“Jeopardy!” James can bow down to Victoria Grose.
The winner of the inaugural “Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament” held in the spring went on to claim the title on ABC’s “Jeopardy! Masters” in Wednesday’s finals, beating 2023 winner James Holzhauer and Yogesh Raut, winner of this year’s Tournament of Champions, the other finalists.
Gross, who had only appeared on “Jeopardy!” twice before this season, in 2005, said he felt like he was “guaranteed” to win going into Wednesday’s second game of Final Jeopardy! Since stopping David Madden’s 19-game winning streak, Gross has competed in quiz competitions around the world and joined ABC’s “The Chase” in 2022 as the game show’s resident brains.
“When I got my last daily double, I was pretty sure,” Gross, 43, a writer who lives in Pittsburgh, told USA Today. “And then I did the math and it was like four.”
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Wednesday’s final will consist of two 30-minute games, with players judged on their combined scores. Holzhauer came out on top in the first match with 28,309 points, followed by Gross with 21,400 and Laut with 19,200.
When Gross won her final Daily Double in Game 2, her total of 29,200 points increased to 30,000, widening her already sizable lead over Holzhauer and Routt. Going into the Final Jeopardy!, Gross had 34,000 points, followed by Holzhauer (8,800) and Routt (15,799). Unless Gross made a big bet, the game was hers.
The clue for the final Jeopardy! for the American Women’s division read, “The New York Times wrote this about the woman who died in 1951: ‘She was forgotten then, but a part of her lives on.’
Gross bet nothing, correctly responded to Henrietta Lacks, and included a message to her competitors in her submission: “Great match, guys! See you next year!”
“James is a really funny guy,” says Gross. “He and I were standing next to each other during the final exam, and I was like, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!’ And he was like, ‘The fact that you’re doing math is the only reason I’m feeling optimistic here (laughs)’ because he knew I was good at math.”
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Gross went into the Masters with “very low expectations” but did well, winning the tournament’s prestigious title and $500,000 first place prize.
“To be at this point in my life and on top of something so amazing and with the prospect of financial security is really a life-changing thing for me,” she said. “It’s like, how did this happen? I never thought I’d be on Jeopardy! again, I never thought I’d get the call for the invitational, and even when I got the call, I didn’t think I was going to win. I didn’t go into this expecting to win, so when I did win, it was just overwhelming. It was like the system just fell apart.”
Gross spoke about the skills he focused on heading into the Masters, what made him win and how he plans to put the unexpectedly heavy Trebek Trophy before he decides to win. (Edited for length and clarity.)
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Q: Did you do any special preparation for your master’s degree?
Victoria Gross: Yeah, I did a lot of word puzzles. I was really bad at word puzzles at the Invitational Tournament, so I bought a lot of word puzzle books and spent at least an hour every day doing crosswords and anagrams. I did a lot better at the Masters, so I was really happy about that.
Looking at your competitors, did one company pose a bigger threat than the others?
Of course it’s James. He won the previous year and we worked together on “The Chase,” so I know him very well. So I know very well how good he is and how much knowledge he has. I also know that he has mastered the strategy and the buzzer part of this race. No disrespect to anyone, but if I asked everyone in the green room who is the most nervous, I think everyone would say James except for James.
How did you feel as the competition progressed?
The semi-finals were super stressful because they were so close. Three of the four of us were going to make it to the finals. I told the 12 or so people (friends and family) who came to LA to watch the shoot not to mention this, but they all had such high expectations of me (laughs). So I was nervous. I also had a bad migraine the day of the semi-finals, so that didn’t help. When I have a migraine, I tend to feel a little worse for it.
What do you think contributed to your victory?
I’m really good at staying present when I’m working on something. I don’t get upset when things don’t go well. I feel like I was able to focus on finding all the clues at the right time and making the best decision in that moment. Being here, it’s not like I can overwhelm the other contestants just because I know more than them. They’re just too good. So I feel like not letting the adrenaline get the better of me helped me perform at my best.
How did you celebrate after winning?
I told my husband to go to a wine store and just buy the most ridiculous bottle of champagne (lol) and then go to a fancy cheese store so we could enjoy some really fancy wine and cheese when we got back.
Besides fine cheese and champagne, are you planning on doing anything fun with your winnings?
I have two exciting things going on: I’m going to Lisbon for a week as a family (with my husband and daughter). I’m going to Portugal for another week, going to a wine-themed spa hotel, which is really exciting. Then I’m renovating my kitchen. I’m a really avid hobbyist cook and I collect cookbooks. Our 1950s ranch-style home has a small kitchen with mostly original fixtures, so we’re going to replace the crappy electric coil stove, repaint the cabinets, and get new floors and countertops.
