Takeru Kobayashi competes in inaugural Crif Dogs Classic

It's the Fourth of July, so we all know what that means: a hot dog eating competition. Even though he's not at Nathan's Hot Dogs on Coney Island, Takeru Kobayashi, arguably the world's most famous competitive eater, will still be downing dogs on this fourth.

Kobayashi is competing in the inauguaral Crif Dogs Classic, held at Crif Dogs in Brooklyn, N.Y. Kobayashi will be facing off with nine other top eaters, including West Coast Hot Dog Eating Champion Tom Gilbert, for the title of Crif Dogs hot dog eating champion.

The rules are simple: competitors will eat as many hot dogs as they can in 12 minutes (similar to the rules of the annual Nathan's hot dog eating competition). First through fifth place eaters will receive cash prizes of up to $15,000.