Jeopardy! Masters Finale Crowns Season 2 Winner: Was James Holzhauer Finally Dethroned?

Andy Swift
·2 min read
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Another battle of the brains has come to an end with the crowning of a new Jeopardy! Masters winner.

After 16 preliminary competitions, Wednesday’s finale welcomed back the season’s top three players — Victoria Groce, Season 1 winner James Holzhauer and Yogesh Raut — for a doubleheader that would determine which certified genius would also become a half-millionaire.

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The finale’s first game — which included a category called “The World Revolves Around Jason Kelce,” in which the famous football player offered video clues loosely connected to his own life — ended with James in the lead ($28,309), followed by Victoria in second ($21,400) and Yogesh in third ($19,200). But as the trio would soon discover, it was very much still anyone’s game.

Before we reveal this season’s big winner, however, we must discuss Yogesh’s awkward-yet-incredible reference to a certain teen mystery drama during the second game. The clue he was given read as follows: “The Cinque Ports (‘5 harbors’) of South East England include Dover and this one famous for an 11th-century battle.”

Yogesh correctly answered “What is Hastings,” but he didn’t stop there — not by a long shot. He continued, “As in Spencer Hastings, played by Troian Bellisario on Pretty Little Liars,” to which host Ken Jennings simply replied, “Yeah, I guess!”

Then again, should we really be surprised that Yogesh managed to work in a Spencer shoutout? During a previous episode, he dropped this epic critique of his favorite show: “I have a master’s degree in Cinematic Arts and Critical Studies, so if I say that Pretty Little Liars is a good show, that’s objectively true.” (You won’t hear us disagreeing!)

OK, now for the final — and somewhat surprising — results: James got the Final Jeopardy! question correct, but his modest wager only brought him to $9,708 for the second game, while Yogesh finished with $26,710 and Victoria with $34,000. When combined with their scores from the finale’s first game, here’s how things shook out for the finalists:

THIRD PLACE: James Holzhauer ($38,017)
SECOND PLACE: Yogesh Raut ($45,910)
WINNER: Victoria Groce ($55,400)

So let’s offer a big round of congratulations to Victoria, who also won $100,000 for her charity of choice, Partners in Health.

Were you surprised to see Victoria… victorious? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the outcome of this season’s Jeaopardy! Masters below.

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