‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Wonder Why Ben Chan & Troy Meyer Were Left Out of ‘Masters’

Jeopardy! fans noticed that two very important people were left out of this year’s Masters lineup. Many are speculating as to why, but one of the former champions spoke out about it.

“Why are Ben and Troy not in Masters this year?” a Reddit user asked, referring to champions Ben Chan and Troy Meyer.

Chan ran a nine-game streak in 2023, where he finished with a total of $252,600. He was also the runner-up in the 2024 Tournament of Champions and competed in the 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament.

Meyer had a six-game winning streak with a total of $214,802 – making him one of only five players to surpass $200,000 in six games. He was also a finalist in the 2024 Tournament of Champions.

With those statistics, it’s no wonder why fans are confused as to why the men aren’t competing in Masters. Here’s what they had to say.

“Ben and Troy along with Amy Schneider lost in the respective quarterfinal matches at the recently concluded 2025 JIT, where the eventual winner Matt Amodio along with fellow finalists Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer earned their spots at Jeopardy! Masters Season 3,” one Reddit user explained. “In fact, Juveria was Jeopardy! Masters Season 2 alternate over Ben & Troy.”

Another fan thought that maybe the men weren’t available.

“This isn’t confirmed, but it looks like the idea was simply to bring back the top 3 finishers in a) last year’s Masters, b) this year’s TOC, and c) this year’s JIT – and since James seemingly declined they substituted in Brad [Rutter] instead. If that is indeed the case, then Brad is the only person who was subjectively chosen over Ben/Troy, and it’s hard to argue with Brad being picked,” a third said.

“I believe the producers will clarify the format and their decision to invite both Adriana [Harmeyer] and Isaac [Hirsch] to this year’s Jeopardy! Masters in the next episode of Inside Jeopardy! Both Troy and Ben wouldn’t invite back for Jeopardy Masters since they both lose in their quarterfinal games,” a fan said.

However, Chan spoke out about the decision in another Reddit thread after the Masters lineup was announced. “Who else thinks Ben Chan should have been invited to this year’s Masters? Ben Chan is one of the most fun, charming, energetic players I have ever seen on Jeopardy. He would bring so much personality to the Masters, and he was also so close to winning the TOC last year against two very talented players.(one missed daily double) Hopefully, he gets considered for Masters in the future,” the original poster said.

“Thank you so much for the kind words… I don’t think I should have been invited *this* year — had my chance at JIT… but I wouldn’t have minded if they’d had the expanded format last year! Edit to add: FREE TROY MEYER!” Chan explained.

Jeopardy! Masters is returning for its third season on Wednesday, April 30, at 9/8c on ABC. The episodes will be one hour long and consist of two games per episode. The competition will then air Wednesday nights for nine weeks. The game show will also stream the next day on Hulu.

There will be four rounds: Knockouts (each player plays twice); bottom 3 players eliminated, Quarterfinals (each player plays three times); bottom two players eliminated, Semifinals (each player plays three times); bottom player eliminated and Final. Each round will be three episodes, each with the semis being two episodes. The Finals is a two-game, total-point affair.

This year’s competition is filled with fan-favorites and past tournament winners, including reigning champion Victoria Groce, returning finalist Yogesh Raut, 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Neilesh Vinjamuri, TOC finalists Adriana Harmeyer and Isaac Hirsch, 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament champion Matt Amodio, and JIT finalists Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer, and one of the biggest Jeopardy! winners of all-time Brad Rutter, who hasn’t been on the Alex Trebek stage since 2020. This makes this tournament the largest Masters to date.

The winner of Masters takes home $500,000, the Trebek Trophy, the title of Masters Champion, and a $100,000 donation to a charity in their honor.

Ken Jennings will be back to host the competition. He also hosts the syndicated versions of the game show, as well as the other tournaments.