The “Jeopardy!” Masters tournament, featuring some of the quiz show’s top players, has returned for a third season — although it’s without star player James Holzhauer this time.
Here’s a brief overview of the tournament, including the contestants, schedule and what’s happened so far.
Who is competing in the 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament?
This year’s tournament boasts a larger player pool than usual. It has nine contestants instead of six.
The following nine players earned a spot in the third 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 five years ago 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.
- “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 previously 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.
How the ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament works
Each episode in the Masters tournament is one hour long and features two games.
The first three episodes (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 in regular “Jeopardy!” play, the contestants are awarded match points for their wins during the tournament. 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!)
All of the competitors will walk away with a prize:
- Ninth place — $15,000
- Eighth place — $15,000
- Seventh place — $15,000
- Sixth place — $50,000
- Fifth place — $75,000
- Fourth place — $100,000
- Third place — $150,000
- Second place — $250,000
- First place — $500,000
The 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters schedule
Below is the full Masters schedule.
- April 30 — “Jeopardy!” Masters premiere/Knockouts
- Game 1: Groce, Raut and Rutter
- Game 2: Amodio, Craig and Zaheer
- May 7 — Knockouts
- Game 3: Vinjamuri, Hirsch and Harmeyer
- Game 4: Raut, Craig and Hirsch
- May 14 — Knockouts
- May 20 — Quarterfinals
- May 21 — Quarterfinals
- May 27 — Quarterfinals
- May 28 — Semifinals
- June 3 — Semifinals
- June 4 — Finals
The 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters recaps
April 30, Game 1: Groce, Raut and Rutter — Who won?
Raut dominated the opening game of the tournament from start to finish. At the end of the first round, he had 15,400 points. Groce, who was in second, had 3,800, per The Jeopardy Fan website.
Raut maintained that momentum throughout the second half of the game, and by the time the Final Jeopardy clue rolled around, he couldn’t be caught. He got the first win of the tournament, with Groce securing a point for her second-place finish.
Winner: Yogesh Raut
April 30, Game 2: Amodio, Craig and Zaheer — Who won?
The second game of the tournament was closer, with victory in reach for all of the contestants.
Craig landed on both Daily Doubles in the second round, helping him secure a lead — though not a runaway — going into the Final Jeopardy clue.
The final clue — World Literature: “A follow-up to an earlier work, this 1671 effort references eventual triumphs written in the book of Job and the Gospels.”
All three players came up with the correct response — “Paradise Regained.” Craig got the victory with his total of $21,201. Amodio came in second with $16,001 — and Zaheer missed out on the second-place point by just $1.
Winner: Roger Craig
May 7, Game 3: Vinjamuri, Hirsch and Harmeyer — Who won?
Game 3 marked the second runaway match of the tournament — a strong Masters debut from Isaac Hirsch.
Harmeyer ended up snagging the second-place point when Vinjamuri crossed out his initial correct response to the Final Jeopardy clue, per The Jeopardy Fan website.
Winner: Isaac Hirsch
May 7, Game 4: Raut, Craig and Hirsch — Who won?
Game 4 marked yet another runway in the tournament. Raut dominated in his second appearance, breaking out to a staggering lead at the end of the first round with 14,900 points — Hirsch had zero and Roger was in the hole with -3,600, per The Jeopardy Fan.
Going into the Final Jeopardy round, Raut had secured his second win with 25,700 points; Hirsch, in second, had 4,400.
But the second-place point ended up going to Craig, the only contestant who correctly answered the following Final Jeopardy clue: “‘Hide & Seek’ and ‘The Cradle’ by this French artist were among the 200 or so works shown at a gallery on Blvd. Des Capucines in 1874.”
(Answer: “Who is Berthe Morisot?”).
Winner: Yogesh Raut
The 2025 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tracker
- Yogesh Raut — 6 points
- Roger Craig — 4 points
- Isaac Hirsch — 3 points
- Victoria Groce — 1 point
- Matt Amodio — 1 point
- Adriana Harmeyer — 1 point
- Neilesh Vinjamuri — 0 points
- Juveria Zaheer — 0 points
- Brad Rutter — 0 points
