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Food Network’s culinary competition show Tournament of Champions aired its highly anticipated season 6 finale on Sunday, April 20, 2025. The episode featured two semi-final battles and one intense final showdown, ultimately crowning Antonia Lofaso as the winner.
Lofaso, a competitor in all six seasons, finally claimed the belt after years of strong finishes. Heading into her semifinal face-off, Lofaso admitted she was taking bold risks.
“I hope it's good. Please. I am not playing it safe right now. Like, I'm not taking any chances,” she said, in a backstage confessional.
Her dish was later described by Judge Maneet Chauhan as “gutsy,” proving her approach was effective.
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The season finale also featured returning champions as judges, a surprise appearance from Martha Stewart, and a continuation of the show’s unique format that includes a randomized challenge system. This season’s bracket consisted entirely of female chefs in the final round.
Tournament of Champions: Lofaso vs Rescigno
In the first semifinal of the Tournament of Champions, Antonia Lofaso faced off against Britt Rescigno in a high-stakes battle. Both chefs had previously reached the final four multiple times but never won the title.
The randomizer gave them whole pompano for protein, figs as the produce, lava rocks for equipment, escabeche as the cooking style, and the color purple as the wild card element. Lofaso presented a whole crispy escabeche pompano with grilled figs and pickled components. During the episode, she said:
“Guys I wanna be on the wall. I want to be with you. Take me with you.”
She was referring to her desire to join the winners of past seasons. Rescigno leaned heavily into the purple theme, saying:
“I feel really good. I mean, it screams purple. Everything on my dish is purple. I even tinted my fish purple.”
Judging for the episode was done by Brooke Williamson, Maneet Chauhan, and Mei Lin. Chauhan praised one of the contestants for their bold choice.
She said reaching the semifinals and finale requires big risks, and she admired how gutsy it was to deep-fry an entire pompano. Mei Lin appreciated the texture of the dish, saying:
“The cook on this fish reminds me of crispy skinned pork… like a chicharron.”
However, she noted:
“I'm not getting that much purple. I was expecting a lot more purple just thrown at you.”
Brooke Williamson praised the flavor profile of the dish. She especially appreciated the balance between the figs and acidity. She explained that the cauliflower puree acted like a dipping sauce and that the roasted figs paired perfectly with the acid, making the dish very craveable.
Despite the uncertainty, Lofaso won the round. The initial score was tied at 82, but Lofaso edged ahead based on taste (41 to 40). Rescigno won on presentation (9 to 8), while both chefs tied on the use of the randomizer (33 each). Guy Fieri, the host of the Tournament of Champions, confirmed the winner after breaking down the scores.
What else happened in the Tournament of Champions episode?
The second semifinal featured Sara Bradley against Lee Anne Wong. They were assigned blue silkie chicken as protein, sorrel as produce, turmeric leaves for equipment, en papillote for cooking style, and black as the wild card color. Bradley won this matchup with a score of 85 to 83, sending her to the finals in her debut season.
In the final round, Lofaso and Bradley faced a more complex randomizer draw. Their challenge included wagyu beef as protein, huitlacoche as produce, a sausage stuffer as equipment, hot & cold as the cooking style, and two wild card elements—“spicy” and “sticky.” A random draw determined that the hot part of their dish needed to be spicy and the cold part sticky.
Antonia Lofaso ultimately won the championship with a score of 88 to 82, becoming the Tournament of Champions season 6 winner. Her victory marks the sixth year in a row that a female chef has taken the title.
Fans can stream Tournament of Champions on Food Network Go.
