It’s the best time of the year for people who groove to the “Think!” music and love to provide answers in the form of questions.
“Jeopardy! Masters” returns April 30 (ABC, Wednesdays, 9 ET/PT) giving one deserving competitor the chance to walk away with a $500,000 cash prize, a $100,000 charitable donation given in their name, the Trebek Trophy (named for longtime host Alex Trebek) and the ultimate bragging rights.
According to legend-turned-host Ken Jennings, the contestants appear “the right amount of nervous” for the throwdown.
“On a regular ‘Jeopardy!’ taping day, there’s genuine terror,” Jennings says with a laugh. “It’s a stressful thing to go on national TV for the first time, and then in ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ maybe there’s not quite enough terror. Those people are very confident on camera, and that’s what makes ‘Celebrity Jeopardy!’ so great. ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ is the perfect balance.”
This year’s third competition has expanded from six participants to nine, including last year’s champion Victoria Groce, who told USA TODAY she celebrated her victory with “the single silliest bottle of champagne,” goodies from “the fancy cheese shop” and booking a trip to Portugal.
If you have questions about the details of the “Jeopardy! Masters” tournament, allow us to clue you in.
How to watch ‘Jeopardy! Masters’
The first of nine hourlong episodes premieres April 30. Each installment consists of two games. The first six games (or three episodes) features all nine contestants, and the three players with the lowest cumulative scores are eliminated. The tournament’s quarterfinals begin in Episode 4 and include six games over three episodes. Four top contestants will advance to the four-game (two-episode) semifinals. And a winner is crowned after the three finalists face off in two games.
“Jeopardy! Masters” will air on:
Wednesday, April 30
Wednesday, May 7
Wednesday, May 14
Tuesday, May 20
Wednesday, May 21
Tuesday, May 27
Wednesday, May 28
Tuesday, June 3
Wednesday, June 4
Who will be on ‘Jeopardy! Masters?’
The nine slots have been filled by the Top 3 from last year’s “Masters” throwdown, this season’s Tournament of Champions and the Invitational Tournament.
“The only exception is that one of last year’s Masters finalists, James Holzhauer (who placed third), was invited but chose not to compete this year,” Jennings says. “So we found a great sub”: Brad Rutter, who tops the leaderboard for all-time winnings ($4,938,436), will once again vie for a piece of “Jeopardy!” history.
Rutter, whom Jennings jokes is his “‘Jeopardy!’ nemesis,” joins Matt Amodio, Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer (the best of the “Invitational Tournament”), Groce and Yogesh Raut (2024 “Masters” winner), Neilesh Vinjamuri, Isaac Hirsch and Adriana Harmeyer (“Tournament of Champions”).
Jennings dubs Groce the most intimidating of the nine.
“I don’t see a world where I can play at that level anymore,” he says. “It’s been over 20 years since I was on ‘Jeopardy!’ I’m not in my ‘Jeopardy!’ prime anymore.”
Who won ‘Jeopardy! Masters’? After finale, tournament champ (spoiler) spills all
“Jeopardy! Masters” scoring
Ahead of the finals, participants receive points doled out according to their performance in each matchup. The winner of each game is awarded three points, the runnerup gets one point and the third-place contestant receives none.
During the Finals, scores reflect the amount of points racked up in the current episode. The totals from each Finals game will be added to determine the winner.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ 2025: How to watch and who is competing
