The race for the Jeopardy! Masters title is down to three players. After the final semifinal games aired on Friday, September 4, Victoria Groce, Andrew He, and Yogesh Raut emerged as the finalists, while Paolo Pasco narrowly missed out despite another strong performance.

The decisive finals episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 8, at 8/7c on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu the following day. The official 2026 Jeopardy! Masters schedule confirms that the tournament’s semifinals concluded on September 4, setting the stage for the final games on September 8.

Andrew He Takes Game 3 After Triple Stumper

Friday’s first semifinal matchup — Game 3 — featured Victoria Groce, an author and speaker from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Andrew He, a stay-at-home dad from Concord, California; and Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, California.

The contest remained remarkably close throughout. Each contestant found one Daily Double, with Groce and Pasco successfully doubling their scores, but none of the three managed to build a commanding advantage.

Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Groce was in front with $8,600, followed by He with $6,000 and Pasco with $5,600.

The final clue, from the category “Geographic Named People,” proved to be a triple stumper. Contestants were asked about a medieval builder whom Renaissance architect Giulio Romano was compared with in Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists. The correct response was Giovanni Pisano.

Groce was the only player to make a significant wager, which dropped her score to $5,199. Pasco finished just behind her with $5,196, while He secured the victory with $5,684.

The narrow margins reflected just how competitive the semifinal round had become, with every result carrying major consequences for the race to the finals.

Pasco Dominates Early, but He Wins Again

Game 4 brought He and Pasco back to the podium alongside Yogesh Raut, an applied cognition specialist from Vancouver, Washington.

Pasco came out with momentum and quickly built a substantial lead during the Jeopardy! round, reaching a five-digit score that was more than twice that of his closest competitor. He remained ahead after Double Jeopardy!, but neither He nor Raut allowed the game to become a runaway.

Before Final Jeopardy!, Pasco held $17,000, with He close behind at $14,400 and Raut at $8,600.

The category was “Historic Americans,” and the clue referred to a man born around 1732 who was described as “the father of guerrilla warfare” and was mentioned in a creed once used by the U.S. Army’s Special Forces.

Both He and Raut responded correctly with Francis Marion.

He ultimately claimed the game with $17,333. Pasco finished second with $14,500, while Raut placed third on $14,401.

Although Pasco earned a semifinal match point for his second-place finish, it was not enough to keep his tournament alive.

Groce, He and Raut Advance to the Finals

With the semifinal round complete, Victoria Groce advanced with seven match points, Andrew He followed with six, and Yogesh Raut secured the third and final place with two.

Pasco’s elimination brought a disappointing end to a hard-fought run, particularly after he had shown his ability to control Game 4 for much of the match.

Reflecting on the loss in a Reddit post, Pasco thanked his fellow competitors and everyone involved in the tournament. He also recalled advice from fellow Masters player Juveria Zaheer, who encouraged him to focus not on the breaks that failed to go his way, but on the many fortunate moments that had helped him reach this stage of the competition.

Pasco wrote that his journey to this point had depended on countless fortunate breaks during his regular-season run, the Tournament of Champions, and the Jeopardy! Masters quarterfinals, adding that he could not reasonably expect another one when it mattered most.

Now, only Groce, He and Raut remain.

The three finalists will return for the deciding episode of Jeopardy! Masters on Tuesday, September 8, with the 2026 championship set to be decided after one final night of competition.

Source: https://www.tvinsider.com/