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
Denzel Washington Was Denied a Hotel Room—When He Found Out Why, He Did Something Incredible
The hotel clerk who denied Denzel Washington a room was breaking company policy for the first time in her career. She couldn’t tell him why. Not without losing her job and everything her family depended on. But when Denzel found out the real reason he made a decision that would save more than just her […]
Steve Harvey Stopped Family Feud: “You’re Not Playing Fast Money Today” — What He Did Instead
The Johnson family had won every round of Family Feud. They were celebrating, ready to play fast money for $20,000. But when Steve Harvey walked to the podium, he didn’t pick up his question cards. Instead, he looked at the family, a mother, her three children, and her sister, and said something that had never […]
Steve Harvey Refused to Ask THIS Question — What He Did Next Everyone SPEECHLESS
The moment Steve Harvey started reading the question, Robert Martinez stopped breathing. His wife Maria noticed immediately. She’d seen this before. The thousandy stare, the way his body went rigid, the trembling that started in his hands. Steve noticed it, too. He’d only gotten halfway through the question. Name something a soldier wishes they could […]
The $500M Deal Was Minutes From Being Signed – Then the Maid’s Daughter Exposed the Arabic Trap
Remove this black trash from my office. Omar al-Rashid towers over 12-year-old Amara Williams as she quietly empties his waste basket. Her small hands grip the plastic liner, trying to stay invisible. He kicks the trash bin, sending papers flying across the marble floor. “Filthy little pest,” he mutters in Arabic to his assistant, “the […]
Female CEO Laughed at Her Black Driver — Then Froze When His 9 Languages Saved Her $1B Deal
Victoria Sterling’s merger call was crashing. No interpreters. Billiondoll deal dying. Jerome Washington reached over to mute the radio trying to help. Victoria’s head snapped around like a viper. Keep your monkey hands off my car. The words hit the air like a slap. Jerome’s hand froze midreach. You think because you drive my Mercedes, […]
His Last Wish Before Execution To See His Dog, But What Happened Changed Everything…
Gray light filtered through the narrow windows of Ironwood State Prison, as though even the sun was hesitant to illuminate the events unfolding within. Guards patrolled the corridors in a methodical rhythm, their footsteps echoing against concrete walls painted in a dull institutional blue. Leonard Len Jackson lay shackled to a steel bed in the […]
End of content
No more pages to load
