Jeopardy! Masters

For the Million Dollar Masters invitational tournament that aired in 2002, see List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events § Million Dollar Masters.

Jeopardy! Masters is an American game show hosted by Ken Jennings on ABC. Its first season featured six recent notable Jeopardy! champions competing against each other in a "Champions League-style" format.^[1] It premiered on May 8, 2023.^[2] In February 2024, it was announced that the show would be renewed for a second season which premiered on May 1, 2024.^[3][4]

Jeopardy! Masters
Genre	Game show
Created by	Merv Griffin
Directed by	Russell Norman Lucinda Owens Margolis
Presented by	Ken Jennings
Narrated by	Johnny Gilbert
Ending theme	"Think!"
Composers	John Hoke (Bleeding Fingers Music) Chris Bell Music & Sound Design Original theme composed by Merv Griffin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	19
Production
Executive producer	Michael Davies
Running time	42 minutes
Production company	Sony Pictures Television[a]
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 8, 2023 (2023-05-08) – present
Related
Jeopardy!

Contestants

Season 1 (2023)

The following six contestants, listed in order of finish, competed in the first Jeopardy! Masters competition:

• James Holzhauer: Won 32 straight games between April and June 2019. Won 2019 Tournament of Champions. Runner-up in The Greatest of All Time tournament. Holder of the fourth-longest winning streak and second-largest cash winnings in regular play. Holder of all top ten all-time single-game scores and fastest milestones.^[5] Total winnings of $2,964,216.^[6]
• Mattea Roach: Won 23 straight games between April and May 2022. Total winnings of $572,983.^[6]
• Matt Amodio: Won 38 straight games between July and October 2021. Holder of the third-longest winning streak and third highest cash winnings in regular play. Total winnings of $1,529,601.^[6]
• Andrew He: Won 5 straight games before losing to Amy Schneider. 2022 Tournament of Champions runner-up. Total winnings of $259,365.
• Amy Schneider: Won 40 straight games between November 2021 and January 2022. Won 2022 Tournament of Champions. Holder of the second-longest winning streak and fourth-largest cash winnings in regular play. Total winnings of $1,634,800.^[6]
• Sam Buttrey: Won 2021 Professors Tournament. 2022 Tournament of Champions 3rd place finalist. Total winnings of $150,000.

As the three finalists, Holzhauer, Roach, and Amodio all received invitations to the season two Masters competition.

Season 2 (2024)

The following six contestants, listed in order of finish, competed in the second Jeopardy! Masters competition:

• Victoria Groce: Won one game in September 2005, defeating 19-game champion David Madden. Qualified as Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament winner, having been invited in part on the strength of quizzing activities following her Jeopardy! appearance, including as a chaser on The Chase. Total winnings of $623,801.^[7][8]
• Yogesh Raut: Won three straight games in January 2023. Qualified as 2024 Tournament of Champions winner. Total winnings of $598,403.^{[9][better source needed]}
• James Holzhauer: Qualified as 2023 Masters champion. Total winnings of $3,614,216.
• Amy Schneider: Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament runner-up. Qualified as a wildcard contestant, chosen by producers. Total winnings of $1,782,800.^[10]
• Mattea Roach: Qualified as 2023 Masters runner-up. Total winnings of $885,983.
• Matt Amodio: Qualified as 2023 Masters 3rd place finalist. Total winnings of $1,718,601.

Tournament format

The tournament features six former Jeopardy! champions competing round-robin style, with the first season consisting of 10 hour-long episodes featuring two games each, for a total of 20 games.^[11][12][13] Initially, the producers intended to structure the tournament as a pure round-robin system with every possible combination of three players (${\displaystyle C(6,3)=20}$), without eliminations.^[11] This was adjusted to a three-round structure prior to production. In the second season, the number of episodes was reduced to nine (eighteen games total), with the same overall structure.^[4]

Unlike traditional Jeopardy!, which is scored in dollars, all of the games in this tournament are scored in points, just like in Super Jeopardy!, the first two seasons of Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, Sports Jeopardy!, and Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.

The producers have also used Jeopardy! Masters to experiment with variations to the Jeopardy! format. In the first season, each round began with the revelation to the television audience of the location of that round's Daily Double(s); this did not continue in the second season.^[14]

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals consist of several round-robin matches of two games each; in each episode, three of the contestants play each other in the first game, and the remaining three play in the second game. The winner of each game receives three match points, the first runner-up receives one match point, and the second runner-up receives no match points. The second game of each episode except for the first pairs up the winners from the previous episode against another randomly-selected contestant who has not already played against both winners.

After all quarterfinal episodes, the match points are totaled; the top four contestants advance to the semifinals, while the other two are eliminated from the competition.

There were seven quarterfinal episodes in the first season, and six episodes in the second season.

Semifinals

The four remaining contestants play each other round-robin over four games, with each player sitting out one game. Each player's match points total is reset to zero, and, as in the quarterfinals, the winner of each game receives three match points, second place receives one, and last place receives none. The three highest-ranked players move on to the finals, while the lowest-ranked player is eliminated.

Finals

The three remaining players play each other in a two-game match, as is standard in the final round of most Jeopardy! tournaments. The player with the highest combined score over the two games is declared champion. Furthermore, in the first season, the three players will be automatically qualified in the second edition of the tournament.

Tiebreakers

Should either the quarterfinals or semifinals end in a tie for match points, the following tie-breaking criteria are used, in order:

1. Number of wins
2. Number of total correct responses in that stage (including Final Jeopardy!)
3. Cumulative scores, excluding Daily Double and Final Jeopardy! wagers
4. Cumulative scores, excluding only Final Jeopardy! wagers

Prizes

• First place: $500,000, Trebek Trophy, $100,000 donation for a charity of their choosing, and invitation to the next Masters competition (season 1 only)^[15]
• Second place: $250,000 and invitation to the next Masters competition (season 1 only)
• Third place: $150,000 and invitation to the next Masters competition (season 1 only)
• Fourth place: $100,000^[b]
• Fifth place: $75,000^[c]
• Sixth place: $50,000^[c]

Standings

Season 1 (2023)

Quarterfinals

Ranking	Contestant	Match points	Tiebreakers				Result
			Games won	Correct responses (including FJ!)	Score (excluding FJ! & DD)	Score (excluding FJ!)
1st	James Holzhauer	18	6	193	152,600	247,805	Qualified for semifinals
2nd	Andrew He	13	3	131	107,000	121,800
3rd	Matt Amodio	9	3	115	88,800	112,800
4th	Mattea Roach	8	2	112	75,000	86,400
5th	Amy Schneider	5	0	95	66,800	70,800	5th place
6th	Sam Buttrey	3	0	115	70,000	80,600	6th place

Semifinals

Ranking	Contestant	Match points	Tiebreakers				Result[16]
			Games won	Correct responses (including FJ!)	Score (excluding FJ! & DD)	Score (excluding FJ!)
1st	James Holzhauer	9	3	72	51,400	70,000	Qualified for finals & Jeopardy! Masters season 2
2nd	Matt Amodio	3	1	44	36,200	46,200
3rd	Mattea Roach	2	0	50	35,000	44,400
4th	Andrew He	2	0	45	33,400	37,600	4th place

Finals

Contestant	Game 1 Score	Game 2 Score	Total Score	Result
James Holzhauer	34,315	9,481	43,795	Champion
Mattea Roach	24,800	16,885	41,685	Runner-up
Matt Amodio	12,000	3,200	15,200	3rd place

Season 2 (2024)

Quarterfinals

Ranking	Contestant	Match points	Tiebreakers				Result
			Games won	Correct responses (including FJ!)	Score (excluding FJ! & DD)	Score (excluding FJ!)
1st	Victoria Groce	16	5	150	132,200	190,005	Qualified for semifinals
2nd	Yogesh Raut	10	3	120	94,200	120,395
3rd	James Holzhauer	9	2	127	87,800	127,000
4th	Amy Schneider	6	1	86	59,000	73,400
5th	Mattea Roach	5	1	81	53,200	61,200	5th place
6th	Matt Amodio	2	0	89	50,200	49,800	6th place

Semifinals

Ranking	Contestant	Match points	Tiebreakers				Result[17]
			Games won	Correct responses (including FJ!)	Score (excluding FJ! & DD)	Score (excluding FJ!)
1st	James Holzhauer	7	2	65	47,200	66,400	Qualified for finals
2nd	Yogesh Raut	5	1	56	39,800	62,400
3rd	Victoria Groce	4	1	63	49,800	56,000
4th	Amy Schneider	0	0	26	6,400	6,400	4th place

Finals

Contestant	Game 1 Score	Game 2 Score	Total Score	Result
Victoria Groce	21,400	34,000	55,400	Champion
Yogesh Raut	19,200	26,710	45,910	Runner-up
James Holzhauer	28,309	9,708	38,017	3rd place

Updated to games broadcast through May 22, 2024. Source:^[17]

Episodes

The winner of each game and the final is highlighted in bold.

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	10		May 8, 2023 (2023-05-08)	May 24, 2023 (2023-05-24)
2	9		May 1, 2024 (2024-05-01)	May 22, 2024 (2024-05-22)

Season 1 (2023)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [18][16]	Contestant 1 (score)	Contestant 2 (score)	Contestant 3 (score)	Original release date [18]	U.S. viewers (millions)	Rating (18–49)
1	1	"Game 1"	Schneider (28,200)	Amodio (14,201)	He (28,401)	May 8, 2023 (2023-05-08)	5.78[19]	0.6[19]
		"Game 2"	Holzhauer (39,988)	Roach (6,199)	Buttrey (18,401)
2	2	"Game 3"	Buttrey (2,399)	Schneider (17,700)	Roach (22,401)	May 9, 2023 (2023-05-09)	5.49[20]	0.5[20]
		"Game 4"	He (9,600)	Holzhauer (0)	Amodio (27,400)
3	3	"Game 5"	Holzhauer (44,681)	Schneider (9,121)	Buttrey (20,600)	May 10, 2023 (2023-05-10)	5.45[21]	0.5[21]
		"Game 6"	He (20,700)	Roach (30,401)	Amodio (15,201)
4	4	"Game 7"	He (37,600)	Buttrey (0)	Schneider (9,800)	May 12, 2023 (2023-05-12)	5.20[22]	0.4[22]
		"Game 8"	Holzhauer (23,678)	Roach (5,958)	Amodio (-2,000)[d]
5	5	"Game 9"	Roach (13,599)	Amodio (16,799)	Schneider (16,401)	May 15, 2023 (2023-05-15)	5.80[23]	0.7[23]
		"Game 10"	Holzhauer (23,999)	He (8,800)	Buttrey (0)
6	6	"Game 11"	He (15,100)	Roach (11,201)	Buttrey (2,799)	May 16, 2023 (2023-05-16)	5.65[24]	0.6[24]
		"Game 12"	Holzhauer (29,890)	Amodio (5,599)	Schneider (13,000)
7	7	"Game 13"	Roach (6,799)	Amodio (31,000)	Buttrey (14,000)	May 17, 2023 (2023-05-17)	5.66[25]	0.5[25]
		"Game 14"	Holzhauer (21,392)	He (9,600)	Schneider (3,000)
8	8	"Semifinals 1"	Holzhauer (30,401)	He (22,000)	Amodio (15,201)	May 22, 2023 (2023-05-22)	5.81[26]	0.5[26]
		"Semifinals 2"	Holzhauer (24,700)	He (12,484)	Roach (15,999)
9	9	"Semifinals 3"	Holzhauer (24,292)	Roach (10,886)	Amodio (0)	May 23, 2023 (2023-05-23)	5.91[27]	0.6[27]
		"Semifinals 4"	Roach (5,799)	He (15,199)	Amodio (32,800)
10	10	"The Finals[e]"	Holzhauer (34,314 + 9,481 = 43,795)	Amodio (12,000 + 3,200 = 15,200)	Roach (24,800 + 16,885 = 41,685)	May 24, 2023 (2023-05-24)	6.47[28]	0.6[28]

Season 2 (2024)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [18][17]	Contestant 1 (score)	Contestant 2 (score)	Contestant 3 (score)	Original release date [18]	U.S. viewers (millions)	Rating (18–49)
11	1	"Game 1"	Roach (7,089)	Amodio (800)	Groce (29,867)	May 1, 2024 (2024-05-01)	4.20[29]	0.4[29]
		"Game 2"	Holzhauer (13,210)	Raut (26,395)	Schneider (7,000)
12	2	"Game 3"	Holzhauer (46,108)	Roach (5,758)	Amodio (19,200)	May 6, 2024 (2024-05-06)	4.32[30]	0.4[30]
		"Game 4"	Groce (32,000)	Raut (20,401)	Schneider (11,801)
13	3	"Game 5"	Raut (36,400)	Amodio (14,400)	Schneider (14,401)	May 8, 2024 (2024-05-08)	4.10[31]	0.4[31]
		"Game 6"	Groce (23,999)	Holzhauer (11,200)	Roach (0)
14	4	"Game 7"	Amodio (16,000)	Schneider (36,001)	Roach (18,000)	May 10, 2024 (2024-05-10)	3.73[32]	0.3[32]
		"Game 8"	Groce (24,000)	Raut (36,001)	Holzhauer (14,732)
15	5	"Game 9"	Groce (50,000)	Holzhauer (31,514)	Amodio (2,200)	May 13, 2024 (2024-05-13)	4.36[33]	0.4[33]
		"Game 10"	Raut (0)	Schneider (2,399)	Roach (6,399)
16	6	"Game 11"	Raut (0)	Holzhauer (25,015)	Amodio (24,800)	May 15, 2024 (2024-05-15)	4.17[34]	0.4[34]
		"Game 12"	Groce (21,005)	Schneider (7,800)	Roach (2,800)
17	7	"Semifinals 1"	Groce (9,999)	Raut (36,001)	Holzhauer (13,098)	May 17, 2024 (2024-05-17)	4.12[35]	0.3[35]
		"Semifinals 2"	Raut (1)	Groce (27,200)	Schneider (-3,000)[d]
18	8	"Semifinals 3"	Groce (10,800)	Holzhauer (20,278)	Schneider (1,200)	May 20, 2024 (2024-05-20)	4.45[36]	0.4[36]
		"Semifinals 4"	Holzhauer (49,601)	Raut (32,001)	Schneider (16,200)
19	9	"The Finals[e]"	Groce (21,400 + 34,000 = 55,400)	Holzhauer (28,309 + 9,708 = 38,017)	Raut (19,200 + 26,710 = 45,910)	May 22, 2024 (2024-05-22)	4.56[37]	0.5[37]

Notes

1. As Sony Pictures Television Studios in season 1
2. Awarded after the semifinals
3. Awarded after the quarterfinals
4. Eliminated from Final Jeopardy!
5. Final is a Two-legged tie. Scores listed first leg, second leg, total

References

1. Porter, Rick (January 11, 2023). "ABC Adds Jeopardy! Masters to Unscripted Slate". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
2. Rouse, Isaac (March 24, 2023). "ABC Sets Summer 2023 Premiere Dates, Including Jeopardy! Masters & The Bachelorette". TV Insider. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
3. Hailu, Selome (2024-02-10). "'Jeopardy! Masters' Renewed for Season 2; 'Celebrity Family Feud' Renewed for Season 10". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
4. Schneider, Michael (2024-04-10). "'Jeopardy Masters' Return Gets Premiere Date for This Year's Three-Week Event on ABC". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
5. "Leaderboard of Legends". Jeopardy.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
6. "The 10 Biggest Winners In Jeopardy! History". CinemaBlend. June 9, 2022. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
7. Ivie, Devon (April 10, 2024). "Jeopardy! Winner Victoria Groce Endorses the Rock Band Method". Vulture. Vox Media. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
8. "Victoria Groce". J! Archive. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
9. "Yogesh Raut". J! Archive. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
10. Brunner, Jeryl (2024-04-13). "'Jeopardy! Masters' Returns to Primetime! Here Are the 6 Superstars Who Will Compete". Parade. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
11. Davies, Michael; Whitcomb Foss, Sarah; Cohen, Buzzy (January 16, 2023). "What Is Jeopardy! Masters?". Inside Jeopardy! (Podcast). Sony Pictures. Retrieved January 16, 2023 – via YouTube.
12. Wang, Jessica (January 11, 2023). "6 highest-ranked Jeopardy champions to face off in new masters tournament". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
13. Holmes, Martin (January 17, 2023). "Jeopardy! Bosses Drop Huge News About 'Masters' Series". TV Insider. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
14. Zwiesen, Zack (May 8, 2023). "Jeopardy!'s Big Winners-Only Tournament Is Changing How Daily Doubles Work". Kotaku. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
15. "How Jeopardy! Masters 2024 Works". Jeopardy.com. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
16. "Contestant Zone | 2023 Jeopardy! Masters". Jeopardy!. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
17. "2024 Jeopardy! Masters". Jeopardy!. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
18. "JEOPARDY! MASTERS (ABC)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
19. Mitch Metcalf (May 9, 2023). "Monday 5.8.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
20. Mitch Salem (May 10, 2023). "Tuesday 5.9.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
21. Mitch Metcalf (May 11, 2023). "Wednesday 5.10.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
22. Mitch Metcalf (May 15, 2023). "Friday 5.12.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
23. Mitch Salem (May 16, 2023). "Monday 5.15.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
24. Mitch Metcalf (May 17, 2023). "Tuesday 5.16.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
25. Mitch Salem (May 18, 2023). "Wednesday 5.17.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
26. Mitch Metcalf (May 23, 2023). "Monday 5.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
27. Mitch Salem (May 24, 2023). "Tuesday 5.23.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
28. Mitch Metcalf (May 25, 2023). "Wednesday 5.24.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
29. Douglas Pucci (May 2, 2024). "Wednesday Ratings: Jeopardy! Masters Slips from Inaugural Season but Boosts Abbott Elementary and the Night for ABC". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
30. Douglas Pucci (May 7, 2024). "Monday Ratings: Bob Hearts Abishola Series Finale on CBS Reaches Total Viewer High Since Fifth Season Premiere". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
31. Douglas Pucci (May 9, 2024). "Wednesday Ratings: Abbott Elementary on ABC Builds Upon Jeopardy! Masters Hour in 18-49". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
32. Douglas Pucci (May 13, 2024). "Friday Ratings: Jeopardy! Masters on ABC Provides Slight Uptick in the Hour Among Total Viewers for ABC". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
33. Douglas Pucci (May 14, 2024). "Monday Ratings: Deal or No Deal Island on NBC Rises to Season-High in Total Viewers with Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
34. Douglas Pucci (May 16, 2024). "Wednesday Ratings: The Amazing Race on CBS Scores Second-Best Performance of Season with 36th Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
35. Douglas Pucci (May 20, 2024). "Friday Ratings: 'Fire Country' on CBS Rises to Two-Month Viewer High with Season Two Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
36. Douglas Pucci (May 21, 2024). "Monday Ratings: La Casa de Los Famosos Hits Series-High in Viewers with 4th Season Finale as Telemundo Tops All Broadcast Networks in 18-49". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
37. Douglas Pucci (May 23, 2024). "Wednesday Ratings: Jeopardy! Masters on ABC Rises to Best Season Two Figures with Finale". Programming Insider. Retrieved May 23, 2024.

External links

• Official 2023 Jeopardy! Masters website
• Official 2024 Jeopardy! Masters website
• Official ABC website