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**Disclaimer: This Tournament of Champions article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.**
Tournament of Champions, which premiered in 2020, concluded its sixth season on April 20, 2025, by crowning Antonia Lofaso its winner. Antonia defeated Britt Rescigno in the semi-final round and then took on Sara Bradley in the final. Antonia defeated Sara with significantly more points, making her sixth appearance a success.
Despite coming on each season, it took her six attempts to earn the victor's title. She consistently came close to the finish line but always lost by a small margin. Jet Tila is another contestant who reached the semifinals numerous times but never could clinch the champion's belt. Even then, fans remain hopeful about his future based on his performance in the competition.
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However, not everyone has maintained this consistency, this streak of advancing far into the competition in each season. Amanda Freitag, who has appeared in every season of Tournament of Champions apart from season 4, reached the season 1 finale but lost to Brooke Williamson by one point.
Despite showing noteworthy potential, she could never survive more than a few early rounds in the subsequent seasons. Amanda mostly got eliminated in the first and second rounds, even though she had once been a season 1 finalist. It convinced me to believe that chefs needed to consistently perform well, especially in a competition where they could get out-cooked by anyone.
Jet, for example, has repeatedly reached the semifinals. Even though he has not won, it shows how maintaining a steady performance can grant a chef the opportunity to advance.
In my opinion, Amanda's time on Tournament of Champions is a testament to the fact that a chef needs to showcase consistent performance throughout the seasons if they wish to advance.
Amanda Freitag got eliminated in the first round of Tournament of Champions season 6
In Tournament of Champions season 1, Amanda reached the last stage of the competition and was pitted against Brooke Williamson. The Randomizer challenged the contestants to make a dish using a whole duck, kohlrabi, a turning slicer, and presenting the judges with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all within one hour's time.
Amanda created an omelet, a Cuban sandwich, and sweet and sour duck. Meanwhile, Brooke prepared a duck egg-in-a-hole, a salad, and duck breast with charred persimmon salsa. While both preparations were appreciated by the Tournament of Champions judges, Amanda's dish lacked flavor. Consequently, Brooke was announced the winner with 88 points, whereas Amanda received 87.
Based on her performance in season 1, fans were hopeful about her chances in season 2 of the culinary series. Amanda, who entered the show as the top-seeded East Coast contender, got eliminated in the first round after losing to eighth-seeded contender Tiffani Faison.
Her early exit helps illustrate my claim that consistency in performance was essential to a participant's fate in the competition. While she was a season 1 finalist and a top-seeded chef, her chances of winning the champion's belt depended solely on whether she cooked as well as or even better than her last cooks.
Similarly, in season 3 of Tournament of Champions, Amanda, who advanced to the second round of the competition after her opponent Madison Cowan was disqualified, lost her seat in the quarterfinals to Tiffani. She scored 85 points while Tiffani received 87 out of 100 points.
Instead of Amanda, if one looks at Tiffani's performance, she not only maintained consistency but even stepped up from season 2 and became season 3's winner.
However, she got eliminated in season 4's first round against Britt Rescigno. It further illustrates how a steady display of skills is required to advance in a competition like Tournament of Champions, where even the smallest mistakes can jeopardize someone's chances.
After skipping season 4, Amanda appeared in season 5 of the show. This time around, she reached the quarterfinals but lost to Britt, who scored 83 points out of 100.
In season 6, Amanda had to leave the show after losing her round one battle to Carlos Anthony. She received 85 points out of 100, whereas Carlos earned 87. Consequently, one can conclude that being a high scorer or a finalist does not confirm positive outcomes. It all depends on a chef's consistency in performance throughout the seasons.
Stream Tournament of Champions on Max.
