Tournament of Champions season 6: Everything we know far

Tournament of Champions is returning for season 6, with Guy Fieri back to host. Season 6 will premiere on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 8 pm ET on Food Network and stream on Max. The season will feature "special twists" for the 28 chefs competing in their quest to win the Tournament of Champions belt and $150,000 cash prize.

All four previous champions, including Mei Lin, Brooke Williamson, Tiffany Faison, and Maneet Chauhan, are stepping aside for the first time in the franchise to take on new roles as judges.

Food Network also revealed that before the season 6 premiere, there will be a series of qualifiers, where 16 chefs will compete for eight open slots in the main tournament. This allows four new chefs to join the returning 24 chefs from various Food Network shows. Speaking about season 6, Guy Fieri said:

“One thing you can count on with TOC is that we’re always upping the ante, making the competition even more intense and unpredictable.”

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Tournament of Champions season 6 chefs, key dates, and competition format explored

The format

The Tournament of Champions competition format includes chefs—mostly winners and alumni from other Food Network shows—competing in a single-elimination, sudden-death format. Divided into East and West divisions, they face off in head-to-head battles.

The challenges are determined by Fieri's "Randomizer," which sets cooking styles, ingredients, tools, and time limits. Judges anonymously score the dishes to declare the winner. After eight weeks of culinary battles, one chef will be crowned victorious, claiming the TOC belt and a $150,000 prize.

The 24 returning chefs taking part in season 6 include:

• Karen Akunowicz - a finalist on Tournament of Champions Seasons three and four.
• Kaleena Bliss - a celebrated restaurateur and chef.
• Sara Bradley - Kentucky-based chef, Chopped grand champion, and the first-ever Chopped legend.
• Chris Cosentino - appeared on The Next Iron Chef
• Rocco DiSpirito - competed on Guy's Grocery Games
• Nini Nguyen - competed on Season five of TOC
• Stephanie Izard - a celebrated chef and restaurateur
• Kevin Lee - competed in Season five of TOC
• Toblas Dorzon - competed in Chopped and Guy’s Grocery Games
• Amanda Freltag - competitor on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.
• Antonia Lofaso - competed in the TOC Season five finale
• Tim Love - competed on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.
• Shota Nakajima - a three-time James Beard semi-finalist.
• Michael Reed - a Los Angeles-based restaurateur
• Britt Rescligno - won Chopped in 2019
• Joe Sasto - Chicago-based celebrity chef
• Chris Scott - New York City-based chef
• Adam Sobel - appeared on TOC and Chopped
• Dale Talde - James Beard-nominated chef and restaurateur
• Casey Thompson - competed in Season five of TOC.
• Jet Tila - culinary anthropologist, and cookbook author.
• Fabio Viviani - Florence-born restaurateur and chef
• Lee Anne Wong - appeared on Chopped and The Next Iron Chef.
• Claudette Zepeda - appeared in Selena + Chef

These 24 chefs will be joined in the main tournament by four additional winning contestants from the qualifiers tournament. In the qualifiers, 16 chefs compete for the newly upped eight open slots in the tournament bracket.

Guy Fieri Tournament of Champions promo (Image via Food Network)

Season 6 - new and returning judges:

• Mei Lin (season 4 champion)
• Brooke Williamson (season 1 champion)
• Maneet Chauhan (season 2 and 5 double winner)
• Scott Conant
• Cat Cora
• Susan Feniger
• Alex Guarnaschelli
• Mary Sue Milliken
• Charlie Palmer
• Wolfgang Puck
• Marcus Samuelsson
• Nancy Silverton
• Martha Stewart
• Michael Symon
• Ming Tsai
• Jonathan Waxman
• Andrew Zimmeren

The network also announced that season 3 winner Tiffani Faison will join Justin Warner to serve as TOC sideline reporter, providing play-by-play updates. While Simon Majumdar assumes a new role as the judges' correspondent. Hunter Fieri will follow the action backstage, interviewing the winning chefs about their experiences on the show.

Key air dates for season 6:

• Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers - February 16, 2025, at 8 pm ET
• Tournament of Champions season 6: The Bracket Reveal - February 23, 2025, at 10 pm ET
• Tournament of Champions season 6 premiere date - March 2, 2025, at 8 pm ET
• Season six finale battle - Sunday, April 20, 2025, at 8 pm ET

In Tournament of Champions VI: The Bracket Reveal, Guy Fieri, Warner, and Faison will give viewers a sneak peek at new twists and challenges of the Randomizer and reveal the full bracket for the upcoming season.

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Stay tuned for more updates on Tournament of Champions season 6.