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Tournament of Champions, which debuted in 2020, aired the finale of its sixth season on April 20, 2025. Chef Antonia Lofaso emerged victorious after defeating Chef Sara Bradley by a significant margin in the final battle. Before Sara, Antonia had bested Chef Britt Rescigno in the semi-final cook-off.
Antonia's participation in season 6 marked her sixth appearance in Tournament of Champions. It took her six attempts to clinch the champion's belt and the $150,000 cash prize. This illustrates how seeds, ranks, and even experience in the ToC kitchen do not dictate how far someone can progress in the competition. One notable example supporting this claim is Chef Mei Lin.
Mei Lin, the winner of Top Chef Boston, appeared as a rookie in season 4 of Tournament of Champions. Seeded in third, she battled her competitors despite lacking experience with the Randomizer and the associated pressures of the tournament. However, these challenges did not overwhelm her, and she advanced through the competition, impressing the judges with her dishes.
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On her journey to the finale, she outperformed seasoned chefs and high-seeded contestants, including Jet Tila and Shota Nakajima, which convinced me that Tournament of Champions valued performance over image, reputation, or popularity. Ultimately, Mei Lin won in her debut season, relying solely on her performance to defeat fan favorites and highly ranked contestants.
Disclaimer: This Tournament of Champions article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.
Tournament of Champions winner Mei Lin defeated season 2 winner Maneet Chauhan in the finale
Mei Lin entered the competition as a Tournament of Champions amateur without any prior experience in the competitive nature of the reality show. Nevertheless, she was determined to stay hopeful and put her best foot forward in each round. In the first round, she defeated Chef Crista Luedtke with a score of 84 out of 100.
Mei then moved on to the second round, where she faced Tiffany Derry. She outperformed Tiffany, achieving 92 points out of 100. Consequently, Mei advanced to the quarterfinals, where she competed against Shota Nakajima. While both chefs tried to outshine each other, Mei succeeded in presenting a superior dish, earning 91 points compared to Shota’s 84.
Given how a newcomer like Mei advanced through the stages, it became clear that the Food Network show valued performance above all else. Mei progressed because she received higher scores and garnered praise from the judges who blind-tasted her dish.
In the semi-finals, Mei faced Jet Tila, who was not only a fan favorite but also a top-seeded chef with the most wins by any chef in this Food Network show. Additionally, he had experience in the ToC kitchen as a former semi-finalist. Consequently, netizens expected him to outperform Mei, who was new to the format. However, Mei proved the critics wrong by out-cooking Jet.
For their battle, they had to cook using the Randomizer's offerings of wild partridge, yuzu, katsuobushi shaver, and confit. While Jet prepared confit Hainanese partridge and rice, Mei cooked confit and grilled partridge with sunflower seed risotto.
After tasting the dishes, the judges declared Mei Lin the winner because her plate had more flavor. This illustrates how Tournament of Champions prioritizes performance above all else. Jet lost despite being an experienced chef because his performance did not match Mei's. She scored 90 points out of 100 while Jet received 87.
In the finale, Mei faced Maneet, the show's season 2 winner. Maneet not only had experience but was also a winner who knew how to handle the challenges of the finale. However, it was not enough to take down Mei, who surpassed Maneet with her performance.
Tournament of Champions is a competition where a contestant's past records are never taken into account when assessing their skills during a cook-off. Everything hinges on how well they cook in that moment.
Mei, known for presenting multiple cuisines, prepared a Persian lamb stew accompanied by lamb tartare for the finale. Maneet, on the other hand, crafted a lamb korma paired with tandoor lamb chops and shisho lassi sorbet. Additionally, there was a granita palate cleanser.
After tasting the dishes, the judges declared Mei the winner, citing that Maneet's dish lacked vibrancy and the wow factor. By winning her debut season, Mei proved that Tournament of Champions prioritizes performance over reputation or past records.
Stream Tournament of Champions on Max.
