The “Jeopardy!” Masters tournament, featuring some of the quiz show’s top players, is returning for a third season — and bringing with it a change to the format and a surprise in the lineup.
Here’s a brief overview of the upcoming tournament.
When is the 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament?
“Jeopardy!” recently announced that the tournament’s third season will premiere April 30 on ABC.
Per a recent “Jeopardy!” Instagram post, the tournament runs through June 4.
Below is the full schedule:
- April 30 — “Jeopardy!” Masters premiere
- May 7 — Knockouts
- May 14 — Knockouts
- May 20 — Quarterfinals
- May 21 — Quarterfinals
- May 27 — Quarterfinals
- May 28 — Semifinals
- June 3 — Semifinals
- June 4 — Finals
Episodes will be available for streaming on Hulu the day after they air on ABC.
Who is competing in the 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament?
This year’s tournament boasts a larger player pool than usual, with nine contestants instead of six.
The following nine players have earned a spot in the upcoming Masters tournament:
- Returning Masters champion Victoria Groce, who defeated “Jeopardy!” greats James Holzhauer and Yogesh Raut in the tournament last year, as the Deseret News reported. Groce, who was a one-game champion during her initial “Jeopardy!” run back in 2005 — defeating 19-game winner David Madden — also won the inaugural “Jeopardy!” Invitational Tournament in 2024.
- Brad Rutter, the winningest player in “Jeopardy!” history. Rutter holds the No. 1 spot for all-time winnings, earning nearly $5 million from competing on the quiz show over the years, per the “Jeopardy!” Leaderboard of Legends. Rutter, who initially had a five-game winning streak in 2000 before the show lifted the five-game limit, last competed in the “Jeopardy!” Greatest of All Time Tournament against Ken Jennings and Holzhauer.
- Returning Masters finalist Yogesh Raut, who won three games during his initial “Jeopardy!” run in 2023 and was the 2024 Tournament of Champions winner, as the Deseret News previously reported.
- Neilesh Vinjamuri, a three-game “Jeopardy!” champ in 2024, who went on to win the 2025 Tournament of Champions, as the Deseret News previously reported.
- “Jeopardy!” super-champion Adriana Harmeyer, who won 15 games in 2024 and was a finalist in this year’s Tournament of Champions.
- “Jeopardy!” super-champion Isaac Hirsch, who won nine games last year and was a finalist in the 2025 Tournament of Champions.
- Matt Amodio, who holds the No. 3 spot for most consecutive games won in “Jeopardy!” history with 38, as the Deseret News reported. Amodio placed third in the inaugural Masters tournament and won the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament earlier this year. The “Jeopardy!” great also holds the No. 3 spot for highest winnings in regular season play and sits at No. 4 for all-time winnings.
- Juveria Zaheer, who after losing her first game in 2022 went on to dominate in the Second Chance Tournament a year later. She also won the 2024 “Champions Wildcard” tournament and placed as a quarterfinalist in the 2024 Tournament of Champions, as the Deseret News reported. Most recently, Zaheer was a finalist in the 2025 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament.
- Roger Craig, who had a six-game winning streak in 2010 and won the Tournament of Champions the following year. At the time of his run, Craig was the third-highest winning contestant on the show, as the Deseret News previously reported. He competed in the 2014 Battle of the Decades and the 2019 All-Star games and, most recently, was a finalist in the 2025 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament.
One star player is notably missing from the lineup: Holzhauer, who had an automatic bid due to being a finalist in last year’s Masters tournament, is not competing this year.
The reason for his absence has not been stated.
The 32-game champ who won the inaugural Masters tournament in 2023 is No. 2 in “Jeopardy!” history for highest earnings in regular season play (he’s No. 3 for all-time winnings) — and holds the No. 1 through No. 10 spots for highest single-game winnings. He also places fourth for most consecutive games won on the show.
How does the ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament work?
Each episode in the Masters tournament is one hour long and features two games.
The first three episodes — contained the first six games — are knockouts that will eliminate the bottom three players. The remaining six contestants will then compete against each other in a series of six quarterfinal games (over the next three episodes) that will eliminate two players, according to the official “Jeopardy!” website.
The four remaining contestants will compete against each other in the semifinals (two episodes, four games), and the final three will compete in a two-game finale episode.
Unlike regular “Jeopardy!” play, the contestants are awarded match points for their wins. Winning a game nets 3 points while a second-place finish earns 1 point. Placing third in a game does not earn any points.
Match points are reset at the start of each round. In the event of a tie, the following criteria is used to determine rankings, per “Jeopardy!”:
- Number of games won
- Cumulative correct responses for that particular round of competition (including Final Jeopardy!)
- Cumulative score (excluding Final Jeopardy! and Daily Double wagers)
- Cumulative score (excluding Final Jeopardy!)
As with other “Jeopardy!” tournaments, the winner of the two-game finals will be determined by traditional dollar value scores. The champion will receive the $500,000 grand prize and Trebek Trophy.