Fans were surprised to hear that James Holzhauer wouldn’t be competing in Jeopardy! Masters season 3, and now the show’s executive producers have explained the stunning reason why the champion isn’t on the show. James is best known for his 2019 32-game Jeopardy! winning streak, during which he set multiple single-game winnings records and later won the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. In 2023, he won the first Jeopardy! Masters tournament, and he placed third in 2024. However, James won’t be returning for Jeopardy! Masters season 3 to compete for the $500,000 grand prize.

Although James qualified for Jeopardy! Masters, he won’t be participating in the event because he decided not to.

As always, our top three Masters are guaranteed an invitation to the next Masters. But, that might leave you wondering, there was another Master — our third-place finisher James Holzhauer. As we mentioned, it’s an invitational tournament. We absolutely did extend the invitation to James, and he decided for this year, he was not going to compete.