Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament featuring the longest-running champions 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 four years in which the Tournament was skipped altogether (1984, 1997, 2008, and 2012), and six seasons (1, 17, 20, 23, 27, and 30). 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 that 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' 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 quarterfinalists. Those 15 winners would then return to compete in a regular tournament format, with the winner taking home $1,000,000.
Field
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. A minimum of three wins is required. In the 2014 Tournament of Champions, which taped in late September 2014 and aired in November 2014, three seeds were reserved for the winner of the Teachers Tournament and winners of the Season 29 and Season 30 College Championships. For many years, the winner(s) of the Teen Tournament and the Seniors Tournament 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.
Format
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 the Teen Tournament, College Championship, and Teachers Tournament; it previously applied to the Seniors Tournament and the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament:[2]
- 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. In case of a tie for winner (other than a triple-zero), the tied players participate in 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 case of a tie among the four highest-scoring losers, the highest score after "Double Jeopardy!" is used. Any game ending with a triple-zero tie eliminates all three players, and an additional wild card position is added.
- Shows 6–8: The semifinals, with only the three winners advancing to finals. Tournament tie-breaker rules apply. As in the quarterfinals, a triple-zero tie eliminates all three players, and a wild card position is added for the highest-scoring semifinal loser.
- 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 zero or 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.
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)[3] | ||
| First annual (1964) | ||
| Winner: Terry Thompson[4] 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[5] | [No quarterfinals] | |
| Fourth annual (1967) | ||
| Eleanor Endsley Harry Murtha Anne Fried |
Frank Gray Sheila Gabriel Rosemary Marnell Libby Dyer Gail Berry Howard August |
[No quarterfinals] |
| Fifth annual (1968) | ||
| Winner: 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 | [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 (last name uncertain; may be Gurman or Corman) 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 | [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 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 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 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 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 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 Ofc. 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 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 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 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: Ofc. 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 | |
| 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 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 ($25,901)[6] 1st runner-up: David Siegel (Season 11 biggest winner, $24,600) 2nd runner-up: Isaac Segal ($16,600) |
Bruce Borchardt Jonathan Groff Paul Thompson (Season 12 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[7] ($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 biggest winner) 1st runner-up: Kim Worth (Season 13 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: David Abbott 1st runner-up: J.J. Todor ($20,600) 2nd runner-up: Juliet Wiley |
David Bagley (Season 15 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[8] 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 biggest winner) |
Michael Arnone Michelle Clum Bob Fleenor Andrew Garen Kevin Keach Doug Lach (Season 16 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 Ofc. Frank Spangenberg Babu Srinivasan Eddie Timanus Kate Waits |
| Season 19 (May 5–16, 2003) | ||
| Winner: Mark Dawson 1st runner-up: Brian Weikle (Season 19 biggest winner, $56,601) 2nd runner-up: Eric Floyd (Season 18 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 (Season 20 biggest winner) 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 21 biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Jerome Vered |
John Cuthbertson Chris Miller Pam Mueller Ofc. Frank Spangenberg Also see main article Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions |
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 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[9] 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 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 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 biggest winner) 2nd runner-up: Stefan Goodreau |
Dave Belote Justin Bernbach (Season 25 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 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 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 |
References and notes
- ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (2008-01-08). "Sony TV gets celebs' help in digital push". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
- ^ 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". 2014-07. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ 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.
External links
- The official JEOPARDY! website
- List of JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions winners
- Official JEOPARDY! 2013 Tournament of Champions website
| Concepts | |
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| Tournaments |
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| Notable contestants |
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| Franchise | |
| In popular culture | |
