he can probably skip eating starch for the next few years.
Best: Chacho's Tacos World Taco Eating Championship
There aren't too many things better in life than tacos. That's why everyone's favorite Stonie showed up at the 2015 Chacho's Tacos World Taco Eating Championship in San Jose, California, for the second time to defend the title he won the previous year. Maybe there was a little bit of residual ego riding on his shoulders when he arrived, but Stonie never let get in the way of the sweet taste of victory.
The great thing about tacos is they don't have the starches of pasta, so a stomach doesn't fill up as quickly. That means Stonie reigned down hell on the shelled vessels in front of a cheering crowd ready to see a champion born for the second year in a row. Joey Chestnut was nowhere to be seen, which gave Stonie some peace of mind, but he still couldn't take the other competitors for granted — tacos were at stake here!
Eight minutes of an absolute taco onslaught ensued under the glaring sun before the whistle blew and contestants swallowed their last remaining bites. Stonie, the man who arrived to prove to everyone he still had what it took one year later, absolutely eviscerated the competition — he wolfed down a mind-blowing 103 tacos for a new world record! Taco Bell, the next time Matt Stonie walks in, get ready to work.
Worst: Radcliff Days Hard-Boiled Egg Eating Championship
If there's one contest that proves competitive eaters are willing to fight (or, eat?) tooth and nail in rain or shine — or constant hail — it was the 2013 Radcliff Days Hard-Boiled Egg Eating Championship in Radcliff, Kentucky. Contestants — including Matt Stonie and Joey Chestnut — gathered under storm clouds showering them with rain and sleet in preparation to annihilate as many hard-boiled eggs as possible before their appetites gave up or hypothermia set in. Luckily, the hypothermia stayed at bay while stomachs withstood an egg overload.
You can only imagine force-feeding yourself eggs during an icy storm would completely take away your will to power on, but no contestant let Mother Nature get in the way of their efforts. Each person sucked down the eggs like they were cake pops until their stomachs' bouncers labeled the organs "at capacity." Talk about a protein overload, this competition must have taken a squadron of chickens to prepare for. As those daunting eight minutes counted down, Stonie and Chestnut were clearly the favored visitors, and neither one was ready to let the weather rain down a loss.
Stonie eventually finished with 120 eggs after time elapsed! But, standing even taller was Chestnut with 141 hard-boiled eggs down the gullet. It's always tough to stomach a loss, but you got the impression everyone was ready to just get out of the sleet by the time everything ended.
Worst: Hillsborough Oyster Eating Competition
Oysters: the edible loogies of the food world. Gross, we know. But, when you find yourself putting a freshly shucked mollusk up to your lips for some serious slurpage, that's the consistency you can expect. And, that's also why the 2013 oyster challenge that went down in Ireland was particularly tough to stomach — both for spectators and for contestants.
There were only three brave souls ready to embark on the mission. Stonie was situated alongside some serious oyster-loving local residents, but he didn't let that throw a wrench in his plans. Once that starting bell sounded the slurping began, and all three men came out of the gates like ravenous beasts. The great thing about oysters is the ease at which each one goes down. The bad part is, after a while, the consistency and briny texture can invoke appetital fear.
No matter how hard Stonie's supporters were screaming his name and encouraging him to dominate the Irish landscape, in the end, he gave praise to another victor. Even though our man took down 203 oysters, the man who took home the gold bested him with 233 oysters in three minutes! That's right folks, three minutes. Not even the biggest fans of shellfish could fathom that accomplishment.
Worst: Corned Beef Sandwich Eating Competition
While corned beef might only slip into your mind around St. Patrick's Day, competitive eaters know that at any moment they could potentially come face to face with the meat, ready to tackle an amount that could feed an entire village in Ireland for weeks on end. In 2012, Stonie joined a panel of people ready to put their Irish heritage to the test and gorge themselves with a flurry of savory corned beef sandwiches at Toojay's Corned Beef Sandwich Eating Contest in West Palm Beach, Florida.
With 10 minutes on the clock, Stonie stood alongside his lifelong competitor Joey Chestnut and stared at the heaping mounds of sandwich meat before him. Was Stonie intimidated? Not at all. In fact, he almost seemed like it was barely a struggle while he ate. Every few chews warranted a sip of water to help the food go down smoothly, but he cruised along while the clock winded down. Unfortunately, cruising along just wasn't enough.
When the dust settled, Stonie walked away with bronze, eating just under 15 sandwiches and earning $1,200 (not too shabby, of course). But, golden boy Joey Chestnut swooped in for the ultimate kill after annihilating 20 entire sandwiches and setting a new world record. Hey, you can't win em' all, Megatoad.
Worst: Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Contest
Ahh, asparagus. The bane of a child's diet everywhere, right next to Brussel sprouts and broccoli. Who would ever want to eat that floppy green vegetable? However, as our adult taste buds develop we realize these kinds of veggies add substantial vitamins to our diets and taste great when cooked with the proper ingredients. And, like most other foods, it tastes great after a nice bath in a deep fryer. That's why the 2011 Deep-Fried Asparagus Eating Contest held in Stockton, California, was one of Stonie's more fascinating competitions.
Not only was this a unique food to devour during a competition, but this actually marked Stonie's very first contest in Major League Eating. This was huge, and although Stonie knew he was coming in green and inexperienced, he tackled it like he'd been there dozens of times before.
Even though Stonie was new, the Megatoad landed himself a third-place finish and $500 after eating six pounds of fried asparagus. First-place went to... can you guess? Yep, Joey Chestnut. However, this was just the very beginning of Stonie's rise to the top, and the majority of his voracious iceberg was still submerged underwater.