[s12e1] Back To Win: Audition - Battles

: The winners are competing for a $250,000 grand prize , a state-of-the-art Viking kitchen, and the elusive MasterChef trophy.

The episode featured three intense four-way battles, grouping contestants by their past performance or season history: [S12E1] Back to Win: Audition Battles

Despite their history, both and Shanika delivered standout dishes—Emily with crab tortellini and Shanika with a "curveball" strawberry arancini—to advance together. : The winners are competing for a $250,000

: The season notably included former MasterChef Junior contestants now competing as adults, such as Dara Yu , who ultimately went on to win the season . 000 grand prize

: This round saw Amanda Saab (S6), Christian Green (S5), Lexy (S11), and Wuta (S10) compete.