While Sam Buttrey asked the Jeopardy! Masters contestants how they prepared for the tournament, he did some preparation of his own. He got to set a day early to prepare for the contestants’ interviews.
“It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year! Catch up with @buttreysam and the rest of our #JeopardyMasters before tomorrow’s premiere,” the Instagram post on August 24 read.
“I’m so excited about interviewing the players that I came down a day early,” he said in the video. Buttrey looked around the empty set, sitting on the couch. “Soooo, I’ll just wait.”
The contestants finally arrived on the day of. Buttrey, who placed sixth in the 2023 Jeopardy! Masters tournament, started with Paolo Pasco. Pasco won this year’s Tournament of Champions.
Buttrey asked him how he has been preparing for Masters. Pasco said since it was a quick turnaround from the last time he played, he wanted to just identify what he was bad at, which “turned out to be a lot of things,” and study up on that.
Victoria Groce shared that to prepare, she went to Toronto, Canada, and studied with opponent and friend, Juveria Zaheer. “We did a little boot camp,” she said.
“So, you would also be good on Canadian stuff?” Buttrey asked.
“No,” Groce replied.
Reigning champion Yogesh Raut said he did a lot of martial arts to defend his title. Long Nguyen said he stopped playing pickleball two months ago in order to focus on Masters. “I know what’s important,” he said. Nguyen also said that Jeopardy! and pickleball are the “best two things in the world.”
Buttrey asked Andrew He if he ever worries about getting caught in a revolving door with his long hair. He replied, “Not with a bun.”
Zaheer shared that her buzzer style was like Waluigi in Mario Kart in the clown car. “Full on,” she said.
“That’s a reference I definitely get,” Buttrey said.
The six contestants will face off against each other throughout the course of two weeks and try to win $500,000. They will also take home the Jeopardy! Masters trophy, the glory of winning, and have $100,000 donated to their charity.
See the Jeopardy! greats compete starting on August 25 on ABC. Who will be victorious, and will their preparation pay off?
Jeopardy! Masters, Season 4, Tuesdays through Fridays, beginning August 25 through September 8, 8/7c, ABC