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*Disclaimer: This Tournament of Champions article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.*
Tournament of Champions season 6 aired its finale, titled A New Champion Is Crowned, on April 20, 2025. The segment saw four chefs, namely, Antonia Lofaso, Britt Rescigno, Lee Anne Wong, and Sara Bradley, compete for the winner's title. While each put their best foot forward, some fell short and were removed from the race. Britt was one such chef who lost her cook-off to Antonia.
Britt had reached the final stage of the competition by defeating Kaleena Bliss in the previous round. Before that, she had outperformed noteworthy chefs, including Chris Oh and Stephanie Izard. With high scores in multiple rounds, Britt was confident about her chances of winning the champion's belt and the $150,000 monetary prize. However, her expectations remain unfulfilled.
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She lost her cook-off against Antonia in the first half of the finale and was eliminated from the race to the finish line. Antonia eventually went on to become the winner by defeating Sara Bradley. While Antonia is a formidable chef and a tough contender to beat, I believe Britt lost because luck was not on her side.
When the judges' scores were revealed, Britt and Antonia had tied with 82 points each. However, as per the rules of the tie-breaker, the scores for each category were compared in order. Since Antonia had a one-point advantage in the taste category, she was crowned the round's winner while Britt was eliminated.
In my opinion, Britt was as worthy of winning the round as Antonia. She had proven her skills and culinary finesse throughout the season, even in the finale. Consequently, losing the show by just one point proved it was one of those unlucky days.
Tournament of Champions star Britt Rescigno's chances of winning seemed bleak with Antonia Lofaso as her opponent
While the bracket positions could not be predicted, Britt's chances at winning the show seemed to slowly fade after being paired with Antonia. However, it had nothing to do with Britt's skills or ability to perform under pressure. Instead, I believe it had everything to do with keeping up with Antonia's storyline in the show.
Antonia, who had competed in all seasons of the show, came close to becoming the winner in season 5 of Tournament of Champions. However, she failed to clinch the title after losing the final battle to Maneet Chauhan. Consequently, she was hungry for victory and determined to make her sixth appearance a success.
Production never failed to emphasize that she lost the previous finale and was on season 6 for redemption. Antonia's entire storyline revolved around her seeking redemption. As a result, her victory not only seemed satisfactory but almost necessary. With that in mind, Britt had no chance of winning against Antonia, who was set to win the show, not just a round.
Consequently, Britt was unlucky to have Antonia as her opponent because, in my opinion, no matter what Britt did, she would have lost.
For their cook-off, the Randomizer gave the Tournament of Champions stars a whole fish, figs, challenging them to use lava rocks to cook and feature an escabeche style in their cooking. Moreover, the wild card wheel asked them to display the color purple on their dishes.
While Antonia prepared a whole fried pompano with vegetable escabeche and purple cauliflower puree, Britt cooked poached pompano escabeche, a purple vegetable sauce, and a tostada. Both the Tournament of Champions stars' dishes earned praise and criticism from the judges.
Britt's tostada was called a "tiny bowl of perfection" and a "stunner." However, the judges believed her fish was a little undercooked. Meanwhile, Judge Maneet Chauhan praised Antonia's "gutsy" move to fry a whole fish, but Mei Lin called out the lack of purple color on her plate.
With positive and negative feedback, the Tournament of Champions chefs tied at 82 points each. Antonia had scored 41 in taste, 33 in use of the Randomizer, and 8 in presentation. Meanwhile, Britt received 40 in taste, 33 in use of the Randomizer, and 9 in presentation. Since it was a tie-breaker, the judges compared the scores of each category in order.
Consequently, they were judged based on taste first. Britt had one less point than Antonia in that category, so she lost the battle. While rules were rules, it seemed like luck did not favor Britt. Had presentation come before taste, Britt would have advanced in the competition. Although the rules were the same for all participants, it seems unfortunate that a chef had to lose by just one point.
Britt knew she had what it took to become the Tournament of Champions winner, even though she had not worked for Michelin star restaurants or been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award like the other chefs. It was precisely why the one-point loss made the defeat even more bitter.
After that unlucky loss, Britt got emotional and stepped aside to compose herself.
"This is the hardest thing... You put everything into it, and sometimes it doesn't work out. It just felt like it this year, it really felt like it," Britt said.
Tournament of Champions season 6 can be streamed on Discovery+.
