Victoria Groce (née Rubin; born January 20, 1981) is an American quiz player and game show contestant.
champion David Madden in 2005, Groce’s increasing success in competitive trivia led to becoming a Chaser on the American version of The Chase in 2022.
[6] At the University of Georgia, Groce studied comparative literature and continued competing in College Bowl, but she was not a standout player.
In addition, accompanying choral music taught Groce “the necessity of just going on,” a skill that has helped her recover quickly after mistakes.
[5] Once her daughter started school, Groce intended to return to graduate study, aiming for a PhD in virology or immunology.
However, the effects of chronic migraine pain became so debilitating that it prevented Groce from pursuing a career in lab science.
[10] On June 1, 2024, Groce won the World Quizzing Championships for the first time, scoring 170 points to runners-up Daoud Jackson of England (166) and Ronny Swiggers of Belgium (159).
heavyweights including Colby Burnett, Troy Meyer, and Ryan Chaffee, Groce was part of a “super team” called The Initiative.
[18] Groce's success in competitive quizzing and connections to the trivia community[6] led to her being invited to serve as a "chaser" on the third season of the U.S version of the game show The Chase in 2022[19] alongside Jeopardy!
champions James Holzhauer (who was a contestant on the GSN version), Brandon Blackwell, Buzzy Cohen, and Brad Rutter.
[20][21] Prior to her debut in season three, Groce was promoted as "the smartest woman in the world based on her domination of online trivia tournaments.
[25] The next day, Groce finished in third place, behind retired advertising executive Ray Freson and writer Stacey Swann.
Groce and fellow Chaser Brandon Blackwell, also in the JIT field, had helped their trivia teammate Troy Meyer prepare for the 2024 Tournament of Champions, in which he reached the finals.
"But so much of the rest of it — the buzzer, gameplay strategy, lateral thinking, and wordplay skills — I knew would be tricky to train for over just a few weeks.
Groce defeated Dhruv Gaur and Ben Ingram in her quarterfinal game, followed by Matt Jackson and Sam Buttrey in the semifinals.
[28] Between the JIT and the Masters Tournament, Groce’s daily routine included "... an hour-and-a-half doing crosswords and word puzzles like anagrams" in an effort to improve her skill at language and wordplay.
Masters final matches aired on May 22, 2024, and consisted of a two-game total point competition between the three remaining players.