"It's not dated" — Jeopardy! Masters host Ken Jennings fires back at contestant's comment
On May 14, Jeopardy! Masters aired a new episode with the fifth and sixth knockout games. Neilesh Vinjamuri, Juveria Zaheer, and Brad Rutter competed for a spot in the quarterfinals.
After the first break, host Ken Jennings introduced the players, highlighting Brad’s 25-year history on the show, Juveria’s love for ’90s pop culture, and Neilesh as the youngest contestant. Neilesh later said he felt like an “apprentice,” learning from veterans like Brad, and noted that some of the questions felt a bit outdated to him.
"On Jeopardy! you see a lot of stuff that kind of like, it feels kind of dated. Like it could be 80s-70s culture," expressed Neilesh.
This led to an onslaught of hilarious reactions as Ken and other contestants tried to interrupt the comment.
"It's dated to you, it's not dated... You're right. It's a broad spread of years. You're not wrong," stated Ken.
What happened on Jeopardy! Masters game 5 and 6?
In the fifth game of the knockout rounds, Victoria Groce won, earning three additional points. The final Jeopardy! Masters question was about 18th-century science, and all three contestants, Victoria, Matt Amodio, and Adriana Harmeyer, answered correctly. Victoria had a significant lead with $27,200, more than double Matt's total. She chose not to wager any amount and bet $0 to secure the three points.
"Naturalist the Count de Buffon mocked N. & S. American animals, like this “elephant of the new world… the size of a very small mule,” Ken mentioned as the clue for Game 5 question.
Matt Amodio finished second, starting with $13,000 and earning $601, bringing his total to $13,601 and earning one point. Adriana Harmeyer also answered correctly, earning $6,500, but her total of $13,300 wasn't enough to secure any points. Victoria's win earned her a spot ahead in the competition.
While in game 6 of Jeopardy! Masters, Yogesh Raut maintained his top position on the leaderboard. In Game 6, Juveria Zaheer, Brad Rutter, and Neilesh Vinjamuri competed, each starting with zero points. This put them at a high risk of elimination, as two of them might not advance. The Final Jeopardy question was about American composers.
"After he died in 1990 at age 90, his ashes were scattered at Tanglewood, where he taught for 25 years & where his music was performed," Ken revealed as the clue for Game 6.
The correct answer was Aaron Copland, a composer who taught at Tanglewood for 25 years and had his music performed there. While all three contestants answered correctly, it was Juveria Zaheer who won Game 6 of Jeopardy! Masters 2025. She built on her lead from the Double Jeopardy round. She had found both Daily Doubles, earning her a strong position going into Final Jeopardy with $26,800.
Juveria answered incorrectly but still earned 3 points, losing $6,000 and finishing with $20,800. Brad Rutter finished second, starting with $15,800 and losing $11,001 with his response, leaving him with $4,799 and 1 match point. Neilesh Vinjamuri risked his entire $4,000 on a response but didn't score any points, ending the game with $0.
Catch the next episodes of Jeopardy! Masters on May 20 and May 21 at 9 pm ET on ABC.
