Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
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The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is a tournament held more or less annually featuring the longest-running champions from the past season or seasons of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! The tournament began in the show's first season in 1964 during Art Fleming's tenure as host, and continues into the Alex Trebek era of the show.
The 2009 Tournament of Champions will be taped during the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]
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[edit] Field
The Tournament of Champions field consists of the 15 champions who have won the most games (minimum of 3) since the previous Tournament of Champions, as well as the winner(s) of the College Championship. For many years, the winner(s) of the Teen Tournament and the Seniors Tournament also participated, but the Seniors Tournament was discontinued after 1996, and a Teen Tournament winner was last invited to the Tournament of Champions in 2000. Before the "sky's the limit" rule change in 2003, the field was determined by number of games won (up to 5), as well as winnings. Winners of the Teen, College, and Seniors Tournaments still earned automatic berths.
[edit] Format
The Tournament of Champions lasts two weeks (10 shows) with the following format:
- Shows 1-5: The quarterfinals, with three new contestants participating each day. The five winners advance to the semifinals. Four "wild card" spots are available to those with the highest score among non-winners; ties broken by the highest score after "Double Jeopardy!"
- Shows 6-8: The semifinals. At this point, it is "win or go home".
- Shows 9-10: The two-day finals. The first-day score does not factor into the second day's scoring. The contestant's cumulative total from both days is added together to determine his/her final score. The contestant with the highest cumulative score wins the grand prize. The runners-up receive either a guaranteed cash prize or the amount of their two-day total, whichever is higher. During the original NBC edition, each tournament champion earned $25,000.
[edit] Prizes
The prize amounts for all contestants are as follows:
| Period | Finalists (minimum guarantees) | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1st runner-up | 2nd runner-up | |||
| 1964-1974 | All players kept their scores in cash at the end of each game | ||||
| 1985 | $100,000 | No guarantee | No guarantee | $5,000 | No prize |
| 1986 | $5,000 | $5,000 | |||
| 1987-1996 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $1,000 | ||
| 1998-2001 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $2,500 | ||
| 2003 | $250,000 | $25,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| 2004 | $50,000 | $25,000 | |||
| 2006-present | $100,000 | $50,000 | |||
[edit] Other prizes
- During the Art Fleming era of the show, in addition to their score winnings, Grand Champions won a $1,000 bonus, a tropical vacation, and were presented with a trophy called the annual Griffin Award, named for show creator Merv Griffin.
- 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.
[edit] List of participants
The following is a list of contestants and where they placed in the tournament. Non-winning finalists who won more than the minimum guarantees are indicated in parentheses.
| Finalists | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|
| Art Fleming Era (1964–1975)[2] | ||
| First annual (1964) | ||
| Phyllis Gallo John Murphy Terry Thompson |
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[3] | [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 | ||
| Eighth annual (1971) | ||
| Winner: Rock Johnson | ||
| Ninth annual (1972) | ||
| Winner: Ann Marie Sutton | ||
| Tenth annual (1973) | ||
| Winner: Paula Orgen | ||
| Eleventh annual (1974) | ||
| Winner: Denny Golden | ||
| Alex Trebek Era (1984-present) | ||
| Season 2 (1985) | ||
| Winner: Jerry Frankel 1st runner-up: Bruce Fauman ($9,399) 2nd runner-up: Steve Rogitz ($5,100) |
Ron Black Paul Boymel Liz Caccese Larry Floyd John Hannatt Ric Moser |
Elise Beraru Michael Day John Genova Paul Crozier Paula Tupper Nathan Walpow |
| Season 3 (1986) | ||
| Winner: Chuck Forrest 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 (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 Roger Storm |
Keith Bell Jonathan Fellows Frank Hughes John Podhoretz Zeke Sevilla, Jr. Keith Walker |
| Season 5 (1988) | ||
| Winner: Mark Lowenthal 1st runner-up: Bruce Naegeli ($18,799) 2nd runner-up: Sandra Gore ($13,000) |
Roy Holliday Peggy Kennedy Richard Perez-Pena Steven Popper Michael Rankins Kathleen Waits |
Michael Block Barbara-Anne Eddy Leah Greenwald Stephen Lebowitz Bruce Seymour Ron Trigueiro |
| Season 6 (1989) | ||
| Winner: Tom Cubbage 1st runner-up: Rich Lerner ($15,500) 2nd runner-up: Brian Wangsgard |
Bruce Cox Mark McDermott Peggi Malys Eric Newhouse Ouida Rellstab Cigus Vanni |
Cathy Boggs Jeff Richmond Joel Sacks Chris Shea Yael Sofaer Jim Thompkins-McLean |
| Season 7 (1990) | ||
| Winner: Bob Blake 1st runner-up: Larry McKnight 2nd runner-up: Steve Berman |
Jeff Bandman Andrew Bernknopf Erik Larsen Ofc. Frank Spangenberg Eric Terzuolo Jamie Weiss |
Lisa Guay Dan Katz Richard Neale George Soule Michael Thayer Elaine Zollner |
| Season 8 (1991) | ||
| Winner: Jim Scott 1st runner-up: Steve Robin ($12,600) 2nd runner-up: Lou Pryor ($9,700) |
Mark Born Leslie Frates Scott Gillispie Jonathan Jacobs Lois Kurowski Mark Pestronk |
Sara Cox Tom Halpern Bruce Ikawa John LeDonne Andrew Westney Lynne Wexler |
| Season 9 (1992) | ||
| Winner: Leszek Pawlowicz 1st runner-up: Bruce Simmons 2nd runner-up: Jerome Vered |
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 (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 Walt Senterfitt |
Debby Arnold Al Lin Linda Shepard Diane Siegel David Tiemann Fraser Woodford |
| Season 11 (1994) | ||
| Winner: Rachael Schwartz 1st runner-up: Jeff Stewart ($20,800) 2nd runner-up: David Hillinck ($7,500) |
Kurt Bray Steve Chernicoff John Cuthbertson Jean Grewe Brian Moore Bill Pitassy |
Amy Fine Fred Frank Matt Morris Tom Nichols Bart Thomas David Venderbush |
| Season 12 (1995) | ||
| Winner: Ryan Holznagel 1st runner-up: David Siegel ($24,600) 2nd runner-up: Isaac Segal ($16,600) |
Bruce Borchardt Jonathan Groff Paul Thompson Jim Vercolen Gordon Wean Matt Zielenski |
Aaron Klein Len Krisak Ben Lyon John McKeon Jim Morgan Linda Roberts |
| Season 13 (1996) | ||
| Winner: Michael Dupee 1st runner-up: Bob Scarpone ($11,000) 2nd runner-up: Michael Daunt ($8,200) |
Bill Dickenson Amanda Goad Mary Hirschfield Bill Sloan Beverly Spurs Shane Whitlock |
Bernie Cullen David Cuneo Brad Plovan David Sampugnaro Lucien Schmidt Barbara Walker |
| Season 14 (1998) | ||
| Winner: Daniel F. Melia 1st runner-up: Kim Worth 2nd runner-up: Bob Harris |
Sahir Islam Lyn Payne Claudia Perry Catherine Ramen Peter Scott Grace Veach |
Craig Barker Joshua Den Hartog Paul Gutowski Pam Mifflin Arthur Phillips Wes Ulm |
| Season 15 (1999) | ||
| Winner: David Abbott 1st runner-up: J. J. Todor ($20,600) 2nd runner-up: Juliet Wiley |
David Bagley Dan Girard Pat Healy Lance Johnson Andrew Maly John Skelton |
James Arey Andrew Hutchings Lara Robillard Chris Ward Carolyn White Melizza Zygmunt |
| Season 16 (2000), at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Winner: Robin Carroll 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 (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 |
Michael Arnone Michelle Clum Bob Fleenor Andrew Garen Kevin Keach Doug Lach |
| Season 19 (2003) | ||
| Winner: Mark S. Dawson 1st runner-up: Brian Weikle ($56,601) 2nd runner-up: Eric Floyd |
Alan Bailey Mark Brown Jill Bunzendahl Chimka Maxine Levaren Trevor Norris Travis Troyer |
Kathy Cassity Kyle Hale Jackie Harrison Mark Lee Jason McCune Ben Tritle |
| Season 21 (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 Samantha Ott Scott "Renzo" Renzoni Sean Ryan Jim Stalley Keith Williams |
| Season 22 (2006) | ||
| Winner: Michael Falk 1st runner-up: Vik Vaz 2nd runner-up: Bill MacDonald |
David Madden Kevin Marshall Bob Mesko Jason Richards Aaron Thompson Maria Wenglinsky |
Kerry Breitenbach Doug Dorst Kermin Fleming Tom Kavanaugh Nico Martinez David Rozenson |
| Season 24 (2007) | ||
| Winner: Celeste DiNucci 1st runner-up: Doug Hicton 2nd runner-up: Cliff Galiher |
Paul Glaser Christian Haines Chris Mazurek Susan Mitchell Jeff Spoeri Craig Westphal |
Mehrun Etebari Cathy Lanctot Andrew Rostan Nick Swezey Sara Terrell Steve Unite |
[edit] Trivia
- Ryan Holznagel and Robin Carroll, winners of the 1995 and 2000 tournaments, respectively, later represented the United States in the International Tournament. Ryan lost in the semifinals of the 1996 tournament, while Robin won the 2001 tournament in Las Vegas. Michael Daunt, the second runner-up in the 1996 tournament, represented Canada in the 1997 international tournament in Sweden, and won.
[edit] References
- ^ Wallenstein, Andrew. "Sony TV gets celebs' help in digital push", The Hollywood Reporter, 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
- ^ 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, 1968–1974, may be found in Fabe, Maxene (1979). TV Game Shows. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 13. ISBN 0-385-13052-X.
- ^ A Piece of "Jeopardy!" Trivia - Sony Pictures
[edit] External links
- List of JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions winners
- The official JEOPARDY! website
- J! Archive: An archive of JEOPARDY! games, past and present, including some from the Tournament of Champions
- The JEOPARDY! Database of Champions, a database of Tournaments from Seasons 2-16
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