7-Eleven's Big Bite Challenge Final Match (Finally!)

Last Saturday (November 14), I just witnessed one of the most exciting and gut-wrenching finish to an event I've eagerly anticipated since last August. No, I didn't get the dates mixed up, I'm not talking about the Pacquiao vs Cotto fight. I've always known that Pacquiao will win. No, what I'm talking about is the now long delayed 7-Eleven's Big Bite Hotdog Eating Challenge which I was too chicken to join myself.

Man! Look at them down those hotdogs!

Already twice pushed back, this historic event in the Philippines ended in the same fashion, with the audience's collective breaths' held while sitting at the edge of their seats. The finals started quite simply enough. All 25 finalists were there, and they all look ready. Comedic duo Ariel and Maverick made sure no one got too nervous by poking fun at everything. The finals was quite straightforward enough. Each contestant was given 10 minutes to eat as many hotdogs as they can from a tray that has 50 hotdogs. The one with the least remaining wins. Oh, and they weigh the leftovers, use a complicated formula to determine how much they did not in fact eat, then subtract it from their official score.

50 hotdogs sure looks daunting huh?

Boy was it exciting! At the end of 10 minutes, there appeared to be a clear winner with 14, 2 people tied for 2nd with 13, a guy with 12, another one with 11, 2 with 10 each and 4 with 9 each. After the official count though, they put rolled back the guy with 14 (Kyle) back to 13, took off 10 from the other guy who had 13, thus giving us a 2 way deadlock for 1st and 2nd, another tie for 5th and 6th then a 4 way rumble for the last spot with a cash prize.

Kyle De Guzman's official number got rolled back down by 1 to 13.

Leopoldo Quinto Jr. ties Kyle with 13 amidst the cheers of his fans who went to watch him

I will skip the other tie breakers except to say that while most were enthusiastic during the initial round, most were just about sick of hotdogs during the tie breaker round. In the tie-breaker round, they're given 5 hotdogs, and the fastest to down all 5 wins... except it's not as easy as that. Turns out after downing 13, these guys can't stomach 5 more. So the clock kept ticking... Kyle wolfed down 1 right away but needs a breather before he could continue, Pol having cold sweats now manages only a measly bite on his first. This went on for 6 minutes until the judges mercifully called a time out to renegotiate the rules.

They're just about ready to sick up right there hehe..

The 2 contestants knowing fully well that they can't go any further engages in deep discussion colluding to split both the top prize and the 2nd prize which net each of them a respectable sum of P325K a piece. The judges says no however. They wanted a decisive finish. so they gave them 3 more minutes. The guy who manages to eat the most in 3 takes home the top prize of P500K.

At that, Pol just went wild and wolfed down 1 right away virtually tying Kyle in less than 30 seconds. Over the next minute, he manages 1 more and is now in the lead. Kyle desperately finishes his 2nd to catch up. At the 1 minute mark the crowd just went wild, and Pol as if gaining energy with each scream, just beasted Kyle out of the P500K.

(The winners from left to right) 2nd prize winner of P150K, Kyle De Guzman; Grand prize winner of P500K, Leopoldo Quintos, Jr.; and 3rd prize winner of P75K, Edwin Duque.

Congratulations to all the participants and winners, well done! To 7-Eleven Philippines for bringing this exciting event to our country, thank you! And to all who missed it (like me), there's always next year!

For the curious, here's the list of winners:
1st -- Leopoldo Quintos, Jr. (P500K)
2nd -- Kyle De Guzman (P150K)
3rd -- Edwin Duque (P75K)
4th -- John Paul Aragoncillo (P20K)
5th -- Alejandro Villarino (P20K)
6th -- Jose Lucrecio Rivera (P20K)
7th -- Domingo Beltran (P20K)