JEOPARDY! Masters champ Victoria Groce has opened up about the moment she knew she’d take home the Trebek Trophy.

Last Wednesday, Victoria defeated Masters Season 1 champ James Holzhauer and finalist Yogesh Raut after two close-fought games during the Jeopardy! Masters Season 2 finale.

6

6

During the most recent episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Victoria opened up to hosts Sarah Whitcomb and Michael Davies about her big win.

When speaking about participating in Season 2 of the trivia competition, going up against vets like Mattea Roach and Matt Amadio, Victoria revealed she went in with tempered expectations.

“As far as expectations, they were pretty low. I think of this almost more life golf than like chess, in the sense that you have pretty minimal control over what your opponents do,” she admitted.

Victoria explained, “I can try to buzz well. I can try to be careful about not going in on stuff I didn’t know. I could try to be strategically aggressive and make good wagers but ultimately, I can’t control if I’m getting beaten on the buzzer very much.

“I can’t control if my opponents hit a daily double and make a smart wager on it. These are things that I have limited control over. So, in terms of having expectations, they were slim to none.”

When Sarah questioned how Victoria was able to win Jeopardy! Masters after not participating in the game show over “nearly twenty years,” Victoria confessed that she “wasn’t in Jeopardy! shape.”

“I was in competitive trivia shape,” she revealed.

“I stay on top of current events and everything, for The Chase, for the other trivia things I compete in. I study regularly,” Victoria added.

The Jeopardy! champ continued, “I had a lot of stuff to do to get ready that was Jeopardy! specific, but in terms of just having a wide knowledge base for trivia competition, that’s an everyday thing for me.”

Michael then asked her about the game format of the finale, which Victoria described as “tricky” and stated, “You can’t win a two-day final on the first day, you can come close to losing it.”

During the finale, players competed over just one episode in a two-game total-point affair, meaning whoever scored the most between both games would be named the champion.

Since the point system wasn’t being used, the winner was determined by the highest combined score of both matches.

GAME, SET, AND MATCH

Later in the podcast, Victoria revealed the moment she was “pretty sure” she’d “lock in the game.”

“Once I hit that last Daily Double… I was pretty sure that if I kept it small, I was gonna lock the game. And I felt triumphant,” she said.

6

Victoria asserted her dominance in the second Double Jeopardy! as she got an early lead and both Daily Doubles.

Before the episode ended, Victoria revealed she suffered a health issue that caused her to quit her job and how trivia soon became her “lifeline.”

“Ten years ago, I took a month off work that I couldn’t afford to take because I was having migraines basically every single day, and I wanted to see if something would help, she told the hosts.

As far as expectations, they were pretty low. I think of this almost more life golf than like chess, in the sense that you have pretty minimal control over what your opponents do.”

Victoria GroceInside Jeopady!

Victoria continued, “I had to quit going back to school. I had to quit volunteering where I was volunteering. Basically, if it wasn’t going to work and taking care of my kid, I didn’t do it.

“I got back into trivia kind of as a way to maintain my sanity.

“I couldn’t really stand up and work in the lab, but I could lay down in my bed and read a book, and that’s when I started really getting back into trivia and it has been a total lifeline for me through all of that.”

A GRAND FINALE

On Wednesday, Victoria thwarted James’ chance of a repeat Masters win with a final total score of $55,400 after two close-fought games.

The Jeopardy! champ was awarded $500,000, the coveted Trebek Trophy, and $100,000 for the charity Partners in Health for her tournament victory.

Fans celebrated Victoria’s win on X, with one fan excitedly tweeting in all caps, “James Holzhauer reign of terror officially over bring in the crown for Victoria (I love James).”

Like the semifinals, the finale wiped the standings clean for a level playing field.

Once I hit that last Daily Double… I was pretty sure that if I kept it small, I was gonna lock the game. And I felt triumphant.”

Victoria GroceInside Jeopardy!

Victoria, Yogesh, and James competed in a two-game total-point affair with the winner being determined by the highest combined score of both matches.

Before Final Jeopardy! the scores were Victoria with $34,00, Yogesh with $15,799, and James with $8,800.

Jeopardy! Universe

Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:

Jeopardy! – (primetime) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm.

Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.

Celebrity Jeopardy! – 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.

Jeopardy! Masters – 2023 to present, features six notable recent Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.

Jeopardy! National College Championship – 2022 to present, undergraduates from 36 colleges and universities across America compete to win $100,000.

Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years.

All three correctly answered “Henrietta Lacks” to the clue “The New York Times wrote of this woman who had died in 1951, ‘Though she was forgotten at the time, part of her remained alive.’”

James, conceding defeat, added, “Final boss death music,” and proceeded to mimic the Mario death noise.

Along with the correct response, new champion Victoria wrote, “Great games y’all. See you next year!”

The final scores were Victoria with a combined $55,400, Yogesh with a total of 45,910, and James with a two-game score of $38,017.

After hugs and handshakes were shared, Victoria joined Ken at the Jeopardy! lectern to receive the Trebek Trophy.

6

6

6