TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS Returning to Food Network in March

Guy Fieri’s fiercest culinary event, Tournament of Champions, is back for a sixth season on Sunday, March 2 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network and streams on Max.

Pressure is amped up and emotions run high as chefs face WILD challenges doled out by the Randomizer, face unknown opponents, and kitchen skills and abilities are pushed to the limit as successive rounds get more intense in the sudden-death culinary competition. For the first time ever, all four former champions of the series will hang up their knives for new, on set assignments. After eight weeks and 31 grueling head-to-head battles, one talented chef will win it all and be crowned champion, taking home the coveted Tournament of Champions belt and a $150,000 cash prize.

Before the season begins, the cooking competition ups the stakes in Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers, on Sunday, February 16 at 8pm ET/PT, where 16 chefs go head-to-head competing for the newly upped eight open slots in the tournament bracket, allowing four additional new chefs to compete against a returning 24. Before they enter THE ARENA and the culinary battles begin, Fieri, Justin Warner and season III winner Tiffani Faison will preview all the twists and spins of the Randomizer, and reveal the details of this year’s bracket in Tournament of Champions VI: The Bracket Reveal on Sunday, February 23 at 10pm ET/PT.

“One thing you can count on with TOC is that we’re always upping the ante, making the competition even more intense and unpredictable,” said Fieri. “ With all four past champs putting down their knives for this round, it’s anyone’s game! So don’t sleep on the qualifiers or anyone else as this year it’s truly anyone’s chance to grab that belt!"

This season’s competing chefs will include Karen Akunowicz, Kaleena Bliss, Sara Bradley, Chris Cosentino, Rocco DiSpirito, Tobias Dorzon, Amanda Freitag, Stephanie Izard, Kevin Lee, Antonia Lofaso, Tim Love, Shota Nakajima, Nini Nguyen, Michael Reed, Britt Rescigno, Joe Sasto, Chris Scott, Adam Sobel, Dale Talde, Casey Thompson, Jet Tila, Fabio Viviani, Lee Anne Wong and Claudette Zepeda plus eight additional winners from the qualifier tournament.

“Tournament of Champions is consistently one of Food Network's highest-rated series, with over 16 million viewers tuning in last season and loving every minute of the action-packed competition,” said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “With the expanded number of slots up for grabs in Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers, the stage is set for even more unexpected matchups and potential upsets. The bar has been raised, season six is sure to deliver for returning fans and newcomers alike."

Tiffani Faison joins Justin Warner as TOC sideline reporter to deliver real-time play-by-play as the action unfolds in front of a live audience. Hunter Fieri follows the action backstage, interviewing the winning chefs for their reactions to the competition, while Simon Majumdar takes on a new role as the Judges’ Correspondent, getting the judges’ takes on why a dish won or lost.

Double winner of Season II and V Maneet Chauhan, Season IV champion Mei Lin, and inaugural TOC champion Brooke Williamson will join legendary judges 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 and Andrew Zimmern.

The finale battle on Sunday, April 20 at 8pm ET/PT will determine the brand-new winner who will join the elite group of Tournament of Champions.

Fans can join the conversation on social using #TournamentOfChampions to chat with the chefs and get sneak peeks before every episode. And across Food Network’s Facebook and Instagram, find an insider’s look at the competition, as well as all-new videos with Guy, the competitors and the judges every week. Beginning on Monday, February 24, fans can enter the Tournament of Champions Bracket Sweepstakes, where they can build their own brackets and decide who they think will win every round and share their picks on social media to enter for a chance to win huge cash prizes all season long.

Tournament of Champions VI is produced by Knuckle Sandwich and Lando Entertainment for Food Network.

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