No Joey Chestnut? Who surprised in this year's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest

With Joey Chestnut banned from the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, last year’s runner up Jeffery Esper became this year’s favorite, but the 9th ranked eater in the world took the Mustard Belt.

Chestnut didn't compete in this year’s Fourth of July competition because of his marketing deal with Impossible Foods that sells a rival hot dog made from plant-based meat.

So unlike previous years, the biggest question before the contest wasn't how many more hot dogs Chestnut would eat, but who will take his throne. Esper, ranked No. 2 in the Major League Eating rankings , fell to Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, 39, of Chicago.

Who won the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest

Esper, who downed 49.5 hotdogs in 2023, managed four more this year, but that was only good enough for second. Bertoletti, a longshot based on odds set by Bet U.S., ate 58 to win the $10,000 first-place prize.

Favorites to win Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest this year

Chestnut consumed 62 hot dogs in last year's competition – his lowest hot dog total since 2015 – and still defeated Esper by about 15 hot dogs.

This Fourth of July isn't without Chestnut, though. The 16-time champion planned to compete in a five-minute, hot-dog contest against soldiers at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas. The Coney Island competition lasts 10 minutes, but Chestnut said he hoped to out-eat the Nathan's winner in half the time.

How many hot dogs has Joey Chestnut eaten before?

Who will win the women's hot dog eating competition?

In the women's competition, Miki Sudo is the clear favorite to repeat, and she did with 51 hot dogs and buns. The moneyline on Bet U.S. was so tilted in her favor, you'd needed to bet $3,000 just to win $100.

Since 2014, Sudo, the third-ranked eater in the world, has won 10 of the last 11 Nathan's Famous competitions. She didn't compete in 2021 because she was pregnant with her son.

Sudo won in 2023 with 39.5 hot dogs. She set the previous Nathan's Famous record of 48.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

How to watch the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024

• TV channels: ESPN2, ESPN3
• Start time: 10:45 a.m. ET (women's) | Noon ET (men's)

The ESPN family of networks is the home of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, and in 2023, announced an extension to broadcast the event through at least 2029.

Contributing: Joe Rivera

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No Joey Chestnut? Who surprised in this year's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest