Jeopardy! Masters Producers Drop a Bombshell on Fans as They Unveil the Shocking Truth Behind James Holzhauer’s Absence from the 2025 Tournament! What Could Possibly Keep This Legendary Champion from Competing? Prepare for a Revelation That Will Leave You Speechless!.
Why James Holzhauer is not on Jeopardy! Masters 2025
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
James Holzhauer on Jeopardy! Masters. | Credit: ABC/Christopher Willard
Jeopardy! Masters has become a fun annual tradition for the game show, as every spring Jeopardy! welcomes back some of its best players of all time for a prime time tournament. A fixture in the first two years has been self-proclaimed Jeopardy! “villain” James Holzhauer, but Holzhauer is not competing in Jeopardy! Masters 2025, which premieres on Wednesday, April 30 at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.
This was a surprise to many when the Jeopardy! Masters 2025 field was announced back in March. First, because Holzhauer qualified for Jeopardy! Masters 2025 with his third-place finish in the Jeopardy! Masters 2024 tournament. And second, because for the first time, the field for Jeopardy! Masters has expanded to nine total players, up from six in the first two years. So why is James Holzhauer not on Jeopardy! Masters 2025?
During an Inside Jeopardy! Live on Tour event, Jeopardy! Masters executive producers Sarah Whitcomb-Foss and Michael Davies explained why Holzhauer would not be participating in the 2025 tournament — long story short, he chose not to.
“As we mentioned, it’s an invitational tournament,” said Whitcomb-Foss. “We absolutely did extend an invitation to James, and he decided, for this year, he was not going to compete.”
Davies added: “Absolutely his right. It’s an invitational. We invite the people we want to invite. … So we completely respect James’ decision.”
So by all indications, there does not appear to be any scandal brewing. Holzhauer simply opted not to participate in Jeopardy! Masters 2025. But it seems entirely possible that he could be invited and return to the tournament in a future year if he so chooses.
As for those who are going to be competing in Jeopardy! Masters 2025, they include defending champion Victoria Groce and 2024 runner-up Yogesh Raut. There’s also Matt Amodio, 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament champion and past Jeopardy! Masters contestant, Roger Craig, 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament finalist, Adriana Harmeyer, 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions finalist, Isaac Hirsch, 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions finalist, Brad Rutter, Jeopardy!’s all-time winnings record holder, Neilesh Vinjamuri, 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner and Juveria Zaheer, 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament finalist.
Ken Jennings on Jeopardy! Masters | Credit: Disney/Eric McCandless/Getty Images
With Ken Jennings once again hosting the tournament, each episode of Jeopardy! Masters will feature two traditional games of Jeopardy! during the hour-long broadcast. Though questions will still have point values in the games, the contestants are competing for end-of-game points to move up the Jeopardy! Masters leaderboard. Three points are awarded to the winner of each game, one point for the player who comes in second place and no points for the third-place finisher. Tiebreakers on things like number of games won, correct responses and in-game points will also help sort out the leaderboard.
Once again, Jeopardy! Masters 2025 premieres on April 30 at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC. Episodes of Jeopardy! Masters will stream on-demand on Hulu the day after they air on ABC.
News
Double The Danger! Ron Lalonde Follows His Twin Brother Ray As A ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ: Did He Secretly Eclipse His Brother’s Eye-Watering Earnings Record?
Ron Lalonde follows twin brother as Jeopardy! champion with eye-watering earnings Twin brothers Ron and Ray Lalonde both became Jeopardy! Champs, while Harrison Whitaker’s 14-game streak ended View 3 Images Ron Lalonde has followed his twin brother Ron Lalonde followed in his twin brother’s footsteps this week by becoming a two-day Jeopardy! champion, echoing the […]
‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Complain They Don’t Like Celebrity Video Questions
‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Complain They Don’t Like Celebrity Video Questions Courtesy of ‘Jeopardy!’/YouTube Courtesy of ‘Jeopardy!’/YouTube What To Know Jeopardy! has recently featured celebrity video clues in some episodes, often as a way to promote upcoming releases or tie into themed categories. Many fans have expressed frustration on social media, arguing that these video clues disrupt the […]
3 times Ken Jennings has apologized on behalf of Jeopardy! and his actions
3 times Ken Jennings has apologized on behalf of Jeopardy! and his actions Ken Jennings is beloved for many reasons, and one of them is because the TV personality seems to know how to take accountability when it’s time whether it’s for him or Jeopardy! Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings isn’t too big to admit he’s […]
Jeopardy! fans slam ‘nonsense’ clues as one category is ‘the worst’
Jeopardy! fans slam ‘nonsense’ clues as one category is ‘the worst’ During the latest episode of Jeopardy!, viewers were outraged over one vocabulary category in the first round that had three clues which stumped all of the contestants View 3 Images Jeopardy! fans slam “nonsense” clues as one category is “the worst”(Image: Jeopardy!) Jeopardy! fans […]
‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Arrested on Felony ‘Peeping’ Charges
‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Arrested on Felony ‘Peeping’ Charges Jeopardy, Inc! Two-day Jeopardy! champion Philip Joseph “Joey” DeSena, who appeared on the long-running game show last November, was arrested on Monday, December 1, on two felony “peeping” charges. According to MyFox8.com, citing a warrant filed by the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, DeSena is accused of installing cameras in a […]
‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Reveals She Got Death Threats After Beating Ken Jennings Sony/Jeopardy! When you defeat a 74-game Jeopardy! champion, you’re expecting cheers and a pat on the back. However, Nancy Zerg received death threats for six months after winning her game against Ken Jennings. Zerg, now 69, has revealed in a new interview how her life was made hell after […]
End of content
No more pages to load
