With Season 2 of Jeopardy! Masters beginning to tape tomorrow, here is my preview for Season 2 of the ABC primetime extravaganza.
For more information about the event, make sure you check out my previous article, “Everything You Need To Know About Jeopardy! Masters Season 2″.
Each player’s profile contains their win-loss record and odds, per this site’s prediction model.
James Holzhauer, Las Vegas, NV, +260 (46-5)
1806 correct, 91 incorrect
54/59 on rebound attempts (on 130 rebound opportunities)
51.69% in first on buzzer (1670/3231)
102/111 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $858,193)
44/57 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $26,000
To win: 25.8%
To make finals: 66.8%
To make semifinals: 85.4%
Why James will win: He’s the odds-on favorite per the prediction model and most pundits. The fact that others will have to play his way to beat him will take his opponents out of their comfort zone.
Why James won’t win: Variance. Mattea spent most of last season looking ordinary before catching fire late in Game 2 of the final. That could potentially happen to James again, and it’s one major reason why he’s only 25% to win. He’s easily the best overall player in the field, but he’s got to get through a pair of score resets.
Mattea Roach, Toronto, ON, Canada, +830 (25-11)
889 correct, 94 incorrect
46/54 on rebound attempts (on 152 rebound opportunities)
39.27% in first on buzzer (845/2152)
38/46 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $103,000)
23/38 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,105
To win: 10.2%
To make finals: 34.7%
To make semifinals: 48.0%
Why Mattea will win: Did you see Game 2 of last year’s final? Their buzzer timing shocked the world and Mattea was a Final Jeopardy correct response away from taking it all last season. If that happens again…
Why Mattea won’t win: The numbers look counterintuitive compared to the performance described above because the prediction model takes the entire body of work into account. Last season, what Mattea did was the equivalent of a back-nine 29 on Sunday at Augusta. Incredible? Absolutely. Repeatable? Maybe. Mattea will need to find that Game 2 performance much earlier in the tournament if they want to be in position for more finals magic.
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Matt Amodio, New York, NY, +520 (42-9)
1529 correct, 175 incorrect
62/72 on rebound attempts (on 160 rebound opportunities)
49.15% in first on buzzer (1476/3003)
90/103 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $355,200)
34/52 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $23,472
To win: 15.3%
To make finals: 52.0%
To make semifinals: 69.8%
Why Matt will win: Matt seemed to play a high-risk high-reward game last season, and that was enough for him to pick up a couple of crucial victories. If things break the right way for him, he has a very high ceiling and can absolutely take victory.
Why Matt won’t win: His strategy—stating unequivocally that I think it’s absolutely the best game for Matt to play—is a double-edged sword. If he doesn’t find the Daily Doubles, or doesn’t get them correct, he risks situations where he’s not around for Final.
Yogesh Raut, Vancouver, WA, +480 (8-4)
293 correct, 20 incorrect
20/22 on rebound attempts (on 41 rebound opportunities)
39.53% in first on buzzer (270/683)
9/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $58,600)
7/12 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,283
To win: 16.4%
To make finals: 48.4%
To make semifinals: 65.3%
Why Yogesh will win: Yogesh showed both an incredibly deep knowledge base and stretches of excellent buzzer skill in the Tournament of Champions. If that buzzer skill keeps up, Yogesh could even consistently beat James in this event.
Why Yogesh won’t win: In his Jeopardy! career, he has found 0.75 Daily Doubles per game and is just 7/12 in Final Jeopardy. Both of those numbers are going to need to improve for him to have the best chance of victory.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:
Victoria Groce, Pittsburgh, PA, +440 (5-2)
178 correct, 28 incorrect
6/7 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
46.19% in first on buzzer (182/394)
7/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $38,700)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,400
To win: 17.5%
To make finals: 51.9%
To make semifinals: 69.4%
Why Victoria will win: Much like Yogesh, Victoria has that incredibly deep knowledge base and incredibly strong buzzer skill. James has a lot more to watch out for this season, and I’m pretty sure James thinks Victoria is more than capable of dominating this tournament. Rhythm games are the way to go, folks!
Why Victoria won’t win: Much like James, variance. Any champion is going to need to take advantage of the Daily Doubles in order to take overall victory in this event. And if they don’t fall Victoria’s way at the right times…someone else will be taking victory.
Amy Schneider, Oakland, CA, +540 (47-13)
1704 correct, 120 incorrect
83/101 on rebound attempts (on 229 rebound opportunities)
45.31% in first on buzzer (1571/3467)
76/91 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $240,600)
41/61 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $22,518
To win: 14.8%
To make finals: 46.2%
To make semifinals: 62.1%
Why Amy will win: Much like Mattea in Game 2 of the finals last year, Amy is unstoppable when she gets in the zone. If the zone happens for her at the right time, the Producer’s Pick will become champion.
Why Amy won’t win: While I left JIT feeling a lot more confident about Amy’s strategic chops, I definitely had concerns about some of Amy’s betting strategies. I don’t think that Amy has ever made a “calculate this bet and bet to win by $1” in her entire 60-game career, and I’m worried that this might lead to a math or strategic error in a crucial Final Jeopardy spot.
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
Thanks, Andy! Very informative and interesting.
My “favorite” contestant is James Holzhauer based on his low error percentage rate (under 5%). I think it may be the lowest ever for someone who managed to stay around long enough to have a meaningful average [in contrast to those who have won only one or two games via bad FJ luck for their opponents (or even won none) while having very few errors but also not many correct either]. I know it takes more than that to win, but I say “favorite” in terms of “liking to watch him” and “kinda hoping he wins”, not because I could give other statistics (or quote yours) necessary to support my choice.
Andy! Thanks for compiling this preview.