The “Jeopardy!” Masters tournament, featuring six of the game’s top competitors, has returned for a second season.
Last year’s inaugural “Jeopardy!” Masters tournament was one for the books, featuring impressive wagers, an abundance of jokes at host Ken Jennings’ expense, unexpected zingers from Jennings, and moving moments of love and support among the players and “Jeopardy!” crew, as the Deseret News reported.
This year’s tournament also promises to be eventful — “I think this year’s field is even tougher,” “Jeopardy!” legend James Holzhauer, who won last year, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in an email.
Holzhauer, who dominated in last year’s tournament, is looking to defend his title. But he’s going to have a lot of competition as he tries to maintain it — along with winning a $500,000 prize and the Trebek Trophy.
Here’s an overview of the Masters tournament, including the contestants, schedule and recaps.
Who is competing in the 2024 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament?
The following six players earned a spot in the Masters tournament:
- Returning champion Holzhauer, who is No. 2 in “Jeopardy!” history for highest earnings in regular season play — and holds the No. 1 through No. 10 spots for highest single-game winnings. The 32-game champ also places fourth for most consecutive games won on the show.
- Mattea Roach, a 23-game champ who is the youngest super-champion in “Jeopardy!” history and sits at No. 5 for most consecutive games won. Roach, who placed second in the Masters tournament last year, also holds the No. 6 spot for highest winnings in regular season play and all-time “Jeopardy!” winnings.
- Matt Amodio, a 38-game champ who holds the No. 3 spot for most consecutive games won. Amodio, who placed third in the inaugural Masters tournament last year, also sits at No. 3 for highest winnings in regular season play and No. 5 for all-time winnings.
- Amy Schneider, a 40-game champion who sits No. 2 — behind only Ken Jennings — for most consecutive games won. Schneider, who won the 2022 Tournament of Champions, placed fifth in the Masters tournament last year. She also sits No. 4 for both highest winnings in regular season play and all-time “Jeopardy!” winnings.
- Yogesh Raut, a three-game “Jeopardy!” champion who earned his spot in the Masters by winning this year’s Tournament of Champions.
- Victoria Groce, a “Jeopardy!” Season 22 one-game champion and current participant on ABC’s “The Chase.” Groce earned a spot in the Masters by winning the inaugural “Jeopardy!” Invitational Tournament that aired earlier this year.
How the 2024 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament works
Overall, the three-week Masters tournament will air over the course of three weeks. Each hourlong episode, which airs on ABC, will feature two 30-minute games.
The six players will first compete against each other in a series of 12 quarterfinal games (six episodes) with the top four advancing to the semifinals. During the four-game semifinals, one more player will be eliminated. The top three will then compete for the $500,000 prize and Trebek Trophy in a two-game finale.
Up until the finals, players are awarded match points for their wins. The winner of any given game will receive three points. A second-place finish earns two points while placing third does not earn anything, according to the “Jeopardy!” website.
Match points are reset at the start of the semifinals and the finals. The winner of the two-game finals receives the grand prize.
But the other players don’t come up empty-handed — every single competitor in the tournament will walk away with a prize:
- Sixth place — $50,000.
- Fifth place — $75,000.
- Fourth place — $100,000.
- Third place — $150,000.
- Second place — $250,000.
- First place — $500,000.
In the event of a tie, the following factors, listed in order of importance, will be considered when deciding who advances from a stage of the competition, per the “Jeopardy!” website:
- Who has won the most games?
- Who has provided the most correct responses?
- Cumulative score (excluding Final Jeopardy and Daily Double wagers).
- Cumulative score (excluding Final Jeopardy).
The 2024 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament schedule: How to watch
The quarterfinal games begin May 1 and run through May 13, according to the “Jeopardy!” website.
- May 1, Game 1 — Roach, Amodio, Groce.
- May 1, Game 2 — Holzhauer, Raut, Schneider.
- May 6, Game 3 — Holzhauer, Roach, Amodio.
- May 6, Game 4 — Groce, Raut, Schneider.
- May 8, Game 5 — Raut, Amodio, Schneider.
- May 8, Game 6 — Groce, Holzhauer, Roach.
- May 10, Game 7 — Amodio, Schneider, Roach.
- May 10, Game 8 — Groce, Raut, Holzhauer.
- May 13, Game 9 — Groce, Holzhauer, Amodio.
- May 13, Game 10 — Raut, Schneider, Roach.
- May 15, Game 11 — Holzhauer, Amodio, Raut.
- May 15, Game 12 — Groce, Schneider, Roach.
Groce, Raut, Holzhauer and Schneider have advanced to the semifinals.
The Masters semifinals air on May 17 and 20, with a two-game finale airing on May 22, according to the schedule.
Episodes air at 7 p.m. MDT on ABC. All episodes are available for streaming the following day on Hulu.
2024 ′Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament recaps
Note: This section will be updated each evening of the tournament.
May 1, Game 1: Roach, Amodio, Groce — Who won?
Groce dominated the opening game of the tournament, securing a win before the Final Jeopardy round, per The Jeopardy Fan website. Groce entered the final round with 31,600 points; Roach was in second with 7,400; and Amodio trailed in third with 800 points.
Although he didn’t get any points for his third-place finish, Amodio was the only one to correctly answer the following Final Jeopardy clue, under the category Latin Science Terms: “In 1694, the latest in bio-knowledge was Tournefort’s ‘Elements of Botany’ listing 698 of these, like ambrosia and chrysanthemeum.”
(The answer: genus).
May 1, Game 2: Holzhauer, Raut, Schneider — Who won?
Game 2 of the Masters tournament was also a runaway — but not for Holzhauer. As The Jeopardy Fan website noted, Holzhauer missed a Daily Double and was in third place after the first round. Although he gained some momentum during the second round, the game belonged to Raut, who went into the Final Jeopardy round with 26,395 points and couldn’t be caught — Holzhauer had 10,200 points and Schneider had 7,000.
May 6, Game 3: Holzhauer, Roach, Amodio
The return of the Masters tournament Monday night saw yet another runaway game. Although Amodio had a strong start, it was Holzhauer who dominated in the second half, going all in on the round’s two Daily Doubles and finishing with a whopping 45,200 points ahead of Final Jeopardy, per The Jeopardy Fan website. Holzhauer could not be caught; Amodio, in second, had 19,200 points while Roach had 5,600.
May 6, Game 4: Schneider, Raut, Groce
At this point in the tournament, officially every game has been a runaway. Game 4 marked Groce’s second victory; she’s the only contestant in the tournament (so far) who has won two games. Although Groce was the only contestant to miss the Final Jeopardy clue, it didn’t matter: She accrued 41,000 points going into the final round — well ahead of Raut’s 11,800 and Schneider’s 10,200, per The Jeopardy Fan website.
The Final Jeopardy clue — 20th-century writers: “Becoming a British subject in 1927, he described himself as a classicist in literature, royalist in politics and Anglo-Catholic in religion.”
(Answer T.S. Eliot).
May 8, Game 5: Raut, Amodio, Schneider.
Game five of the tournament continued this season’s runaway theme. This time, Raut was the competitor who emerged victorious, finishing with 36,400 points going into the Final Jeopardy round — Schneider, in second, had 12,200 points, per The Jeopardy Fan website.
May 8, Game 6: Groce, Holzhauer, Roach.
Game 6 brought the Masters tournament’s first non-runaway game — although Groce still had a massive lead heading into the final round. And the Final Jeopardy clue proved to be particularly tricky — all three contestants missed it. But due to a conservative wager, Groce maintained her lead and secured a victory, per The Jeopardy Fan website.
The Final Jeopardy clue — Famous last words: “In 1530 he made his last confession and wished that ‘I had served God as diligently as I had done the King.’”
(Answer: Cardinal Wolsey).
May 10, Game 7: Amodio, Schneider, Roach.
Thanks to a large Daily Double wager in the second round, Schneider got in a good position to secure her first victory of the tournament. But Roach got a Daily Double of their own to make it one of the more even matches of the tournament, per The Jeopardy Fan website. It all came down to the Final Jeopardy clue, which all three contestants got right, giving Schneider the win.
The Final Jeopardy clue — the 20th century: “Hearing about the speech that launched this eponymous process, the head of the CIA wondered if Nikita Khrushchev had been drunk.”
(Answer: destalinization).
May 10, Game 8: Groce, Raut, Holzhauer.
Game 8 brought the tightest match in the tournament (so far). Thanks to large Daily Double wagers from both Groce and Holzhauer during the second round, Game 8 was a three-way tie with just nine clues remaining, The Jeopardy Fan website reported. The game was easily in all three contestants’ reach going into the Final Jeopardy round.
Holzhauer was the only player to miss the Final Jeopardy clue. Raut’s massive wager gave him the win, while Groce secured second place.
The Final Jeopardy clue — The American theater: Director and author, their 1960 rift over a new play set in the South ended ‘the most important…collaboration’ of 20th-century U.S. theater.”
(Answer: Elia Kazan and Tennessee Williams).
May 15, Game 11: Holzhauer, Amodio, Raut.
In Game 11, Holzhauer led following the first and second round, but his lead was not large enough to guarantee him the win going into Final Jeopardy, according to The Jeopardy Fan.
However, Holzhauer answered — and wagered — correctly to secure the win. Amodio also answered the Final Jeopardy clue correctly.
The Final Jeopardy clue — Military People: “In April 2020, Chief Master Sergeant Roger Towberman became the first enlisted member of this.”
(Answer: Space Force).
May 15, Game 12: Roach, Schneider, Groce.
In the final game of the quarterfinals, Schneider and Roach were competing for a spot in the semifinals. Groce ran away with the game in the Double Jeopardy round and Schneider got enough points to secure second place before Final Jeopardy started, according to The Jeopardy Fan.
None of the contestants answered the Final Jeopardy clue correctly, but none of them had bet any money on it.
The Final Jeopardy clue — Short Stories: “‘Down — steadily down it crept ... downward with its lateral velocity. To the right — to the left’ is in this 1842 tale.”
(Answer: ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’).
2024 ‘Jeopardy!’ Masters tournament tracker
Victoria Groce — 16 points.
Yogesh Raut — 10 points.
James Holzhauer — 9 points.
Amy Schneider — 6 points.
Mattea Roach — 5 points.
Matt Amodio — 2 points.