Which chefs qualified during the Tournament of Champions season 6 premiere? Details explored

Tournament of Champions season 6 premiered on Food Network on February 16, 2025 showcasing 16 newcomer contestants competing for the remaining eight spots on that 32-chef main bracket. The qualifiers would then join 24 seasoned returning chefs to compete for the championship title and the $150,000 grand prize.

For the qualifying round, the sixteen contestants were randomly paired up in a duo to compete. Moreover, even the required elements for their dish were decided by the randomizer.

Four of the eight battles took place in episode 1 and by the end, Maria Mazon, Jonathon Sawyer, Carlos Anthony, and Chris Oh won their respective face-offs and secured their spot in the chef main bracket.

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What happened during the Tournament of Champions season 6 premiere?

First battle: Maria Mazon vs Bruce Kalman

Tournament of Champions season 6 episode 1 kicked off with a battle between Maria Mazon and Bruce Kalman. For their face off, the Randomizer gave them 28 minutes, and provided them with waffle iron, red onions, rockfish and more, around which the chefs had to work.

As Chef Maria presented their dishes, judges praised the dual use of red onion and the vibrant colors in her Mexican dish. Meanwhile, Chef Bruce's poached rockfish with a couscous agrodolce was criticized for its lack of texture.

Chef Maria emerged victorious over one point and became the first newcomer to earn her spot in the main bracket.

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Second Battle: Jacob Town vs Jonathon Sawyer

The second battle pitted newcomer Jacob Town against a seasoned pro-Jonathon Sawyer. The Randomizer gave them chicken legs, curly kale, microwave, pickled, and they had 28 minutes. The shorter time frame posed a challenge as the chefs had to balance flavors while ensuring that the chicken meat was cooked perfectly.

Chef Jonathon presented a green curry chicken with kale and a pickled salad. Judges praised the chef for the depth of flavor and the same use of kale. Meanwhile, the judges liked Chef Jacob's fried chicken. However, they weren't a fan of his gravy and the cause.

Chef Jonathon was ultimately deemed the winner of the Tournament of Champions season 6 battle.

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Third Battle: Carlos Anthony vs Dawn Burrell

The next battle was between two former cooking show participants Carlos Anthony and Dawn Burrell. The two chefs were asked to prepare their dishes using bacon, button mushrooms, mandoline, fried- all in 32 minutes.

Chef Carlos presented bacon soup with a bacon croquette. While his dish had a lot of textures his soup missed out on presentation. Chef Dawn also suffered a presentation issue as she couldn't highlight the button mushrooms in her dish and it ultimately lost the battle.

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Fourth Battle: Chris Oh vs Mika Leon

Chris Oh and Mika Leon faced off in the final battle. To prepare the dishes, the Randomizer offered to combine ground chicken, green cabbage, brick, blanched, within 32 minutes.

Chef Chris prepared Thai green curry cabbage with a chicken larb which was called out for its chicken being dry. However, Chef Mika failed to incorporate all the required elements, ultimately giving Chef Chris the victory.

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Returning Tournament of Champions season 6 chefs

The qualifying chefs would join the 24 returning chefs on that 32-chef main bracket. The names of the returning season 6 chefs are as follows:

• Karen Akunowicz
• Kaleena Bliss
• Sara Bradley
• Chris Cosentino
• Rocco DiSpirito
• Nini Nguyen
• Stephanie Izard
• Kevin Lee
• Tobias Dorzon
• Amanda Freitag
• Antonia Lofaso
• Tim Love
• Shota Nakajima
• Michael Reed
• Britt Rescigno
• Joe Sasto
• Chris Scott
• Adam Sobel
• Dale Talde
• Casey Thompson
• Jet Tila
• Fabio Viviani
• Lee Anne Wong
• Claudette Zepeda

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Tournament of Champions season 6 episodes 3-5 will premiere on Food Network on February 23.