Jeopardy! fans share bold theory why newcomers are ‘miles ahead’ in Masters and legend James Holzhauer is ‘off his game’
Ken Jennings hosts the six-champ special worth $500,000 across the month of May.
Jeopardy! Masters Season 2 premiered last Wednesday, May 1 on ABC.
The six elite-level contestants are Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Victoria, and Yogesh.
Victoria and Yogesh are the only two players who aren’t return players (James won Masters 2023), and so far, they’re blowing away the competition.
In Game 1, Victoria – who advanced by winning April’s Jeopardy! Invitational tournament – “dominated” Mattea Roach and Matt Amodio with 29,867.
Host Ken Jennings called Victoria’s dazzling win a “statement” and a “big Masters debut.”
In Game 2, fellow newcomer Yogesh, who won March’s Tournament of Champions, also notched a runaway over “final boss” reigning champ James and Amy with 26395.
James only lost once during the Masters last year, so it was especially surprising to see him lose on arrival.
James trailed nearly all game and going into Double Jeopardy!, Ken remarked it was a rarity to see James “in third place.”
‘MORE RECENT’
A Facebook user theorized that Victoria and Yogesh having competed more recently may have given them an added edge.
“Wondering if Victoria’s and Yogesh’s dominating performances were aided by their being more honed from their recent appearances,” they wrote.
Another fan replied, “Could be. The others haven’t been on in a while. James was off his game. Not as good as in the past I was thinking the same thing.”
“That’s an interesting take,” a third wrote and a fourth agreed, “I said that last night.”
A fifth wrote, “Yogesh and Victoria were miles ahead of the other four players, tournament-ready, sharp, and the final scores proved exactly that.”
A sixth argued, “Perhaps they should’ve had a couple of warm-up fun games like they had last year.”
Additional fans pointed out that Amy was also in the JIT with Victoria, so, “You can’t make this excuse for Amy. Regardless, it’s WAY early to be making judgment calls.”
One more wrote, “It couldn’t have hurt! I would think that is very much true since Matt and James seem to have a hard time getting their timing, right.”
That said, others pointed out that Yogesh and Victoria are pro trivia players and have unreal knowledge bases – aside from being fast on the buzzer.
MASTERS 2024
Masters is an annual spinoff meant to determine the best player in any given year.
Masters began on May 1 and is scheduled to conclude with a grand finale on May 22.
The Masters grand prize is $500,000, a glitzy Alex Trebek trophy and the title of Jeopardy! Masters Champion.
Fear not, show traditionalists, as Masters will not interfere with regular gameplay, and both will air those nights.
Each Masters episode consists of two half-hour games, and the winner of each is awarded three points, while the runner-up receives one.
The four players with the most points will then advance to the semifinals, and the top three competitors will face off in finals.
FINAL THREE?
Yogesh and Victoria only went on three-day and one-day winning streaks, respectively, and have mostly honed their trivia skills outside of Jeopardy!.
But now that they’re in Masters they’ve quickly become the two to watch.
Victoria and James are (or were?) co-stars on the ABC sister show The Chase, one major draw this year.
Another major draw is the rivalry between Yogesh and James.
The special’s “villains” grew up in the same area of Michigan as Yogesh mentioned tonight to a stoic James.
On Reddit fans are already predicting a “Yogesh, James, Victoria top three”
Jeopardy! Masters continues on Monday, May 6 (8 EDT/PDT) and airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
