‘Jeopardy! Masters’ Fans Say Show Is ‘Disappointing’ & Suggest Changes
Jeopardy! Masters has seemingly yet to master a format that appeals to everyone. The tournament, now in its semi-finals, has “disappointed” fans. Many of them suggested making a format change.
Victoria Groce, Yogesh Raut, Andrew He, Paolo Pasco, Juveria Zaheer, and Long Nguyen are competing in this year’s Masters tournament. This is a smaller pool than in past years. Oftentimes, it would have double the competition. Although the winner has not yet been crowned, fans are already sharing how they think the show can change in the future.
“Jeopardy! Masters is disappointing,” a Reddit user said. “It’s so noncompetitive. The format is terrible. Not only is it the same people playing each other over and over, but it’s pretty much the same result every time. Maybe they should have had Victoria and Yogesh sit out until the finals and have most of the episodes be about who will be the third person to face them?”
Many fans agreed that Masters should not happen every year and be a once-every-five-years thing, so new contestants can take over the top rung. Raut, Groce, and Zaheer all competed in the 2025 Masters.
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“Yes. It sucks. They can’t get enough masters level players to play, then cancel it,” a fan said.
“It’s not my fave, but I’m okay with a little bonus jeopardy from time to time,” another wrote.
“I’m not as down on Masters as OP, but I think it’s too many games. A quarterfinal of 12 matches just to eliminate 2 out of 6 players is total overkill. They should be able to whittle the field down from 6 to 4 in half that many games. I think if they cut the number of games, it would increase the immediacy and drama. But I get the feeling that they’re more concerned about how many days Masters can pad out ABC’s schedule rather than making it the best tournament it can be,” a fan suggested.
“I was hoping they would at least open the field to maybe 10 or 12. Nope, if anything, it’s more restrictive now,” another commented.
Others suggested that only the winner from the previous season should be in it, along with other tournament winners, instead of runner-ups from the previous Masters.
“It would be nice to mix up the field a bit, but there is no denying these Masters are the current ‘best of the best’…so the only solution seems to be more time to allow others to get up to their level! I also like the idea of if you win Masters you are retired (at least from the Masters tournament),” a fan said.
Many fans complained about the format, saying it’s the same players “over and over again.” Others think that there are too many quarterfinal rounds with so few players.
What do you think of the format of Jeopardy! Masters? Should it be changed? Let us know in the comments.
Jeopardy! Masters, Tuesdays through Fridays until September 8, 8/7c, CBS
Conversation45 Comments
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J
I am a Jeopardy and Ken fan but I am bored with the same contestants, especially Yogesh and Victoria. Bring in some new blood!
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E
Same here...
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C
We already know Victoria is going to win. She should NOT be a contestant. It’s unfair to others. And use other former winners. Same players over and over again. It’s just so tiring to see the same players
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E
Yes, im tired of seeing Victoria year after year! Its old and predictable as she already knows everthing!!!!
Her voice...grrrrrr!!!
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M
Agreed. Being a bit sexist, but Yogesh and his buzzer antics make me so glad she is there.
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L
Then why let Yogesh compete? He won last year, she won the year before. It shouldn't be disqualifying because you actually fit the format, a Jeopardy master.
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D
I was recording the shows but got bored and deleted them. I’d rather see new contestants then ones that have won a bunch of money already.
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S
Tired of Ken Jennings being arrogant, tired of Jeopardy not being for ordinary people "trivia questions" needed not things that you have to be a genius to answer. No longer fun to watch & tired to see the same so-called champions over & over. Rarely watch anymore. We used to watch as a family & answer the question.
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E
Agreed!
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Q
Waaaaaaah
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F
You don't have to be a genius, just well read/well educated, with a reallygood memory. They can't all be pop culture questions.
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P
I don’t see him as arrogant. I think he’s grown into the role. And it’s fun seeing people I recognize, and who know each other.
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L
Totally agree about Ken - he is so much better at his job now than he was in the beginning. However, it’s most distressing when he doesn’t give a contestant on any episode of Jeopardy! the credit for a correct answer simply because they mispronounced a syllable. We have all experienced what it’s like to read a word any number of times through our lives without actually hearing the exact pronunciation of it. For example, when it’s clear that someone has given the right answer, but has just slightly mispronounced the spelling of someone’s name, then they deserve the credit for that answer. On the other hand, when they include words in their answer which aren’t correct, then their response should be tossed out. Ken allowed Yogesh to get away with that at one point - which was totally unjustified!
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A
They should at least play for charity.
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L
That’s what Celebrity Jeopardy is for.
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L
I think the format should changed, getting a bit tired of watching and knowing who is to going to win all the time, Victoria as an example, anyone winning in 2025 should not be in the 2026 masters, judt sayin. Not interested in watching it at all, going to lose viewers.
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B
It's not just this tournament; it's all of them. How many times can the same people be on? How much money do they need to win? I have been trying to get on the show for 30 years and not been successful yet, but these people are on all the time and other contests are related to still other contestants who have been on in the past. It just seems that regular people don't have a chance.
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M
We are tired of Victoria and Yogesh. Retire them. Give others a chance.
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T
No “We” are not all tired of them. Speak for yourself and not for me.
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Y
I strongly believe Masters will be on pause after this season. Personally, I'd like to continue watching, but not the same format it's been since Season 1.
Victoria has already established herself as the top World Quizzer. If she happens to win Masters for the 2nd time and/or joins the existing millionaire Jeopardy! contestants, that's really enough for her.
Also, inviting back the same contestants annually becomes meaningless, and tells the audience that there aren't any other qualified contestants left---which is FALSE.
[Personal suggestion]:
Jeopardy! can choose to bring back "Olympic Games"-like tournament, like during 1990s, when international players get to join, too. But this time, invite other World Quizzers into Jeopardy.
At the same time, a few downsides include making the tournament, or Jeopardy, less American; and more elitist.
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B
It's a snoozer. With the same contestants each night feels like a repeat
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S
Definitely not a real Master’s Jeopardy without James, Amy, Mateia, Brad and the elderly guy who says “bring it”. Why even have it at all? A waste.
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A
It's fine. Victoria and Yogesh are the cream. The others are formidable, especially Paolo. You need the full slate of quarter finals to give everyone a shot. It's just because V&Y are so good. They will eventually slow with age, but they are top dogs. The questions are insanely hard, too.
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J
I think it was obvious from the beginning that Victoria Groce would be the winner. She's in a different league entirely. The others are simply battling it out for second place.
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L
Sure wish it had turned out like that! As she had definitely earned the championship in all the ways that really matter. At the end of the day, it should be the total number of correct answers made throughout the tournament which decides the first place winner.
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J
I agree that it is disappointing and boring. I haven’t even watched all the episodes yet - they are still sitting in my Dvr and I only watch once in awhile.
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O
Some of them speak so softly, you can’t hear their answer.
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U
I wish they’d show the answers they give as I often have can’t t understand what they’re saying.
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E
Tried watching once and couldn't get through the show. Not interested seeing same ones over and over. Found it boring.
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Q
Jeopardy Masters is fine and the author of this piece should be ashamed of herself for amplifying the viewpoints of such a minority of the viewership. Ratings are up this year over last and Masters is doing great.
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P
Agreed.
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L
Here’s the thing: the best players have developed a following, just as the best in any competitive field usually do. Being able to see Victoria, Andrew, Juveria, Matt Amodio (on JIT) et.al again brings me a lot of joy - as well as new people who have “risen through the ranks” to qualify to compete against them. (I would also have loved to see Mattea, Sam B. and James H. again this year.) And I was astounded at the rigor of the questions for the Jeopardy! Masters tournament this time - which is an indication of how “watered down” many of the questions in regular play have become. In addition, I was disappointed by the producers’ decision to cut down on the number of contestants allowed for the 2026 version of Jeopardy! Masters - why in the world did they think that was a good idea??
(Note: I was thrilled to hear that Victoria has published a book on the science of learning and memory - definitely going to buy a copy of it!)
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R
I like the cameraderie among the Masters players, but I agree that there are too many games with the same people.
With this large number of Masters shows, there should be broader criteria for participating in the Masters, so there can be more personalities competing.
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R
I like the idea of making the daily double random - in placement as well as in number. These high-powered contestants practically know, before the game starts, approximately where the DDs are on the board.
What would it be like if every game had a different number of DDs, and even some games without a DD?
If they didn't know where, when or if there's a DD in any particular game, it could add some excitement and mystery to the game.
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P
I prefer regular Jeopardy where the answers I would be more likely to know.
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S
I love the folks (like Lori) who say that Victoria should not be in it, because the 2025 should not be invited back and thise who say Victoria will automatically win again.Well, did you say Victoria won in 2025? Surprise!!! Last year's Jeopardy Masters winner was Yogesh Raut.
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J
Ken jennings needs to go. Not likeable.
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D
Jeopardy in general has gotten so boring and I don't like Ken as the host.
To mix it up, they need to do better at placing daily doubles randomly, not just in the bottom half of the board. Also, watching as many contestants as so happens these days go weeks in a top spot is not fun - they need to implement a max again, OR make the starter of the game completely random and not the person who has had buzzer/board advantage for a week straight.
It's tired. It's boring. The Alex era is missed. It's gotten so overproduced and Ken always feels like he's forcing it, etc. It's awkward.
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M
Jeopardy — just go on hiatus for a while. It's ok. Your fans will still be there FOR NEW PLAYERS!
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A
I like it annually - don’t want to wait 5 years. I agree it should be changed, but I’m not sure how best to do it.
Maybe there should be like Grand Masters, where Victoria and James and Brad, etc. could compete and then there could be another like more upcoming masters that compete. GO PAOLO!! 😃
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L
This is a great idea! 💫
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P
I enjoyed it enormously.
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J
Victoria should be required to wear sleeveless tops; her arms are fire.
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M
It's kind of disappointing when someone answers 15 or so questions and then someone answers 5 and gets 1 or 2 double jeopardy questions and knocks out the person who gets more questions right. Maybe change and have the double jeopardy a separate win amount. Would like to see the ones who answers most questions won.
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L
I agree something needs to change here - no offense to Yogesh, but Victoria was on fire most of the time and outplayed him almost the whole way through. I was really disappointed that she didn’t win first place, because from the standpoint of sheer knowledge and overall number of correct answers from start to finish, she was clearly the best of all the contestants!
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