Antonia Lofaso Wins 'Tournament of Champions VI'

UPDATE: APRIL 22, 2025

Who Won TOC VI?

Antonia Lofaso was crowned the champion of Tournament of Champions VI, taking home the belt and prize of $150,000. “I did not initially want to come back and compete this year. I had been there five times before and done well so thought maybe that could be enough, but a change in perspective and a change of heart had me back in the hunt for the title,” Antonia says. “Winning TOC has truly been an incredible journey and one of the greatest moments of my life.”

The pressure and emotions were high in the final cooking battle as newcomer chef Sara Bradley, faced off against number one seed Antonia. The randomizer dished out some welcome, and not so welcome, items in the final battle — a hot and cold dish using wagyu beef, huitlacoche and a sausage stuffer — plus, not one but two wildcard envelopes that added additional requirements of one dish being spicy and one dish being sticky. After racing around the kitchen to complete their dishes in only 60 minutes, the TOC champions Maneet Chauhan, Mei [Lin], Brooke [Williamson] and (surprise!) Martha Stewart arrived to judge. When the tasting and deliberating was done, it was Antonia’s Glazed Sticky Beef Salad and Spicy Wagyu Sausage and Huitlacoche Mash that scored the highest, and with that, a new champion was crowned.

JANUARY 21, 2025

Guy Fieri’s fiercest culinary event, Tournament of Champions, is back for a sixth season on Sunday, March 2 at 8|7c on Food Network and streaming on Max.

The pressure will be amped up and emotions will run high. The Season VI chefs will face wild challenges doled out by the Randomizer and unknown opponents. Kitchen skills and abilities will be pushed to the limit as successive rounds get more intense in the sudden-death culinary competition.

Key Air Dates

• Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers airs February 16 at 8|7c
• Tournament of Champions VI: The Bracket Reveal airs February 23 at 10|9c
• Tournament of Champions Season VI premieres March 2 at 8|7c
• The finale battle airs Sunday, April 20 at 8|7c

What to Expect From Tournament of Champions Season VI

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, taking home the coveted Tournament of Champions belt and a $150,000 cash prize.

Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers

Before the season begins, the cooking competition ups the stakes in Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers on Sunday, February 16 at 8|7c. Sixteen chefs will compete 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, Guy, 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 10|9c.

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

Which Chefs Are Competing in Season VI?

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 qualifiers tournament.

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.

Who Are the Season VI Judges?

Double winner of Season II and V Maneet Chauhan, Season IV champion Mei Lin, and inaugural TOC champion Brooke Williamson will join 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 8|7c will determine the brand-new winner who will join the elite group of Tournament of Champions.

Keep Up With Tournament of Champions

Join the conversation on social using #TournamentOfChampions to chat with the chefs and get sneak peeks before every episode. 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.