Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament featuring the longest-running champions and biggest money winners from the past season or seasons of Jeopardy! The tournament began in 1964 during Art Fleming's tenure as host, and has continued into the Alex Trebek era of the show. There have been seven years in which the Tournament was skipped altogether (1984, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2018), and eight seasons (1, 17, 20, 23, 27, 30, 33, and 35). The brief 1978–79 revival, which aired for five months, is known to have had a Tournament as well.
In 2002, Jeopardy! held a Million Dollar Masters tournament featuring fifteen previous champions, and in 2005 the show held an Ultimate Tournament of Champions for over three months, which featured over 100 champions from previous years instead of a regular Tournament of Champions for just the previous year; that season's Tournament of Champions began on September 20, 2004, featuring any remaining season 19 champions who hadn't qualified for that year's tournament as well as all of the season 20 qualifiers except for Ken Jennings, who had just resumed his winning streak two weeks before the tournament started (Jennings's streak was interrupted three times that year; the other two times were for the show's annual Kids Week in October 2004 and the College Championship in November 2004).
The season 25 Tournament of Champions was taped during the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]
In 2014, Jeopardy! held a Battle of the Decades tournament featuring 45 previous champions, with 15 from their respective decade (1984–93, 1994–2003, and 2004–13). All of the players competed in a week-long slate of games, respective of decade, from which the winners out of each game would become quarter-finalists. Those 15 winners would then return to compete in a regular tournament format, with the winner taking home $1,000,000.
The latest Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, featuring contestants from seasons 32, 33, and 34, began November 6, 2017.[2]
Field
According to surviving microfilm records of broadcasts from the era, the original 1964-1975 Tournament of Champions format generally featured the top 9 winners in the given season, inviting the highest earning five-day champions, with four-day and three-day champions invited if necessary in order of winnings.[3]
In the current version of the show, the Tournament of Champions includes 15 players. Most of the slots are reserved for regular-season players who have won the most games since the previous championship contestants were chosen, followed by the most money in the case of the same number of games won. Prior to the end of the five-game limit, champions of five games were traditionally guaranteed a slot in the event, while four-day champions have been involved in most Tournament of Champions fields, and if necessary, three day champions may qualify (which has occurred in seven tournaments to date.) In the one instance where there were more five-day champions in the qualifying period than available slots in the tournament, the most recent overflow contestants were held over for the following tournament (which occurred in 2001, with the last two five-day champions held over to the 2003 event.) Notably, 2004 74-day champion Ken Jennings gave up his bid in the 2006 Tournament of Champions in favor of an automatic finals bye in 2005's Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and therefore never competed in the regular tournament.
Winners of the annual College Championships and Teachers Tournaments are also guaranteed slots in the Tournament of Champions. For many years, the winners of the annual Teen Tournament and Seniors Tournaments also participated, but the Seniors Tournament was discontinued after 1995, and a Teen Tournament winner was last invited to the Tournament of Champions in 2000, none ever having won the event. Scheduling occurrences can result in multiple winners of a given annual tournament in the same Tournament of Champions field, most recently with two College Champions and two Teacher Champions in the 2017 event. Due to academic study commitments, two College Champions (Vinita Kailasanth in 2001 and Joey Beachum in 2008) have deferred their bid in their original intended Tournament of Champions to the following tournament.
For Jeopardy!'s first nine Tournaments of Champions, the tournament was held each November, with the qualifying period for the event being the entire previous season. Starting after 1993's installment, the qualifying period was modified to any games played between tournaments, and following 1996's installment, tournaments moved to a more fluid schedule, and are no longer solely held in November; it is usually, but not always, held during a "sweeps" month (February, May or November) to maximize the show's Nielsen Ratings. As a result, qualifying periods now vary in length, and the tournament does not have to be held in a given season or calendar year. Due to scheduling delays from prior special events, producers have the option to begin a qualifying period prior to the start of the previous tournament if necessary, such as for 2015's installment.
A sixteenth player, who is the next highest player with the most wins, then by amount of money won, not in the field, is also invited as an alternate contestant in the event that a qualified champion is unable to attend. In the 2001 event, the two overflow five-day champions (Mark Dawson & Alan Bailey) were both invited as alternates, due to travel concerns in the wake of the September 11 attacks, though no one was unable to compete, and both were included as planned in the 2003 tournament. As well, the highest earning contestant to not advance out of the prior round is assigned as an alternate for the semifinals and finals in case of emergency.
There have been at least 2 cases of otherwise-qualified contestants being removed from the Tournament of Champions field due to violations of eligibility requirements (Barbara Lowe in 1986 had appeared on another game show within the probationary period, and Jerry Slowik in 2014 was indicted on sexual abuse charges of a 15-year-old girl, and his court case had not come to trial at the time of the taping; he eventually pleaded guilty in February 2015, including a 30-day prison sentence, five year probationary period, and registration as a sex offender). In such cases, the champion with the most wins not already in the tournament, with earnings as the tie-breaker, took their place in the field. In at least one other case, a qualifying contestant had deceased before reaching the Tournament of Champions; six-day champion Cindy Stowell died of colon cancer shortly after she taped her appearance on the show and well before she would have appeared on the 2017 Tournament of Champions. Stowell's estate was awarded the $5,000 she would have been guaranteed as a quarterfinalist, plus an additional $5,000 donation, which in accordance with her wishes and along with the rest of her earnings from the show, was donated to charity.
Format
In most seasons of the Art Fleming era, the Tournament of Champions featured three semifinal games, with the winners competing in a two-legged tie final (similarly to the second half of the modern tournament), though here, scores weren't reset for the second game, allowing contestants to add to, lose, and wager money won in the first game. For the 1969 Tournament of Champions only, 18 champions were invited to compete, who competed in six quarterfinal games, two semifinal games, and the usual two-day final (with the highest scoring losing semifinalist also competing as a wild card finalist.) The 1970 tournament returned to a one-week format, but featured two separate one day finals involving top performing contestants from the semifinal games.
The 1978 syndicated revival of Jeopardy! held a Tournament of Champions in early 1979 featuring top-earning champions from prior games of that season, though the format is unclear from surviving episodes. A copy of the final episode exists (sans the contestants' last names), which saw contestant Stuart defeat Phillip and Tom to win the event.
With the expansion of the field to 15 players in the Alex Trebek era, the Tournament of Champions now lasts two weeks (10 shows) with the following format, devised by Trebek himself in 1985 to suit the 15 five-time champions from the previous year. The same format applies to all Jeopardy! 15-player tournament formats—the Teen Tournament, College Championship, and Teachers Tournament; it previously applied to the Seniors Tournament, the Million Dollar Masters Tournament, and starting with the second round (15 players), Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades:[4]
- Shows 1–5: The quarterfinals, with three new contestants participating each day. The five winners and the four highest-scoring losers (wild cards) advance to the semifinals.
- Shows 6–8: The semifinals, with only the three winners advancing to finals. Tournament tie-breaker rules and triple-zero rules apply.
- Shows 9–10: Two-legged tie final. Each leg is treated as a new match (players start with zero score, although the podia for the second leg will display a player's score from the first leg), with aggregate score determining final positions, with one exception: a contestant with a negative score at the end of Double Jeopardy! will have their score raised to zero. The championship is determined by the highest aggregate score, with runners-up receiving either a guaranteed cash prize or the amount of their two-day total, whichever is higher.
Tie-Breakers
The following tie-breaker rules are imposed during the tournament:
Triple Zero Score: All three players are eliminated from contention for an automatic berth to the next round. An additional wild card is added. Players with a score of zero are still eligible for a wild card, should not enough players have a positive score.
Tie Game for First, Positive Score: Tied players participate in a tie-breaker round, which consists of one final toss-up clue; the player who rings in and gives the correct question advances. A player cannot win by default, and must give the correct question to win. Should neither player offer a correct response, the question is thrown out and edited out of the final broadcast; only the final question that determines the winner is broadcast. In the final, the tie-breaker is used only if there is a tie after the aggregate. The tie-breaker round would later be added into non-tournament play.
Tie for Wild Card: In case of a tie among the highest-scoring losers for a Wild Card position, the same rules as determining second and third place prizes is used, with the highest score after "Double Jeopardy!" breaking the tie (and the Jeopardy! round, if necessary). A player with a zero score in their round is still eligible for a Wild Card should it come down to this.
Prizes
The prize amounts for all contestants are as follows:
Period | Finalists (minimum guarantees) | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1st runner-up | 2nd runner-up | |||
1964–74 | All players kept their scores in cash at the end of each game | none, except in 1969 | |||
1985 | $100,000 | Kept two-day total winnings | $5,000 | $1,000 | |
1986 | $5,000 | ||||
1987–96 | $10,000 | $7,500 | |||
1998–2002 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $2,500 | ||
2003–04 | $250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
2006–present | $100,000 | $50,000 |
Other prizes
- During the Art Fleming era of the show, in addition to their score winnings, Grand Champions won a tropical vacation and were presented with a trophy called the annual Griffin Award, named for show creator Merv Griffin. In many years they also received a $1,000 bonus.
- In 2006, schools selected by each contestant received the Classroom Jeopardy! electronic game in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week.
- In 2007, each contestant received the Jeopardy! DVD Home Game System.
List of participants
The following is a list of contestants and where they placed in the tournament. Prize amounts for the non-winning finalists who won more than the minimum guarantees are as indicated in parentheses.
Finalists | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
---|---|---|
Art Fleming Era (1964–75)[5] | ||
First annual (1964) | ||
Winner: Terry Thompson[6] Phyllis Gallo John Murphy |
Helen Beck Rosemary Taubert Pat McDermott Madeline Von Koch Sid Kramer Ruth Lind |
[No quarterfinals] |
Second annual (1965) | ||
Winner: Babs McClellan Carolyn Benson Bob Wilder |
Lou Ehrlich Pat Day Doris Sullivan Jim Cahill Bob Law Earle Codrington |
[No quarterfinals] |
Third annual (1966) | ||
Winner: Burns Cameron[7] Other finalists not recorded |
Bob Bovard Phyllis Grant Tye Heckman Leona Huerbach Sarah Moore Pat Rohan John Schenck Fran Winnick |
[No quarterfinals] |
Fourth annual (1967) | ||
Eleanor Endsley Harry Murtha Winner:Anne Fried |
Frank Gray Sheila Gabriel Rosemary Marnell Libby Dyer Gail Berry Howard August |
[No quarterfinals] |
Fifth annual (1968) | ||
Winner: Hutton "Red" Gibson John Miller Shep Shepherd |
Fran Fisk Bill Martin Penny Costigen Marcia Bikalis Judy Gex Sally Hickman |
[No quarterfinals] |
Sixth annual (1969) | ||
Winner: Jay Wolpert Elliot Shteir Nick Rorick |
Elliot Baritz Jane Gschwend Ann Baker |
Larry Schiller Joan Nephew John Gridley Judy Rubin Grant Willis Jack Gurner Mendy Snyder Burt Sherman Pat Dougiallo Jay Hayes Judy Reimer Joan Lawrence |
Seventh annual (1970) | ||
Winner: Gene Cheatam Mary Lee Fox Barbara Franco Dolores Henderson Russ Poylo |
Hunter Farnum Steve Haufman Helen Mabry M. McNeil |
[No quarterfinals] |
Eighth annual (1971) | ||
Winner: Rock Johnson Riza Gross Jan Churchwell |
Peggy Rathert Don Marms Karolyn Battle Jim Shannon Michael Aronson Joel Tuber |
[No quarterfinals] |
Ninth annual (1972) | ||
Winner: Anne Marie Sutton Jay Delehanty Susan Smith |
Paul Wilson Lorraine Gorman Donna Angle Luanne Keller Sheila November Jay Delehanty |
[No quarterfinals] |
Tenth annual (1973) | ||
Winner: Paula Ogren Adeline Schulman Dan Donohue |
Carol Reeve Reid Williamson Connie Christensen Phil Price Louise Windgrad Rosemary Travis |
[No quarterfinals] |
Eleventh annual (1974) | ||
Winner: Denny Golden Dave Hilliard Pete Staley |
Kathleen Lang Andy Miller Art Newell Faye Ringel Other semifinalists not recorded |
[No quarterfinals] |
Alex Trebek Era (1984–present) | ||
Season 2 (November 11–22, 1985) | ||
Winner: Jerry Frankel 1st runner-up: Bruce Fauman ($9,399) 2nd runner-up: Steve Rogitz ($5,100) |
Ron Black Paul Boymel (Season 1's biggest winner) Liz Caccese Larry Floyd John Hnat Ric Moser |
Elise Beraru SSGT Paul Croshier Michael Day John Genova Paula Tupper Nathan Walpow |
Season 3 (November 3–14, 1986) | ||
Winner: Chuck Forrest (Season 2's biggest winner) 1st runner-up: Paul Rouffa 2nd runner-up: Marvin Shinkman |
Beryl Arbit Donald Burgo Gary Giardina Lionel Goldbart Gary Palmer Jay Rosenberg |
Harvey Becker Jared Eisenstat Danny Green Mark Leinwand Eric Schoeck Guy Tonti |
Season 4 (November 9–20, 1987) | ||
Winner: Bob Verini 1st runner-up: David Traini ($16,000) 2nd runner-up: Eugene Finerman ($11,600) |
Eric Berman Richard Cordray Michael Galvin Doug Molitor John Ryan (Season 3's biggest winner) Roger Storm |
Keith Bell Jonathan Fellows Frank Hughes John Podhoretz Zeke Sevilla, Jr. Keith Walker |
Season 5 (November 7–18, 1988) | ||
Winner: Mark Lowenthal 1st runner-up: Bruce Naegeli (Season 4's biggest winner, $18,799) 2nd runner-up: Sandra Gore ($13,000) |
Roy Holliday Peggy Kennedy Richard Perez-Pena Steven Popper Michael Rankins Kate Waits |
Michael Block Barbara-Anne Eddy Leah Greenwald Stephen Lebowitz Bruce Seymour Ron Trigueiro |
Season 6 (November 6–17, 1989) | ||
Winner: Tom Cubbage (also won Season 5 College Championship) 1st runner-up: Rich Lerner ($15,500) 2nd runner-up: Brian Wangsgard (Season 5's biggest winner) |
Bruce Cox Peggi Malys Mark McDermott Eric Newhouse Ouida Rellstab Cigus Vanni |
Cathy Boggs Jeff Richmond Joel Sacks Chris Shea Yael Sofaer Jim Tompkins-MacLaine |
ABC's Super Jeopardy (June 16–September 8, 1990) | ||
Winner: Bruce Seymour 1st runner-up: Bob Verini 2nd runner-up: Dave Traini |
Bob Blake Eugene Finerman Eric Newhouse Jeff Richmond Roger Storm Keith Walker |
Keith Bell Elise Beraru Ron Black Cathy Boggs Liz Caccese Burns Cameron Tom Cubbage Bruce Fauman Chuck Forrest Gary Giardina Lionel Goldbart Sandy Gore Leah Greenwald Rich Lerner Mark Lowenthal Peggi Malys Bruce Naegeli Richard Perez-Peña Michael Rankins Ouida Rellstab Steve Rogitz Paul Rouffa Zeke Sevilla Jr. Yael Sofaer Frank Spangenberg Kate Waits Brian Wangsgard |
Season 7 (November 5–16, 1990) | ||
Winner: Bob Blake 1st runner-up: Larry McKnight 2nd runner-up: Steve Berman |
Jeff Bandman Andrew Bernknopf Erik Larsen Ofc. Frank Spangenberg (Season 6's biggest winner) Eric Terzuolo Jamie Weiss |
Lisa Guay Dan Katz Richard Neale George Soule Michael Thayer Elaine Zollner |
Season 8 (November 4–15, 1991) | ||
Winner: Jim Scott 1st runner-up: Steve Robin ($12,600) 2nd runner-up: Lou Pryor ($9,700) |
Mark Born (Season 7's biggest winner) Leslie Frates Scott Gillispie Jonathan Jacobs Lois Kurowski Mark Pestronk |
Sara Cox Tom Halpern Bruce Ikawa John LeDonne Andy Westney Lynne Wexler |
Season 9 (November 9–20, 1992) | ||
Winner: Leszek Pawlowicz 1st runner-up: Bruce Simmons 2nd runner-up: Jerome Vered (Season 8 biggest winner) |
India Cooper Kirk Ditzler Richard Kaplan April McManus Leonard Schmidt Robert Slaven |
Billy Baxter Ofc. Frank Epstein John Kelly, RET USAF Steve Newman Dave Willis Phil Yellman |
Season 10 (November 15–26, 1993) | ||
Winner: Tom Nosek 1st runner-up: Bev Schwartzberg ($19,100) 2nd runner-up: Marilyn Kneeland ($11,500) |
Dennis Donohue Phoebe Juel Jack Mahoney Leslie Miller Ed Schiffer (Season 9's biggest winner) Walt Senterfitt |
Debby Arnold Al Lin Linda Shepard Diane Siegel David Tiemann Fraser Woodford |
10th Anniversary Tournament (November 29–December 3, 1993) | ||
Winner: Frank Spangenberg ($41,800) 1st runner-up: Tom Nosek ($13,600) 2nd runner-up: Leslie Frates |
Lionel Goldbart Roy Holliday Mark McDermott Doug Molitor Steve Rogitz Robert Slaven |
[no quarterfinals] |
Season 11 (November 14–25, 1994) | ||
Winner: Rachael Schwartz 1st runner-up: Jeff Stewart ($20,800) 2nd runner-up: David Hillinck ($7,500) |
Kurt Bray Steve Chernicoff (Season 10's biggest winner) John Cuthbertson Jean Grewe Brian Moore Bill Pitassy |
Amy Fine Fred Frank Matt Morris Tom Nichols Bart Thomas David Venderbush |
Season 12 (November 13–24, 1995) | ||
Winner: Ryan Holznagel[8] 1st runner-up: David Siegel (Season 11's biggest winner, $24,600) 2nd runner-up: Isaac Segal ($16,600) |
Bruce Borchardt Jonathan Groff Paul Thompson (Season 12's biggest winner) Jim Vercolen Gordon Wean Matt Zielenski |
Aaron Klein Len Krisak Ben Lyon John McKeon Jim Morgan Linda Roberts |
Season 13 (November 18–29, 1996) | ||
Winner: Michael Dupée 1st runner-up: Bob Scarpone ($11,000) 2nd runner-up: Michael Daunt[9] ($8,200) |
Bill Dickenson Amanda Goad Mary Hirschfeld Bill Sloan Beverly Spurs Shane Whitlock |
Bernie Cullen David Cuneo Lucien Schmidt Brad Plovan David Sampugnaro Barbara Walker |
Season 14 (February 2–13, 1998) | ||
Winner: Dan Melia (Season 14's biggest winner) 1st runner-up: Kim Worth (Season 13's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Bob Harris |
Sahir Islam Lyn Payne Claudia Perry Fred Ramen Peter Scott Grace Veach |
Craig Barker Josh Den Hartog Paul Gutowski Pam Mifflin Arthur Phillips Wes Ulm |
Season 15 (February 8–19, 1999) | ||
Winner: Dave Abbott 1st runner-up: J.J. Todor ($20,600) 2nd runner-up: Juliet Wiley |
David Bagley (Season 15's biggest winner) Dan Girard Pat Healy Lance Johnson Andrew Maly John Skelton |
James Arey Andrew Hutchings Lara Robillard Chris Ward Carolyn White Melizza Zygmunt |
Season 16 (May 8–19, 2000) taped at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia | ||
Winner: Robin Carroll[10] 1st runner-up: Jeremy Bate 2nd runner-up: Steve Fried |
Mike Blumenfeld Carolyn Cracraft Terry Currin Chacko George Michael Rooney Eddie Timanus |
Jack Archey Lee Lassiter Darlene Lieblich Helen Petroff Melissa Sexstone Janet Wong |
Season 18 (October 22–November 2, 2001) | ||
Winner: Brad Rutter 1st runner-up: Tad Carithers 2nd runner-up: Rick Knutsen |
Larry Cloud Lan Djang Mark Eckard Ryan Moore Pam Mueller Babu Srinivasan (Season 17's biggest winner) |
Michael Arnone Michelle Clum Bob Fleenor Andrew Garen Kevin Keach Doug Lach (Season 16's biggest winner) |
Million Dollar Masters Tournament (May 1–14, 2002) taped at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York | ||
Winner: Brad Rutter 1st runner-up: Eric Newhouse 2nd runner-up: Bob Verini |
India Cooper Chuck Forrest Leslie Frates Bob Harris Claudia Perry Leslie Shannon (Miller) |
Robin Carroll Rachael Schwartz Frank Spangenberg Babu Srinivasan Eddie Timanus Kate Waits |
Season 19 (May 5–16, 2003) | ||
Winner: Mark Dawson 1st runner-up: Brian Weikle (Season 19's biggest winner, $56,601) 2nd runner-up: Eric Floyd (Season 18's biggest winner) |
Alan Bailey Mark Brown Jill Bunzendahl Chimka Max Levaren Trevor Norris Travis Troyer |
Kathy Cassity Kyle Hale Jackie Harrison Mark Lee Jason McCune Ben Tritle |
Season 21 (September 20–October 1, 2004) | ||
Winner: Russ Schumacher 1st runner-up: Tom Walsh 2nd runner-up: Arthur Gandolfi |
Seth Alcorn Tom Baker Anne Boyd Vinita Kailasanath Chris Miller Steve Reynolds |
John Beck Sam Ott Scott "Renzo" Renzoni Sean Ryan Jim Stalley Keith Williams |
Season 21 Ultimate Tournament of Champions (February 9–May 25, 2005) | ||
Winner: Brad Rutter 1st runner-up: Ken Jennings (Season 20's & 21's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Jerome Vered |
John Cuthbertson Chris Miller Pam Mueller Frank Spangenberg |
Stephen Chernicoff Michael Daunt Lan Djang April McManus Dan Melia Brian Moore Michael Rooney Robert Slaven Grace Veach Shane Whitlock Phil Yellman Matt Zielenski |
Season 22 (May 8–19, 2006) | ||
Winner: Michael Falk 1st runner-up: Vik Vaz 2nd runner-up: Bill MacDonald |
David Madden (Season 22's biggest winner) Kevin Marshall Bob Mesko Jason Richards Aaron Thompson Maria Wenglinsky |
Kerry Breitenbach Doug Dorst Kermin Fleming Tom Kavanaugh Nico Martinez David Rozenson |
Season 24 (November 5–16, 2007) | ||
Winner: Celeste DiNucci[11] 1st runner-up: Doug Hicton 2nd runner-up: Cliff Galiher |
Paul Glaser Christian Haines Chris Mazurek Susan Mitchell Jeff Spoeri Craig Westphal |
Mehrun Etebari (Season 23's biggest winner) Cathy Lanctot Andrew Rostan Nick Swezey Sara Terrell Steve Unite |
Season 25 (March 11–24, 2009) taped at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada | ||
Winner: Dan Pawson 1st runner-up: Larissa Kelly (Season 24's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Aaron Schroeder |
Ben Bishop Matt Kohlstedt Cora Peck Dave Simpson Donna Vogel Mark Wales |
Carl Brandt Deborah Fitzgerald Lisa Klink Tom Morris Erik Nelson Jim Stevens |
Season 26 (May 10–21, 2010) | ||
Winner: Vijay Balse 1st runner-up: Jason Zollinger (Season 26's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Stefan Goodreau |
Dave Belote Justin Bernbach (Season 25's biggest winner) Terry Linwood Liz Murphy Andy Srinivasan Nick Yozamp |
Joey Beachum Ryan Chaffee Regina Robbins Patrick Tucker Christine Valada Stephen Weingarten |
Season 28 (November 2–15, 2011) | ||
Winner: Roger Craig 1st runner-up: Tom Nissley (Season 27's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Buddy Wright |
Erin McLean Joon Pahk Jay Rhee Mark Runsvold Justin Sausville Kara Spak |
John Krizel Tom Kunzen Paul Kursky Brian Meacham Christopher Short Charles Temple |
Season 29 (February 13–26, 2013) presented by Prudential | ||
Winner: Colby Burnett (also won Season 29 Teachers Tournament) 1st runner-up: Keith Whitener 2nd runner-up: Kristin Morgan |
Stephanie Jass Jason Keller (Season 28's biggest winner) Dave Leach Dan McShane Paul Nelson Jason Shore |
David Gard David Menchaca Joel Pool Ashok Poozhikunnel Patrick Quinn Monica Thieu |
Season 30 Battle of the Decades (February 3–May 16, 2014) | ||
Winner: Brad Rutter 1st runner-up: Ken Jennings 2nd runner-up: Roger Craig |
Colby Burnett Tom Cubbage Chuck Forrest Pam Mueller Leszek Pawlowicz Russ Schumacher |
Robin Carroll Mark Dawson Mark Lowenthal Tom Nosek Dan Pawson Rachael Schwartz |
Season 31 (November 10–21, 2014) | ||
Winner: Ben Ingram (Season 29's biggest winner) 1st runner-up: Arthur Chu 2nd runner-up: Julia Collins (Season 30's biggest winner) |
Sandie Baker Joshua Brakhage Jared Hall Mark Japinga Terry O'Shea Rebecca Rider |
Jim Coury Drew Horwood Sarah McNitt Andrew Moore John Pearson Rani Peffer |
Season 32 (November 9–20, 2015) | ||
Winner: Alex Jacob 1st runner-up: Matt Jackson (Season 32's biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Kerry Greene |
Brennan Bushee Dan Feitel Catherine Hardee Andrew Haringer John Schultz Vaughn Winchell |
Michael Bilow Jennifer Giles Scott Lord Kristin Sausville Greg Seroka (Season 31's biggest winner) Elliot Yates |
Season 34 (November 6–17, 2017) presented by Consumer Cellular | ||
Winner: Buzzy Cohen 1st runner-up: Alan Lin 2nd runner-up: Austin Rogers (Season 34's biggest winner) |
Tim Aten Lilly Chin Andrew Pau Lisa Schlitt Jason Sterlacci Pranjal Vachaspati |
Hunter Appler David Clemmons Sam Deutsch Jon Eisenman Justin Vossler Seth Wilson (Season 33's biggest winner) |
References and notes
- ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (2008-01-08). "Sony TV gets celebs' help in digital push". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ^ "Lovable genius Austin Rogers' reign on 'Jeopardy!' comes to an end". Cleveland Plain Dealer. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ Knecht-Schmidt, Robert (2011-12-18). "The Tournament of Champions in the Art Fleming era of Jeopardy!". JBoard.tv. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
- ^ Eisenberg, Harry (1993). Inside "Jeopardy!": What Really Goes on at TV's Top Quiz Show. Salt Lake City, Utah: Northwest Publishing Inc. p. 75. ISBN 1-56901-177-X.
Alex put together the two week, fifteen player format used on the current show. We had 15 undefeated five-time champions the first season. In subsequent seasons we never had as many as 15 five-game winners so we added those four-game winners with the highest scores until we had the requisite 15 contestants for the Tournament.
- ^ Most episodes from the Art Fleming era of Jeopardy! do not survive, so there is no video record of these Tournament of Champions games; paper records indicating the players may be found in the NBC Master Books daily broadcast log, available on microfilm at the Library of Congress Motion Picture and Television Reading Room. A summary of those records may be found here. A listing of Jeopardy! Grand Champions, 1968–74, may be found in Fabe, Maxene (1979). TV Game Shows. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company. p. 13. ISBN 0-385-13052-X.
- ^ "Swarthmore's 'Jeopardy!' Hall of Fame". July 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
- ^ A Piece of "Jeopardy!" Trivia - Sony Pictures
- ^ Ryan Holznagel later represented the United States in the 1996 International Tournament, losing in the semifinals.
- ^ Michael Daunt represented Canada in the 1997 International Tournament in Sweden, and won.
- ^ Robin Carroll later represented the United States in the 2001 International Tournament in Las Vegas, and won.
- ^ Celeste DiNucci won a tie breaker against Christian Haines in the second semifinal game.