Despite their history, both and Shanika delivered standout dishes—Emily with crab tortellini and Shanika with a "curveball" strawberry arancini—to advance together.

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

In the premiere of , titled " Back to Win: Audition Battles ," the stakes were higher than ever as 40 legendary former contestants returned for a second chance at redemption. Judges Gordon Ramsay , Aarón Sánchez , and Joe Bastianich set the tone immediately: only 20 white aprons were available, meaning half the field would go home after the opening head-to-head battles. The Opening Battles

The episode featured three intense four-way battles, grouping contestants by their past performance or season history:

wowed the judges with a "rockin'" bourbon-glazed salmon.

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