Reigning hot dog - eating champ ##s Chestnut , and Kobayashi have retired . Last year Chestnut won after a tiebreaker with Kobayashi . At last year 's contest , 25-year-old Chestnut , a civil engineering student at San Jose State University , eked out a win over Kobayashi , 31 , in a tiebreaker after both initially consumed 59 dogs apiece . Kobayashi vowed to avenge defeat from last year . Legend : Kobayashi beat me in May contest and ` ` lit a fire underneath me ''
Reigning hot dog - eating champ ##s Chestnut , and Kobayashi have retired . Last year Chestnut won after a tiebreaker with Kobayashi . Kobayashi vowed to avenge defeat from last year . Legend : Kobayashi beat me in May contest and ` ` lit a fire underneath me ''