Intense culinary battles, 'Randomizer Wild Cards,' unpredictable upsets & more on Food Network's 'Tournament of Champions V'

New season premieres Sunday, Feb. 18, on Food Network; Guy Fieri returns as host – and all 4 champions are back

Press Release

Guy Fieri’s iconic culinary competition, “Tournament of Champions,” returns for an epic fifth season on Sunday, Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET/PT). The skills and abilities of 32 of the most talented chefs from the East Coast and West Coast – including all four previous champions – will be pushed to the limit in the most difficult sudden-death, bracket-style culinary competition.

The pressure is intense, and emotions are high as the elite chefs do not know who their opponents will be and what challenges “The Randomizer” will dish out, getting progressively harder and harder in each round. Each battle will feature blind judging by some of the biggest names in the food world as the competitors watch their critiques from backstage.

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 the largest cash prize in the history of the tournament of $150,000.

Before the new season begins, fans can get even more competition on “Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers,” on Wednesdays, Feb. 7 and 14 (8 p.m.), as 16 chefs go head-to-head to win four coveted eighth seed slots in the tournament bracket. Plus, on Wednesday, Feb. 14 (10 p.m.), catch up on all the action from last year in an hour-long special “Road to Tournament of Champions V.”

"As the wildest, most anticipated culinary competition year-after-year, you know that we had to go big for season five,” Fieri said. “Sol here’s the deal: In order to win, you’ve gotta either be a past champ or take down a champ, as all the winners from previous seasons are back to defend their titles. We're crankin’ up the already fierce competition with heated culinary rivalries, wild cards, and of course, off-the-charts flavor on ‘Tournament of Champions V!’ ”

The chefs representing the East Coast are: Eric Adjepong, Karen Akunowicz, Kelsey Barnard Clark, season 2 champion Maneet Chauhan, Tobias Dorzon, season 3 champion Tiffani Faison, Amanda Freitag, Jose Garces, Stephanie Izard, Marc Murphy, Britt Rescigno, Jonathon Sawyer and Dale Talde. The chefs showing off their chops from the West Coast are: Carlos Anthony, Shirley Chung, season 4 champion Mei Lin, Antonia Lofaso, Crista Luedtke, Brian Malarkey, Shota Nakajima, Joe Sasto, Adam Sobel, Casey Thompson, Jet Tila, Michael Voltaggio, season 1 champion Brooke Williamson and Lee Anne Wong.

“Viewers cannot get enough of this exhilarating, unpredictable competition, as ‘Tournament of Champions’ is consistently Food Network's highest-rated series, with nearly 11 million viewers at the edge-of-their-seats last season,” said Betsy Ayala, head of content, food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “This year, we are delivering even more action with ‘Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers,’ setting the stage for fierce battles and unexpected triumphs. With the bar raised higher than ever, ‘Tournament of Champions V’ will captivate both seasoned fans and newcomers alike."

Simon Majumdar and Justin Warner deliver real-time play-by-play as all the action unfolds in front of a live audience. Hunter Fieri follows all the action backstage, interviewing the winning chefs for their reactions to the competition. The biggest food icons blindly judge the dishes and learn who is moving ahead and who is going home, including Donatella Arpaia, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Rocco DiSpirito, Susan Feniger, Lorena Garcia, Carla Hall, Michael Mina, Eric Ripert, Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Ming Tsai, Michael White, Jonathan Waxman, Geoffrey Zakarian and Andrew Zimmern. The finale battle on Sunday, April 7 (8 p.m. ET/PT), will determine who will join the elite group of “Tournament of Champions.”

Fans can also join the conversation on social media using #TournamentOfChampions for weekly live Twitter parties, 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. On FoodNetwork.com/TournamentOfChampions, fans can also browse behind-the-scenes photos and binge-watch clips. Beginning on Thursday, Feb. 15, 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.