Major League Eating Returns to Action Amid Pandemic

With sports on hiatus, the Major League Eating circuit is looking to take a bite out of America's absence of live entertainment.

Major League Eating, organizers of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest held on the Fourth of July, has partnered with BetOnline.ag to offer a quarantine consumption competition that will feature professional eaters such as Joey Chestnut, Matt Stonie, Miki Sudo and Badlands Booker.

The BetOnline Quarantine Challenge kicks off Friday, April 17, with the qualifying round where contestants will consume two pounds of bologna as quickly as they can. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Sunday where Oreos and whole milk are on the table.

In Tuesday's penultimate semifinals, the gluttonous gaggle of competitors will gobble down three pounds of Bush's Original baked beans. This all leads up to the finale when the final two eaters will finish off 10 cups of ramen noodles in record time.

The single-elimination tournament format is akin to March Madness where contestants are seeded through the qualifier and then go head-to-head in the following rounds until a winner is determined.

Every round of the tournament will be broadcast live on the official Major League Eating YouTube channel.

Of course, where there are two or more people in competition, there will be odds to wager on. Joey Chestnut has been a huge favorite in every dog eating contest for the last decade, and this tournament finds him in familiar position.

Still, Chestnut admitted there are some distinct differences for this event.

"It's strange to not know what your competition is doing since they aren't right next to you," Chestnut said. "The variety of foods is another challenge. Every eater has preferences when it comes to flavor and texture. I'm no a fan of bologna by itself so I'm worried it might give me trouble."

According to odds from BetOnline.ag, Chestnut is a -110 favorite to take home the tournament title. Here are the current odds to win:

BetOnline Quarantine Challenge Odds
Joey Chestnut -110
Matt Stonie +400
Darron Breeden +500
Gideon Oji +700
Miki Sudo +1000
Michelle Lesco +1200
Nick Wehry +1200
Eric Booker +2000

The betting platform is also offering head-to-head matchups for in Round 1, overall fastest times and whether or not anyone will vomit during the competition.