Tournament of Champions (TV series)

Tournament of Champions
Poster for Season 3
Genre
  • Reality
  • Cooking
  • Game show
StarringGuy Fieri
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Guy Fieri
  • Brian Lando
  • Francesco Giuseppe Pace
  • Bryan Johnson
Running time120 Minutes
Original release
NetworkFood Network

Tournament of Champions is an American reality cooking competition series broadcast by Food Network. Created and hosted by Guy Fieri, the series features alumni of other Food Network competition series competing in a single-elimination tournament for a grand prize in a blind-judged competition.

The competition has been unique in that as of 2025 it has been won exclusively by women chefs. The result has been attributed to various factors such as the blind tasting and speculation about women being socialized to multitask. Winners have been Brooke Williamson, Maneet Chauhan, Tiffani Faison, Mei Lin, and Antonia Lofaso.

Format

The competition is a single-elimination tournament consisting primarily of alumni or champions of other cooking competition series (particularly, those aired by Food Network).[1] In each match, the two participating chefs must cook a dish with parameters determined by "the Randomizer"—a slot machine-like board with five reels that are spun by Fieri to determine the key factors of each match, which have included required protein and produce ingredients, required equipment, cooking style, the time limit, and "Wild Card" elements (such as additional styles or ingredients, re-spinning selected reels, etc.). When time expires, the completed dishes are judged and scored blind by a panel of judges (usually three) to determine the winner.[2]

For the sixth season, the geographic divisions were eliminated,[3] and all four previous season winners exited the competition to take on other roles in the production. Tiffani Faison became a sideline reporter and Maneet Chauhan, Brooke Williamson, and Mei Lin became judges.[4]

Analysis of results

The competition has been called remarkable for the domination by women chefs, which is not common in American televised cooking competitions. According to AP News, it is "the only cooking competition series that includes people of all genders where no man has ever won, let alone made it as a top-two finalist."[5] It speculated that the reason had to do with the blind tasting; judges not only do not know whose dish they are judging in a given round but also don't even know the competition's roster, which allows for no subconscious bias.[5] Results in other American televised cooking competitions tend to favor male chefs; 71% of the winners of Top Chef and 60% of the winners of Chopped, both of which use non-blind judging, have been men.[5] Maneet Chauhan, who won the competition twice, believes the format requires the ability to multitask, a skill she believes women are socialized to develop.[5]

Seasons

Season 1

Season 1 premiered on March 3, 2020. Judges for the season included Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Curtis Stone, Jonathan Waxman, Ming Tsai and Traci Des Jardins.

Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar act as the sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting and explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting.

The Season 1 champion is Brooke Williamson.

West

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals
         
1 Antonia Lofaso 92
8 Marcel Vigneron 89
Antonia Lofaso 96
Beau MacMillan 85
4 Beau MacMillan 81
5 Richard Blais 76
Antonia Lofaso 89
Brooke Williamson 92
2 Michael Voltaggio 90
7 Brooke Williamson 96
Brooke Williamson 94
Jet Tila 83
3 Eric Greenspan 72
6 Jet Tila 76

East

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals
         
1 Alex Guarnaschelli 71
8 Darnell Ferguson 72
Darnell Ferguson 78
Amanda Freitag 82
4 Amanda Freitag 92
5 Elizabeth Falkner 82
Amanda Freitag 87
Maneet Chauhan 85
2 Marc Murphy 84
7 Christian Petroni 85
Christian Petroni 89
Maneet Chauhan 93
3 Rocco DiSpirito 81
6 Maneet Chauhan 91

Final

Final
   
1 Amanda Freitag 87
2 Brooke Williamson 88

Season 2

Season 2 began on March 7, 2021. Judges for the season included Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Rocco DiSpirito, Jonathan Waxman, Traci Des Jardins, Scott Conant, Giada De Laurentiis and Ming Tsai.

Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar return as the sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting and explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting.

The Season 2 champion is Maneet Chauhan.

West

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals
         
1 Brooke Williamson 92
8 Nyesha Arrington 88
Brooke Williamson 91
Michael Voltaggio 88
4 Cat Cora 90
5 Michael Voltaggio 95
Brooke Williamson 90
Jet Tila 83
2 Antonia Lofaso 87
7 Brian Malarkey 85
Jet Tila 92
Antonia Lofaso 91
3 Jet Tila 90
6 Aaron May 84

Note: In their first quarterfinal match, Tila and Lofaso tied with 93 and with identical distributions of scores, so they competed again with a new set of randomizer ingredients.

East

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals
         
1 Amanda Freitag 87
8 Tiffani Faison 90
Tiffani Faison 80
Darnell Ferguson 85
4 Darnell Ferguson 88
5 Marc Murphy 82
Darnell Ferguson 89
Maneet Chauhan 90
2 Maneet Chauhan 83
7 Madison Cowan 76
Christian Petroni 80
Maneet Chauhan 83
3 Christian Petroni 83
6 Bryan Voltaggio 80

Final

Final
   
1 Brooke Williamson 90
2 Maneet Chauhan 93

Season 3

Season 3 began on February 27, 2022, with the season featuring a grand prize of $100,000.[2] Judges for the season included Nancy Silverton, Rocco DiSpirito, Jonathan Waxman, Traci Des Jardins, Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, Cat Cora, Ming Tsai, Giada De Laurentiis, Lorena Garcia, Eric Ripert, Dominique Crenn and Masaharu Morimoto.

Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar return as the sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting and explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting.

The Season 3 champion is Tiffani Faison.

West A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Brooke Williamson 85
8 Crista Luedtke 79
Brooke Williamson 87
Brian Malarkey 80
4 Aaron May 78
5 Brian Malarkey 82
Brooke Williamson 84
Michael Voltaggio 83
2 Michael Voltaggio 82
7 Phillip Frankland Lee 79
Michael Voltaggio 93
Tiffany Derry 85
3 Timothy Hollingsworth 88
6 Tiffany Derry 90

West B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Jet Tila 85
8 Carlos Anthony 81
Jet Tila 89
Elizabeth Falkner 88
4 Chris Cosentino 80
5 Elizabeth Falkner 84
Jet Tila 80
Shirley Chung 71
2 Antonia Lofaso 80
7 Joe Sasto 82
Joe Sasto 90
Shirley Chung 93
3 Shirley Chung 83
6 Marcel Vigneron 74

East A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Maneet Chauhan 82
8 Richard Hales 81
Maneet Chauhan 78
Eric Adjepong 72
4 Kelsey Barnard Clark 75
5 Eric Adjepong 79
Maneet Chauhan 80
Tiffani Faison 83
2 Amanda Freitag Winner
7 Madison Cowan Disqualified
Amanda Freitag 85
Tiffani Faison 87
3 Tiffani Faison 85
6 Bryan Voltaggio 83

East B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Darnell Ferguson 84
8 Aarthi Sampath 86
Aarthi Sampath 74
Karen Akunowicz 74
4 Karen Akunowicz 84
5 Justin Sutherland 77
Karen Akunowicz 79
Tobias Dorzon 81
2 Christian Petroni 74
7 Tobias Dorzon 75
Tobias Dorzon 81
Einat Admony 77
3 Michael Psilakis 76
6 Einat Admony 79

Note: When there is a tied final score, the competitor who had the higher score in the ‘Taste’ category will move on.

Final Four

Semifinals Finals
      
WA Brooke Williamson 84
WB Jet Tila 82
Brooke Williamson 90
Tiffani Faison 92
EA Tiffani Faison 91
EB Tobias Dorzon 84

Season 4

Season 4 began on February 19, 2023. Judges for the season include Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, Nancy Silverton, Ming Tsai, Andrew Zimmern, Jonathan Waxman, Michelle Bernstein, Daniela Soto-Innes, Daniel Boulud and Cat Cora.

Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar return as the sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting and explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting. Hunter Fieri joins as backstage reporter, interviewing the winning chefs of their reactions.

The Season 4 champion is Mei Lin.

West A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Jet Tila 84
8 Carlos Anthony 77
Jet Tila 83
Lee Anne Wong 78
4 Brian Malarkey 84
5 Lee Anne Wong 86
Jet Tila 88
Adam Sobel 86
2 Shirley Chung 86
7 Tracey Shepos Cenami 79
Shirley Chung 85
Adam Sobel 87
3 Nate Appleman 83
6 Adam Sobel 90

West B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Antonia Lofaso 84
8 Shota Nakajima 86
Shota Nakajima 84
Joe Sasto 80
4 Joe Sasto 86
5 Elizabeth Falkner 85
Shota Nakajima 84
Mei Lin 91
2 Tiffany Derry 86
7 Viet Pham 80
Tiffany Derry 85
Mei Lin 92
3 Mei Lin 84
6 Crista Luedtke 82

East A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Tiffani Faison 88
8 Britt Rescigno 89
Britt Rescigno 83
Darnell Ferguson 81
4 Darnell Ferguson 84
5 Ilan Hall 79
Britt Rescigno 85
Jose Garces 81
2 Jose Garces 89
7 Kelsey Barnard Clark 85
Jose Garces 79
Eric Adjepong 75
3 Graham Elliot 81
6 Eric Adjepong 85

East B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Tobias Dorzon 88
8 Leah Cohen 86
Tobias Dorzon 80
Karen Akunowicz 82
4 Karen Akunowicz 86
5 Christian Petroni 80
Karen Akunowicz 81
Maneet Chauhan 88
2 Maneet Chauhan 92
7 Jonathon Sawyer 85
Maneet Chauhan 86
Stephanie Izard 84
3 Stephanie Izard 86
6 Madison Cowan 85

Final Four

Semifinals Finals
      
WA Jet Tila 87
WB Mei Lin 90
Mei Lin 91
Maneet Chauhan 89
EA Britt Rescigno 80
EB Maneet Chauhan 87

Season 5

Season 5 began airing on February 18, 2024. Judges for the season included Donatella Arpaia, Scott Conant, Rocco DiSpirito, Susan Feniger, Lorena Garcia, Carla Hall, Michael Mina, Eric Ripert, Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Ming Tsai, Andrew Zimmern, Jonathan Waxman, Michael White, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Cat Cora.[6]

Justin Warner and Simon Majumdar returned as the sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting and explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting. Hunter Fieri returned as backstage reporter, interviewing the winning chefs of their reactions.

The Season 5 champion was Maneet Chauhan, the first repeat winner of the competition.[7]

West A Qualifiers

First Round Second Round
      
1 Kevin Lee 79
4 Maria Mazon 74
Kevin Lee 80
Bruce Kalman 76
3 Aaron May 74
2 Bruce Kalman 75

West B Qualifiers

First Round Second Round
      
1 Ray Garcia 80
4 Pyet DeSpain 68
Ray Garcia 78
Michael Reed 79
3 Claudia Sandoval 74
2 Michael Reed 77

East A Qualifiers

First Round Second Round
      
1 Nini Nguyen 90
4 Gerald Sombright 74
Nini Nguyen 81
Leah Cohen 78
3 Ilan Hall 77
2 Leah Cohen 80

East B Qualifiers

First Round Second Round
      
1 Demetrio Zavala 84
4 Justin Sutherland 74
Demetrio Zavala 71
Chris Scott 75
3 Adriana Urbina 74
2 Chris Scott 79

West A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Brooke Williamson 87
8 Kevin Lee 88
Kevin Lee 90
Shirley Chung 86
4 Shirley Chung 89
5 Joe Sasto 86
Kevin Lee 81
Antonia Lofaso 85
2 Michael Voltaggio 92
7 Crista Luedtke 89
Michael Voltaggio 82
Antonia Lofaso 84
3 Antonia Lofaso 92
6 Casey Thompson 83

West B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Mei Lin 79
8 Michael Reed 76
Mei Lin 89
Lee Anne Wong 83
4 Adam Sobel 89
5 Lee Anne Wong 93
Mei Lin 79
Jet Tila 82
2 Jet Tila 84
7 Brian Malarkey 82
Jet Tila 79
Carlos Anthony 79
3 Shota Nakajima 81
6 Carlos Anthony 82

Note: In the case of a tie score, the competitor who has the higher score in the ‘Taste’ category is declared the winner.

East A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Maneet Chauhan 83
8 Nini Nguyen 76
Maneet Chauhan 86
Eric Adjepong 83
4 Stephanie Izard 88
5 Eric Adjepong 90
Maneet Chauhan 86
Tobias Dorzon 84
2 Karen Akunowicz 82
7 Dale Talde 84
Dale Talde 75
Tobias Dorzon 80
3 Tobias Dorzon 83
6 Kelsey Barnard Clark 79

East B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Tiffani Faison 93
8 Chris Scott 85
Tiffani Faison 79
Amanda Freitag 81
4 Amanda Freitag 79
5 Darnell Ferguson 77
Amanda Freitag 80
Britt Rescigno 83
2 Britt Rescigno 78
7 Jonathon Sawyer 74
Britt Rescigno 84
Marc Murphy 80
3 Jose Garces 82
6 Marc Murphy 85

Final Four

Semifinals Finals
      
WA Antonia Lofaso 86
WB Jet Tila 83
Antonia Lofaso 89
Maneet Chauhan 90
EA Maneet Chauhan 86
EB Britt Rescigno 81

Season 6

Season 6 began airing on March 2, 2025. In this season the regional nature of the brackets was eliminated.[3] No previous winners competed.[8]

Judges for the season include Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Susan Feniger, Alex Guarnaschelli, Mary Sue Milliken, Charlie Palmer, Wolfgang Puck, Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Michael Symon, Ming Tsai, Jonathan Waxman, Andrew Zimmern. Previous champions Maneet Chauhan (Seasons 2 and 5), Mei Lin (Season 4), and Brooke Williamson (Season 1) became judges.[9]

Justin Warner returned, with Season 3 champion Tiffani Faison joining him as sideline reporters, delivering real-time play-by-play to the live audience, and presenting & explaining the dishes to the judges during the blind tasting. Hunter Fieri returned as backstage reporter, interviewing the winning chefs of their reactions. Simon Majumdar took on a new role as the judges' correspondent, getting reviews from judges as to why a dish received a win or a loss.

For the final battle, a fourth judge--Martha Stewart--was brought in to decide the winner and Season 6 champion, Antonia Lofaso.[9]

Division A

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Antonia Lofaso 86
8 Maria Mazon 82
Antonia Lofaso 88
Rocco Dispirito 83
4 Tim Love 80
5 Rocco Dispirito 83
Antonia Lofaso 88
Kevin Lee 85
2 Adam Sobel 79
7 Adriana Urbina 74
Adam Sobel 75
Kevin Lee 82
3 Kevin Lee 83
6 Casey Thompson 81

Division B

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Britt Rescigno 85
8 Chris Oh 84
Britt Rescigno 80
Michael Reed 76
4 Stephanie Izard 84
5 Michael Reed 86
Britt Rescigno 88
Kaleena Bliss 85
2 Shota Nakajima 88
7 Brittany Anderson 84
Shota Nakajima 79
Kaleena Bliss 86
3 Kaleena Bliss 80
6 Chris Cosentino 78

Division C

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Jet Tila 91
8 Pyet Despain 84
Jet Tila 91
Joe Sasto 93
4 Joe Sasto 81
5 Fabio Viviani 76
Joe Sasto 84
Lee Anne Wong 87
2 Karen Akunowicz 79
7 Jonathan Sawyer 82
Jonathan Sawyer 83
Lee Anne Wong 84
3 Lee Anne Wong 85
6 Chris Scott 80

Division D

First Round Second Round Quarterfinals
         
1 Tobias Dorzon 85
8 David Viana 91
David Viana 86
Sara Bradley 87
4 Dale Talde 72
5 Sara Bradley 76
Sara Bradley 90
Nini Nguyen 86
2 Amanda Freitag 85
7 Carlos Anthony 87
Carlos Anthony 79
Nini Nguyen 80
3 Claudette Zepeda 79
6 Nini Nguyen 86

Final Four

Semifinals Finals
      
DA Antonia Lofaso 82
DB Britt Rescigno 82
Antonia Lofaso 88
Sara Bradley 82
DC Lee Anne Wong 83
DD Sara Bradley 85

Note: When there is a tied final score, the competitor who had the higher score in the ‘Taste’ category is declared the winner.

References

  1. ^ Rawden, Mack (April 20, 2022). "Guy Fieri's Tournament Of Champions Is Great, But It Needs One Key Change". CINEMABLEND. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Rosario, Alexandra Del (January 18, 2022). "Guy Fieri's 'Tournament Of Champions' Renewed For Season 3 At Food Network". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Wu, Stephanie (March 21, 2025). "You Should Really Be Watching Food Network's 'Tournament of Champions'". Eater. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  4. ^ "Tournament of Champions Season 6 Bracket and Winners". February 23, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Kumamoto, Akira Olivia (February 14, 2025). "Women have dominated 'Tournament of Champions.' Here's what winners say is a key ingredient". AP News. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  6. ^ "Watch a Sneak Peek: 'Tournament of Champions' Season VI Features a Special Twist". Food Network. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  7. ^ Dehnart, Andy (April 7, 2024). "Who won Tournament of Champions V?". reality blurred.
  8. ^ "Watch a Sneak Peek: 'Tournament of Champions' Season VI Features a Special Twist". Food Network. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Reiher, Andrea (April 20, 2025). "'Tournament of Champions' Season 6 Finale: Who Won The Belt?". Parade. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
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