We are almost at the end of the 2026 season of MasterChef Australia, we even have our top three, but already we’re thinking about who could be the next winner.
How? Well, for years, fans have looked at the betting odds to try and predict who will win. Plus, I’ve watched every single episode of this season and scoured the internet for fan theories.
Now that we are at the top three, fans are pretty certain of who will be crowned 2026’s MasterChef.
Last season, fans correctly guessed that Laura Sharrad would win. The year before, Nat Thaipun led the pack with the most favourable odds of winning. And she ended up taking out the top prize. Plus, in 2023, fans used betting odds to correctly predict the MasterChef winner. As soon as the 2023 season started, betting agencies had Brent Draper with the most favourable odds of winning, and he did win.
Before we got to this stage, the names that came up a lot on online forums were Annabel for her creativity, Casper for his consistent technical prowess, and Aaron for his expert handling of complex flavours.
However, of the remaining contestants, Petro has taken out the top dish plenty of times. He has won top prizes including a $5,000 voucher for LG. Petro was quietly succeeding in the background until midway through this season. Then he started winning challenges back to back. He also was the first to score a place in the semi-final.
Annabel was the last woman standing after Alyona left in episode 47. She made it to the top five, but was bested by a pressure test set by Poh Ling Yeow.
We’re getting down to the last few episodes. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined as a guest judge on Sunday, 26th July, and the winner of the challenge (Petro) was pushed straight through to the semi-final. Obviously, though, only time will tell who takes out the MasterChef title this year…
There’s no official word on when the finale of MasterChef 2026 will take place. However, it normally ends around mid-August (last year the finale took place on 12 August). Plus, The Traitors is premiering on Channel Ten on Tuesday, 4 August, so this season may wrap the week before.
Watch MasterChef Australia on Channel Ten or 10play.
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