Victoria Groce revealed the one subject she studied the most for Jeopardy! Masters, and what she thinks of her competitors.
Groce, who won Season 2 of the tournament and came in third last season, shared that she needed to brush up on pop culture for Season 4, which kicks off on August 25, where she learned more specifically about movies and TV, she told Trib Live. But she’s also been preoccupied with writing her book, Know It All: The Quiz Champ’s Essential Guide to Learning Anything. The book went into production the week she taped Masters.
Groce, who is competing on Jeopardy! for a fifth time, revealed her routine, which included arriving in Los Angeles a few days early as “I get a lot of migraines and I want them to pass after I fly.” Plus, she had a manicure to paint her nails Jeopardy! blue, and likes to go out to dinner on the eve of filming with friends who have gone along to support her.
For Season 4, Groce only has to worry about five competitors (fewer than previous years). Season 3 champion Yogesh Raut is back. “Yogesh) is always a threat. Obviously, he won it last year, and he played very well the year before, so I knew that he would be every bit as good,” Groce told the outlet.
She will also return to the stage with Juveria Zaheer, who took second place in last year’s competition. “Juveria and I are, like, best friends, and I know how hard she has been working to get ready,” Groce said.
Groce will also play again against Andrew He, whom she knows is “very good,” as well as Long Nguyen, whom she has “known forever.” Paolo Pasco won the Tournament of Champions. Groce called his performance “impressive.” “I think he’s actually got a higher ceiling than anybody else in that field. He is so young and he is so brilliant and he is so good at the stuff that is really hard to practice for — the wordplay, the mental flexibility stuff — and he’s great on the buzzer, too,” she said.
“It didn’t really feel like there was a weak link in the field,” Groce told Trib Live that going back to the stage feels like summer camp. “Everybody kind of knows each other, and at this point, I’m catching up on how Sandy the makeup lady’s daughter is doing in law school. I know about everybody’s kids at this point, so it’s just great to catch up.”
“I will probably never not feel a little something right in the pit of my stomach when the music swells up when you’re standing up there (on stage),” Groce said. “That will never get old.”
Season 4 will begin on Tuesday and run until September 8 with an hour episode on Tuesdays through Fridays.
Jeopardy! Masters, Season 4, Tuesdays through Fridays, August 25 to September 8, 8/7c, ABC