Featured J!Buzz

A new Jeopardy! Master is crowned.

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Let’s kick this off with some Phil Collins (plus Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward, and James Woods).

And now let me make your heads hurt…

Every year, around 100,000 people apply to be on Jeopardy! and about 350 of them make it on the show. That’s an acceptance rate of .35%. As of the most recent 2024 data, Harvard’s admissions rate is 3.41%. So basically, it’s around ten times harder to get on Jeopardy! than it is to get into Harvard.

The very best of those players, around 60 of them, so around .06% of all applicants, make it into our elite end-of-season tournaments - Second Chance, Champions Wildcard, and the ToC.  

Three of them (ultimately the three ToC finalists) made it into Masters. That’s .003% of all applicants.

After that, the very best of our players from multiple seasons are invited to the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament. 27 standouts from the approximately 16,000 players to ever play our game. That’s less than 0.002% of 41 seasons of Jeopardy! elite.

(I’m not even bothering with percentage of ALL APPLICANTS now because there would be way too many point zeros.)

3 of the finalists from the JIT made it into Masters. That’s less than 0.0002% of all those players.

Finally, the top 2 Masters from last season returned to Masters; each of them part of the less than 0.0002% to 0.003% of previous seasons who beat a field of similarly unicorn-like players to make it back again.

Then they were joined by Brad Rutter, literally one of the GOATS - one of the three best players of the first 15,000 or so who ever played our game. That’s another 0.0002% situation.

And then finally, these three Masters finalists - Yogesh, Juveria, and Victoria beat ALL THE ODDS and beat out SIX of these supreme players who had beaten all the odds themselves to get to this point.

And then one Masters finalist beat EVEN GREATER ODDS to defeat the other two Masters finalists.

(I know that someone in the Jeopardy! community can do a much better job with these statistics than this History major, so if you have deeper analysis to offer, I’m all ears.)

But this is why we make such a big deal of our Masters champion. And it’s why I think everyone in America should do the same.

Bravissimo, Yogesh.

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Jeopardy! Masters: Behind the Clues – Semifinal Game 3

BLACK HISTORY & GENEALOGY - When we started doing Masters and casting about for well-known folks who are masters of a certain area, one of our first thoughts was Henry Louis Gates Jr. Obviously, the life of a Harvard professor/author/television host is a busy one, as it was not until this third season of Masters that taping clues fit into his schedule. There is so much richness in both his books and his show that we were delighted when it finally worked out. The Angela Davis episode of Finding Your Roots was a news story back in 2023 when the clues were written; fortunately, she was still a “get” in 2025.

BROADWAY MUSICAL CHANGE A LETTER - John Duarte is a writer who loves wordplay but also crafts categories with a challenge to them. Broadway Musical Change a Letter was one of his specialties, as the contestants had to know both a Broadway show and another piece of knowledge and put them together quickly. It’s always a joy when a category both shows off the contestants’ skills and makes the audience laugh.

MEDIEVAL TIMES - Ken did a great job with the Medieval Times Final about the vassal-lord bond in bringing out a rather subtle point. We thought it was funny (and revealing) to phrase the clue with the medieval underling’s obligation to a lord, and then, where you might expect a parallel promise the lord had to make, no, the underling has another obligation to the lord - almost Monty Python-esque. Ken’s reading and payoff helped clarify that and hopefully make everyone watching grateful not to be a vassal in 12th-century feudal Europe. It certainly had that effect on me.

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Stats and Analysis: Semifinal Game 3

This was the first time these three players matched up. Victoria had already secured 6 match points and her spot in the Finals prior to this game, but Isaac (0 match points) and Juveria (0 match points) were battling for the remaining two spots. Yogesh had 2 match points.

Victoria (3) - Isaac (0) - Juveria (1)

Game Summary: Despite some impressive opining in elite Jeopardy! Substack circles, including a glorious invocation of the “Disgrace of Gijón”, Victoria did not intentionally lose Semifinal Game 3 and instead secured a dominant runaway win: She had 14 correct responses, including a 3,200-point Daily Double, which helped earn her 12,800 points in the Jeopardy! Round. She added another 17 correct responses in DJ!, including both Daily Doubles (2,000 points + 1,200 points), and cruised to an impressive runaway win. Juveria finished the round in second place with an effective runaway over Isaac in third. Both Isaac and Juveria were correct in Final (Fealty), but Victoria and Juveria had already locked up their match points for this game.

Record-Breaking Stats for Victoria:

• 31 total correct responses is the second most in a single game in Masters history, second only to James Holzhauer, who had an astonishing 35 correct responses in the Quarterfinals of Masters Season 1.
• 17 correct responses in DJ! is tied for the second most in a single round in Masters history. She did it one other time in Season 2, and James Holzhauer did it three times in Season 1.
• 30,600 Coryat score is the highest we've ever seen in Masters history, beating James Holzhauer's record of 30,000 in Season 1. Just wow.

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Jeopardy! Masters: Behind the Clues – Semifinal Game 4

IT’S A “E.S.” FOR ME - This game had actually been assembled for Masters Season 2 but left out of that season as part of the random selection process. Naturally, we went over it again in prepping Season 3, which meant that once again the other writers had to ask Marcus Brown what the phrase “it’s a E.S. for me” means. Somehow, the translation to “it’s a yes for me” doesn’t work as well when you read it on the page as when you hear it out loud. Despite the bafflement of some, we stuck with it as the clues are good…and we didn’t just want to call the category Initials E.S. or something. There are many letters and letter combinations that can be the bases of categories and would help the contestants, but aesthetically, they need to be justified with a meaningful title. We were glad that, in game play, the E.S./Yes transition seemed to work.

ISLAND COUNTRIES - To the writers’ minds, any clue benefits from the word “only”. It has inherent drama and gives a justified sense of teaching something about the world. However, it’s not always easy to get an ironclad “only” through the research process. Even when the information in the clue points to a single correct response, if the “only” part proves not to be true, if a kindred country/person/chemical element is out there, a contestant would be disadvantaged by inaccurate information – and of course we don’t want to provide that in any case. The Final Jeopardy! about St. Lucia was changed from “only country” named for a woman to “only U.N. member” to narrow down the universe of possible invalidating lands. Then, there was some concern about Ireland, a name that ultimately stems from the goddess Eriu. Once we had all agreed that a goddess is not the same as a “woman” (after a fascinating debate, I must say) who is definitively human and mortal, as St. Lucia/Lucy proved in the year 304, the Final was good to go.

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Stats and Analysis: Semifinal Game 4

This was the first time these three players matched up. This was the last game of the Semifinals, and all three players in this game were fighting for the last two spots in the Finals.

Yogesh (3) - Juveria (1) - Isaac (0)

Game Summary: Yogesh responded correctly to the first clue of the game, never lost his lead, and was correct in Final for the win. Yogesh had 15 correct responses in the Jeopardy! Round and took a big lead into DJ!. Juveria found both Daily Doubles early in DJ! (almost back-to-back) but split them. Isaac had a less successful  J! Round and had 0 points to begin the DJ! Round. Yogesh had a slow start in the DJ! Round but was able to find his game again and build up a lead. He had his eyes set on a runaway, but Juveria was able to stay in contention entering Final. At this point, Yogesh and Juveria had already effectively locked up their spots in the Finals with a guaranteed first or second place finish in this game. Again, Juveria had earned a second-place runaway over Isaac heading into Final. All three players were correct in Final (St. Lucia). Isaac added a sweet message for his fellow competitors/finalists, "WHAT A GREAT TIME I HAD! CONGRATS TO THE FINAL 3! ALSO ST LUCIA?".

Juveria DJ! DD wagering scenarios: Juveria was in second place with 4,800 points when she found the first DD. She wagered low with 1,800 and was correct. She found the last DD two clues later. Still in second place with 7,800 points, she wagered low again, another 1,800. At this point in the game, Isaac was struggling in third with 0 points. It appears that Juveria was playing for second place here. She had a chance to go bigger on either of the DDs, but she strategically wagered conservatively to protect her lead over Isaac in hopes of guaranteeing second place entering Final. It worked out in her favor as she did just that.

Stats: Yogesh's 15 correct responses in the J! Round are tied for the third most in a single round in Masters history. His hot start made this game a battle for second place between Juveria and Isaac. Isaac never really found his footing… he spent nearly the entire Jeopardy! Round in the negative and continued to struggle in the DJ! Round. Had he found any of the DDs, they could have given him the much-needed boost to make it a game against Juveria.

Despite the outcome, Juveria and Isaac had nearly identical buzzer stats, but it was the correct % that ultimately gave Juveria the lock for second place:

• Juveria - 16 successful buzzes on 31 attempts / 15 correct / 3 incorrect - 83%
• Isaac - 15 successful buzzes on 30 attempts / 10 correct / 5 incorrect - 67%
   

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Highlights of the Postgame Chat…

308 - SEMIFINAL GAME 3 
Ken congratulated Victoria on her impressive win and pointed out that she seems to be getting better and better. She explained, “The games that I’ve played the best, it’s probably no coincidence that I had already secured moving on, so there’s a looseness. I also remember to eat a banana right before I play, and for whatever reason, I play better if I eat a banana”. I will be amazed if Victoria doesn’t get a call from Big Banana for an endorsement deal.

308 - SEMIFINAL GAME 4
Isaac spoke about his Masters experience, “My goal coming into this was to not get ninth place. I’ve been thrilled. I have no regrets. I mean, I lost, so I have a few regrets, but I have very few regrets about the experience. It’s been fun.”

Also, he walked away with $100,000 and a bunch of new admirers - of both his mind and his style.

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Jeopardy! Masters: Behind the Clues – Final Game 1

WE CAN REBUILD! - The first category in the Double Jeopardy! Round of this game was originally called Disasters, but that seemed too grim. Robert McClenaghan did a great job of repurposing the category, using some of the original facts but focusing on the efforts to recover from various disasters. Perhaps he took inspiration from the grit of those who put up the new St. Paul’s Cathedral and renovated Notre Dame. We Can Rebuild, indeed!

COSTUME DESIGN WITH PAUL TAZEWELL - Paul Tazewell was frankly not a familiar name to some of the writers (it was even a surprise that the first syllable of his last name rhymes with “jazz” not “ways”) but he has had an extraordinary career in costume design that we were happy to let more of our audience as well as staff know about. At the same time, the category brought in some costume history relative to his work – a nice marriage of classic and current.

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Stats and Analysis: Final Game 1

Victoria (Game 1 score: 14,400)
Yogesh (Game 1 score: 0)
Juveria (Game 1 score: -1,000 [reset to 0 for game 2])

Game Summary: Close Jeopardy! Round between all three players. Yogesh took a narrow lead over Victoria heading into DJ!. Victoria dropped 4,000 points on the first Daily Double in DJ! and briefly handed the lead to Yogesh. A few clues later, she found the last Daily Double, went all-in, was correct, and took back the lead for good. A strong finish to the round gave her an 8,200-point lead over Yogesh in second place with 13,000 points. Juveria spent much of the round in the red and unfortunately couldn’t get out of the hole in time for Final Jeopardy!. Both Victoria and Yogesh were incorrect in Final (Tartars), Yogesh dropped to 0 after going all-in, and Victoria ended with 14,400 points and a commanding lead heading into Game 2.

Tough FJ! ruling for Yogesh: The correct response was "Tartars". Yogesh responded with “Tatars”. Yogesh appeared a bit thrown, but Ken explained, "The word Tatar was modified to recognize Tartarus, the Greek Hell, so the pronunciation and spelling were changed to add the R". This exact point and scenario had come up in the morning writers meeting, so we were all prepared.

Victoria DJ! DD wagering scenarios: Aggressive wagering from Victoria. On her first DD in the DJ! Round, she said, "This feels dangerous" before responding incorrectly with a 4,000-point wager. Four clues later, she found the last DD and, without skipping a beat, went all-in. She was correct this time, propelling her into the lead. The gutsy wagering helped give her the strong lead that she took into Game 2.

FJ! wagering scenario: From the lead, Victoria made the reasonable wager of 6,800 points, which would protect her lead if Yogesh went all-in and both were correct. This wager also protected her from a huge deficit in the event that Yogesh was correct and she was incorrect. Yogesh did go all-in (bold but necessary), but they were both incorrect, giving Victoria a bigger lead heading into Game 2 than she would have had if they were both correct.

Stats:
Victoria led in all major stats categories…

• Correct responses - 23
• Buzzer attempts /successful buzzes / buzz % (46 Att / 24 Buzz / 52% Buzz success)
• Coryat score - 19,200
• Final score - 14,400
• She found all 3 DDs (2 for 3): 1,200 / -4,000 / 7,400

Unusually low final scores for all three players in this game… 

• Victoria - 14,400 points is her second lowest final score all tournament so far (14,000 was her lowest)
• Yogesh - 0 points is his lowest final score all tournament
• Juveria: -1,000 points is her lowest final score all tournament

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Jeopardy! Masters: Behind the Clues – Final Game 2

THE “END” - As referred to earlier, the games are chosen and ordered through a random process, and it worked out nicely that this was the tournament-deciding show. (A motto of our head writers, borrowed from a Horatio Hornblower novel that might have borrowed it from elsewhere, is “The lucky man is the man who knows how much to leave to chance”). It was unplanned but fitting that The “End” was the last category on the Double Jeopardy! board.

PAINTINGS - It was also unplanned, and a little nerve-racking, that Dr. Paul Gachet was the response to the deciding Final Jeopardy!. A tournament like this should, of course, end with a challenging Final, but it’s also ideal if it’s decided by a correct response rather than by the wagers on unanswered clues. Alex Trebek always felt that it was a big letdown if the deciding Final of a “two-game total-point affair” (his beloved coinage) was a Triple Stumper. We had our worries about whether this Van Gogh portrait was well enough known, but the contestants came through brilliantly as they did throughout the nine nights.

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Stats and Analysis: Final Game 2

Cumulative Finals scores:
Yogesh (41,601 - first) 
Juveria (36,800 - second)
Victoria (36,400 - third)

Game Summary: It was an incredible game to finish off this year's Masters. It kicked off with a near-perfect and well-played Jeopardy! Round by all three players… only one incorrect response among the three of them. Again, it was Yogesh who took a narrow lead into DJ!. In the DJ! Round, Juveria found the first DD, said "Pray for me," and went all-in, doubling up to 21,600 and the lead. A few clues later, Yogesh found the last DD and said, "This may end up being the end for me," and went all-in with 16,600 points. He was correct and retook the lead from Juveria. Yogesh ended the round with 36,000 points and a big lead, with Juveria in second place with 20,800 and Victoria in third with 11,000. Despite Yogesh's 0 points in Game 1, he was in the driver's seat entering Final. All three players were correct (Dr. Paul Gachet), and Yogesh became our third Masters champion! Juveria secured second place, and Victoria came in third.

DD wagering scenario: After Yogesh and Juveria both finished with 0 points in Game 1, they both really had no other choice but to go all in on their DDs if they wanted a chance to win. I think it was all or nothing for Yogesh after coming in second in S2 of Masters.

FJ! wagering scenario: Victoria could only max out with a two-game total of 36,400 points, and Juveria could obtain a total of 41,600 points if she went all-in. So, Yogesh had to make sure to cover Juveria if she went all-in and wager at least 5,601 points and be correct… he did exactly that and took home the first-place prize. Juveria made a strategic wager of 16,000 points in Final… if she responded correctly in Final, she would guarantee herself a second-place finish, and if Yogesh was incorrect, she would have won.

Stats:
Like Victoria in Game 1, Yogesh led in all major stats categories in Game 2…

• Correct responses - 25
• Buzzer attempts /successful buzzes / buzz % (45 Att / 25 Buzz / 56% Buzz success)
• Coryat score - 21,000
• Final score - 41,601

Stark contrast to Game 1 for Yogesh and Juveria…

• Yogesh - 41,601 points is his highest final score all tournament, as well as the highest final score in all of Season 3 of Masters. Brought it when he needed it. Paced himself all tournament for this opportunity. Amazing mental strength to bounce back from the tough FJ ruling and 0 finish in Final Game 1.
• Victoria - She simply had her worst Masters game ever at exactly the wrong time. Just 15 correct responses, which is very low by her standards. She remains a Jeopardy! Masters champion and one of the MOATS (Masters Of All Time - trademark pending). She was really an outstanding defending Masters champion.
• Juveria - 36,800 points is her highest final score all tournament and the second highest final score for Season 3 of Masters.
  • Juveria's 16,000-point FJ! wager is the second-largest correct FJ! wager in Masters history behind Yogesh and James Holzhauer, who share the top spot with 17,601-point wagers in Season 2.

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Highlights of the Postgame Chat…

Producer Sarah Foss spoke with Yogesh moments after his big win. Fans can check this out on our YouTube channel.

FINAL STANDINGS AND PRIZE AMOUNTS AFTER 309
FIRST PLACE - YOGESH RAUT - $500,000 and $100,000 for his charity of choice: Equal Justice Initiative. A victory both earned and deserved, bounced back, took the big risk, made it count, now also one of the MOATS.

SECOND PLACE - JUVERIA ZAHEER - $250,000. What an amazing performance by the pride of Whitby, Ontario. Showed she belonged. The only person to have competed in every single postseason tournament in the Jeoparverse!)

THIRD PLACE - VICTORIA GROCE - $150,000. What a champion. A 19 and 7 record all-time on Jeopardy! and the majority of it against the most elite competition.

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Final Thoughts

I had originally planned to write about all three finalists here. And reflect on the extraordinary Jeopardy! journeys they have all taken to be here. But I think my final thoughts should be reserved for just our 2025 Masters Champion, Yogesh Raut.

We do not have complete records of every Jeopardy! Test ever taken, but I certainly first became aware of Yogesh in 2022 after seeing his test score. I’m not telling you what it was. I’m just telling you I heard about it.

Yogesh first appeared on Jeopardy! in January of 2023, won three games, and made it into the ToC, which aired in early 2024. There he defeated some outstanding players: Nick Cascone, Jake DeArruda, David Sibley, and Emily Sands, before winning a thrilling and hard-fought first-to-three-wins final series against Troy Meyer and Ben Chan in SIX games.

In Jeopardy! Masters Season 2, he made the final ahead of three members of the Jeopardy! Leaderboard of Legends: Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach. He finished second in the final, ahead of Season 1 Masters champion James Holzhauer.

In Masters Season 3, he became the only person to beat Victoria Groce in a Jeopardy! tournament.

And moreover, he takes his place on the Jeopardy! Leaderboard of Legends, in all-time Jeopardy! career winnings of $1,096,403.

He is now in sixth place in that list, behind only the top four consecutive game winners of all time - Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, James Holzhauer, and Ken Jennings - and the Jeopardy! Tournament Supremo, Brad Rutter.

Yogesh has so many accomplishments both academically and in the quizzing world. And in the last year and a half, he has established himself as literally one of the greatest players in the history of Jeopardy!

However, what will always impress me the most is his love of film, books, culture, and all knowledge. And how clearly you feel this love in the studio.

His face literally lights up when we show stills from old movies. He could probably respond correctly to a dozen clues about each one.

He understands and appreciates the geography, history, and religion of an entire planet.

Pretty Little Liars is one of his favorite television shows.

He does not shy away from science.

Or word games…

…even though I’m not sure how much he’s enjoying them sometimes.

There was a wonderful moment at the end of the ToC earlier this year, won by Neilesh Vinjamuri. When I walked up to the podium to congratulate him on his win and invite him to Masters, he shook my hand, shook his head in disbelief, and only had one thing to say to me.

“I can’t believe I get to meet Yogesh”.

Stay in charge,
Michael

P.S. Whether you’re reading on Jeopardy.com or my personal Substack, www.substack.com/@embassydavies, thank you so much for your time and for all of your comments, kind words, and helpful notes!