DANGER! The 2024 Masters broke out on Monday, with James Holzhauer and Victoria Groce winning big, and Amy Schneider looking defeated in last place.
Ken Jennings will host the $500,000 six-champion special during the month of May.
7
7
7
Danger! Masters Season 2 aired its second episode of two quarterfinal matches on ABC tonight.
The six elite competitors are Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Victoria and Yogesh Raut.
Newcomers Victoria and Yogesh topped the standings, following their “dominant” debut victories.
So the second episode was about the four returning Masters looking to settle the score.
GAME ONE – JAMES ‘ATTACKS’
In Game 1, Mattea faced Matt and the “self-proclaimed final boss”, defending champion James (a rematch of last year’s Masters final).
After Jeopardy! round, Matt doubled to 10,000 in the first Daily Double, which he hit like Haydn, giving him 12,000, James 6,800, Mattea 1,200.
In interviews, James revealed that he attended the SuperBowl, but had “pink eye,” which Ken joked must have been difficult for someone with “tickets on their nose.”
On Double Jeopardy!, James – who was defeated by Yogesh in the runaway debut – returned to form, earning an early Daily Double and the lead.
Then came the dagger – Jeopardy! James raised eyebrows by going all in with 20,000 in the last Daily Double, despite Matt being 1,200 behind, which took him to 40,000.
James finished Double Jeopardy with a 45.200, the highest score in Masters history.
Everyone was correct with “Clemenceau”, giving James an extra 908 and a record of 46,108 for 3 matchpoints, Matt 1, Mattea 0.
Fans flooded social media in awe of James’ big win, though some admitted they were hoping for a Final Jeopardy comeback joke with an escape.
In fact, other than his name being written in Japanese on his podium, there were no jokes from James on the board, who seemed determined to just win.
“James doesn’t play,” wrote one fan on X.
“James strikes back,” wrote another.
“I thought James might bring a disturbing message,” joked a third party, surprised by James’ seriousness.
A fourth agreed: “I’m a little sad we didn’t get a pro wrestling tease intro or a Final Jeopardy comeback joke from James this year.
GAME 2 – VICTORIA SHINES, AMY FIGHTS
In Game 2, Amy faced last week’s winners, Victoria and Yogesh.
In danger! round, Victoria doubled to 8,800 in the first Daily Double, finishing with 12,200, Yogesh hit the buzzer for 5,000 and Amy had just 600.
In interviews, Victoria revealed that her daughter Nora, in college, is prevented from having an emotional support “lobster” in her dorm.
In Double Jeopardy, Amy won 2,000 “Jeoparbucks” in the second “just in time” Daily Double.
Victoria found the last Daily Double and nailed it, taking her to 33600 and escaping.
At the end of Double Jeopardy she had an impressive 41,000, Yogesh 11,800 and Amy 10,200 – which meant Amy once again finished in last place.
“We knew Victoria would be good but WOW,” one fan wrote.
“They should put Yogesh on a double video daily and the answer would be “the one violating the doorbell button”,” joked one Redditor.
“All hail Queen Victoria,” another X user wrote, while a fourth pointed out “Amy is way behind in third place.”
“Yogesh, your clicker is working. You don’t have to put your full body weight on it every time. The other contestants are just faster than you #Jeopardy,” wrote a fifth.
“Watching Yogesh press the doorbell is hilarious,” wrote a sixth.
Another lamented: “Amy’s confidence is so shaken. 40 games and second place in JIT is sooo commendable, chin up girls!”
An additional fan wrote, “Imagine if Producer’s Choice ended in 6th place haha,” referring to Amy.
One more wrote: “She probably will. Amy is super smart and friendly and one of my favorite players, but she’s just not on the same level as the others.”
“I feel horrible for Amy,” wrote another, and “Yeah, she’s having a rough tournament.”
The standings are now as follows: Victoria leads with 6 match points, James has 4, Yogesh has 4, Matt has 1, Mattea has 1 and Amy has 0.
7
7
STAY INFORMED ON MASTERS 2024
The Masters began on May 1st and is scheduled to end with a grand final on May 22nd.
The annual spinoff aims to determine the best player in a given year.
The Masters grand prize is $500,000, a flashy Alex Trebek trophy to honor the late iconic host and the title of Masters Champion.
Fear not, show traditionalists, as the Masters will not interfere with normal play and both will air on those nights.
Each Masters episode consists of two half-hour games, and the winner of each receives three points, while the runner-up receives one.
The four players with the most points will advance to the semifinals, and the top three will face each other in the finals.
The bottom two will be eliminated before the two semi-final episodes starting on Friday, May 17th.
This means that Amy has four more games to go from last place to at least fourth place to avoid being eliminated.
After the elimination of the fourth placed team, the final will air on May 22nd.
WHAT IS IT: THE MASTERS AGENDA?
Take a look at the official TV schedule to see when you can watch the latest episode of Jeopardy! 2nd season of masters
Wednesday, May 1 at 8pm ET on ABC
Monday, May 6 at 8pm ET on ABC
Wednesday, May 8th at 8pm ET on ABC
Friday, May 10 at 8pm ET on ABC
Monday, May 13th at 8pm ET on ABC
Wednesday, May 15 at 8pm ET on ABC
Friday, May 17th at 8pm ET on ABC
Monday, May 20 – SEMI-FINALS at 8pm ET on ABC
Wednesday, May 22 – FINALS at 8pm ET on ABC
FINAL THREE?
James is the one to beat, and that’s no secret as he is considered the best besides host Ken- and won the 2023 Masters.
But Yogesh and Victoria – who had winning streaks of just three and one day respectively – clearly came to play.
In the debut, Victoria scored a 30,000 escape that Ken called a “statement”, and Yogesh defeated James as well.
Victoria and James are (or were?) co-stars on ABC’s sister show The Chase, a big draw this year.
James only lost once during the Masters last year, so it was especially surprising to see him lose at the finish.
James lost almost the entire game and going into Double Jeopardy!, Ken noted that it was a rarity to see James “in third place”.
Another big attraction is the rivalry between Yogesh and James.
The special’s “villains” grew up in the same area of Michigan and did trivia together, as Yogesh mentioned in the premiere to the stoic James.
In fact, Yogesh also once boasted about being “better” than James at high school trivia on stage.
On Reddit, fans are already predicting “Yogesh, James, Victoria in the top three”
MEET THE MASTERS
James is a 32-time winner and makes his best living in professional sports in Las Vegas – known for his “all in” Daily Doubles and big wins – he won Season 1 of the Masters in a breeze.
Mattea, a 23-time winner, returns as runner-up and almost defeated James in last year’s final.
Matt, a 38-time winner, came third last year and was the only player to score a win against James in the entire feature, but he was also “very inconsistent”.
“I feel like a stronger competitor,” Amodio said in preparation at a recent event attended by The US Sun.
Amy, a 40-time champion, came second last last year and also lost the recent JIT to Victoria – she was chosen as Producer’s Choice due to her popularity.
Amy being named Producer’s Choice was not without its drama, as she came in last place on Season 1 of the Masters.
She also decisively lost the recent Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament for Groce, only for both to advance to the Masters anyway.
Amy even acknowledged the onstage reaction at the premiere: “I think I belong here and I’m grateful for the opportunity and excited to be here,” Schneider told Jennings.
“But it also feels like it gives me something more to prove, that I couldn’t come back in the same way as the other competitors.”
Yogesh is a controversial three-day champion who nailed it by winning the intense 2024 Tournament of Champions.
Victoria, the 2005 One-Day Champion, qualified by winning the recent Jeopardy’s Invitational Tournament against Amy and Andrew He, which is no small feat.
Danger! The Masters continues on Wednesday, May 8th with Games 5 and 6 on ABC at 8pm ET. and on Hulu.
7
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
