A sanctioned chili-eating belt match, dozens of hot sauce vendors, and a fundraiser for people with intellectual disabilities all shared the same patio at My Place Sports Bar & Grill in Huntington Beach over the weekend, as the first-ever Waves & Flames Pepper Fest brought professional capsaicin eaters and local foodies together on Commercial Drive. By the end of the day, an Italian title-holder had claimed his first American win, and organizers had raised $1,500 for charity.
Carmelo “Il Gladiatore” Francavilla, who already holds a European belt in Italy, outlasted eight other contestants to win the League of Fire chili-eating contest, according to the Los Angeles Times. The League of Fire, which serves as the official governing body and ranking system for competitive chili-eating, sanctioned the adult belt match as part of its broader effort to standardize rules for the sport across an internationally ranked circuit, per Huck. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2019 by Paul Ouro, Shahina Waseem, and Matt Tangent, the organization awards regional title belts and world champion titles across multiple continents.
A Newcomer Faces Down Millions of Scoville Units
Britney Amber “Spicy Creator” Rizzo, a newcomer from Beaumont with a high tolerance for heat, finished second in her first attempt at a pro-level competition. She told the Times the contest involved millions of Scoville Heat Units and more capsaicin than she normally consumes, and she experienced stiffness and tingling in her arms during the match. That reaction lines up with how capsaicin behaves in the body: ingesting high concentrations activates TRPV1 pain receptors in the mouth and gut, tricking the nervous system into perceiving thermal burns and triggering physical responses like tingling, sweating, and stomach cramps without causing permanent tissue damage, according to Quickobook. That same pain response also triggers a release of endorphins and dopamine, which is why Rizzo, who streams spicy eating challenges on Twitch and TikTok, said she enjoys the euphoric feeling of capsaicin overload.
Other first-timers had their own reckonings with the heat. Alex “The Slime” Michael competed for the first time at the festival, and Ashley “Chi-Li Hot” Dang, who is preparing to debut her own hot sauce line, also made her competitive debut. Dang called the experience humbling but said the spicy community is growing and thriving, a sentiment that echoes the industry's momentum: the U.S. hot sauce market was valued at $1.45 billion in 2025 and is projected to approach $2 billion by 2034, driven by demand for craft and extreme-heat condiments, per Fortune Business Insights.
League of Fire Returns to California After a Long Absence
The Huntington Beach event marked the League of Fire's return to California after several years without a state competition, the Times reported. Co-founder Paul Ouro said small family hot sauce producers in America are leading the way, adding that the West Coast has a thriving community of spice aficionados and that some of the finest hot sauce makers in the world come from Southern California. The event was co-hosted by Shahina “The UK Chilli Queen” Waseem, who built her competitive profile with an undefeated streak of 97 consecutive chili-eating contests before helping found the league, and by Caylee Versfelt.
Top finishers, including Francavilla, earned a spot in the October Pan-American title competition in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which the league notes hosts its largest sanctioned festival lineup on U.S. soil. Gettysburg's annual Blaze for the Brave Pepper Fest serves as the premier championship destination for qualifying American contestants, according to the League of Fire.
A Fundraiser Rooted in a Long Beach Classroom
Behind the belt match was a charitable mission organized by Annee “Reaper Teacher” Boyer, who holds a League of Fire belt herself and teaches students with intellectual disabilities at Jordan High School in Long Beach. Boyer said the event was held with people with intellectual disabilities in mind, and a Best Buddies member supplied balloon decorations for the festival. Saturday's festivities supported local chapters of Best Buddies International and ultimately raised $1,500 for the organization.
Boyer created an on-campus Best Buddies sub-chapter at Jordan High, building on more than a decade advising the school's club, which pairs students with developmental disabilities with student mentors, according to the Long Beach Post. Best Buddies International, founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, has grown into a global nonprofit operating in all 50 U.S. states and more than 50 countries, providing mentorship, training, and socialization opportunities to more than 1.5 million participants worldwide, per Best Buddies International.
Where Sport Meets Local Business
Saturday's competition brought together professional eaters, artisan chili pepper growers, hot sauce makers, and foodies, with the festival featuring hot sauces and raw peppers bred for extreme heat and competitions for both kids and adults. The whole event unfolded at My Place Sports Bar & Grill, a family-owned neighborhood spot at 5452 Commercial Drive known for its outdoor covered patio, fire pit seating, and 35 high-definition televisions, according to the venue's own site.
The heat units at play trace back to a measurement system more than a century old. Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912 while working for Parke-Davis, diluting pepper extracts in sugar water until tasters could no longer detect spiciness, a method that eventually gave rise to the Scoville Heat Units still cited at events like Waves & Flames. The scale's modern extremes are staggering: Guinness World Records crowned Pepper X the world's hottest chili in October 2023, averaging 2.693 million Scoville Heat Units and surpassing the Carolina Reaper's previous record of 1.64 million SHU, a pepper crossbred over a decade in South Carolina by hot pepper expert Ed Currie.
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