‘Jeopardy! Masters’ Champ Yogesh Raut Reveals He Bonded With Isaac Hirsch Over Iconic TV Show
Jeopardy! Masters champion Yogesh Raut has been reflecting on his impressive tournament performance, sharing some behind-the-scenes details from the show and his fellow contestants.
Taking to his Facebook page on Tuesday (June 10), Raut recapped games three and four of the Masters semifinals games, the second of which saw him facing off against 2025 Tournament of Champions finalist Isaac Hirsch and Second Chance winner Juveria Zaheer.
Raut spoke highly of his opponents, noting it was “sad to say goodbye” to Hirsch, who was eliminated in the semis. “But remember (as Victoria [Groce] and I reminded him in the green room), his original streak was longer than that of all three other semifinalists combined,” Raut wrote. “In fact, it was more than DOUBLE the length of the _sum_ of all other semifinalists’ streaks.”
He also revealed how he and Hirsch formed a connection over a mutual love for a particular classic detective show. “I greatly enjoyed bonding with Isaac backstage over our shared love of ’70s-era Columbo — let’s not talk about the revival — and I was honored that he officially endorsed my “J! Masters as Columbo Villains” post, which I’m still quite proud of,” Raut said.
The 2024 TOC winner also shared his thoughts on Zaheer, whom he had competed with in three tournaments “but somehow avoided facing each other until the 2025 Masters semis.”
“We had a lot of whimsical conversations about how to Indian-ize our match-ups,” Raut shared, joking, “My suggestion, which for some reason she wasn’t too keen on, was that I exclusively refer to her as “Juveria Auntie.””
Disney /Christopher Willard
He said that when the Around India category came up, he first tried to remain “stoic,” but once Zazheer “cracked up,” he “followed her lead.” Raut noted that later, producer John Barra told them, “‘Don’t take this the wrong way, because I loved seeing it, but it was like watching two schoolkids share a laugh behind the teacher’s back.'”
In an earlier Facebook post, Raut listed his thanks, noting how Zaheer and super-champ Matt Amodio were especially helpful. “A week or so before the taping, I called Matt Amodio and Juveria Zaheer (separately) and had some fairly intense personal conversations that helped my head remain straight,” he shared. “They put friendship ahead of competitiveness and I won’t ever forget that.”
He also thanked Groce and Zaheer’s family members for providing support during the taping. “In addition to my (relatively small) audience cheering section, Victoria and Juveria’s cheering sections were also rooting for me (albeit secondarily),” Raut wrote. “Victoria and Juveria’s husbands very graciously congratulated me, and I appreciate Alison Betts’ non-partisan choice of clothing.”
Earlier this week, Raut shared his “final pair of interviews” for the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast, claiming many of his statements were cut out of the edit, including “everything I had to say about racism (as expected) and also a good portion of my thank-you’s, including many of the people I thanked by name.”
He also took a shot at Ken Jennings for mispronouncing his name. “They also cut out me saying, ‘Ken, when Neilesh [Vinjamuri] was up here he made a point of thanking you for pronouncing his name correctly, and I’d love to do the same — just as soon as you start.’ (Also not a hugely surprising elision.)”
As the reigning Masters champion, Raut will return to defend his crown for next year’s tournament.
Conversation16 Comments
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I think he is ungrateful for the opportunity he received to compete on Jeopardy. If he was really intelligent he would not be so insecure and take it personally when his name was mispronounced. Ken Jennings is extremely humble and I am almost certain he would have apologized. But after this Losers theatrics I no longer feel like he deserves an apology. I hope Jeopardy never has him back on the show again. If he does make an appearance my family will change the channel and watch a rerun rather than giving this self absorbed individual another moment the attention he is so desperately looking for.
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Guess you missed the article's last sentence: "As the reigning Masters champion, Raut will return to defend his crown for next year’s tournament."
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He makes me vomit. So self absorbed and arrogant. And the way he presses his button drives me crazy. He lost every game except the final one. Seems sketch to me. Based on performance and correct answers, Victoria should have won
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You honestly thought that Isaac was arrogant?! The dude was probably the least arrogant person in the tournament. Seemed quite humble to me. He thought at times he didn't belong with the other contestants.
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Ugh No one likes Rogesh he is arrogant and disrespectful. Please don't have him back he's awful.
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Anyone who cares about what this self centered, self important d-bag does should rethink their life choices. Stop giving him airtime. Shame on this site.
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"As the reigning Masters champion, Raut will return to defend his crown for next year’s tournament."
What a disappointment.
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OMG! Automatically coming back next year? Really. Heart be still. Arrogance is popular on this program!
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Who cares. What Mr. Arrogance thinks or says has no revelance to life.
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Factually incorrect. There have been folks in chairs and wheelchairs behind the podiums...this season.
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How do they "discriminate against people who cannot stand up"?
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Why are we still talking about this guy... and why is this story being repeated endlessly? It's a game show folks.
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Any contestant who requests a chair, gets a chair. And answering in the form of a question is one of the things that makes Jeopardy unique. You should maybe stick to Wheel of Fortune.
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He will be back. Last sentence of the article: "As the reigning Masters champion, Raut will return to defend his crown for next year’s tournament."
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Jeopardy ! Questions in answer form are way too hard. I used to be able to answer questions on most shows.i went to college. Also , they discriminate against people who cannot stand up. They should change both of these problems.
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Issac Hirsch was arrogant. Apparently Raut is too. Hope he loses big time next year.
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