The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament 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 continued into the Alex Trebek era of the show. There have been two years in which the Tournament was skipped altogether (1997 and 2008), and four seasons (17, 20, 23, and 27). Season 1 in 1984 was too early in the Trebek era history to have champions from the season before. Also, in 2002, Jeopardy held a Million Dollar Masters tournament featuring fifteen previous champions, and in 2005, Jeopardy! 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]
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In the Alex Trebek version of the show, the Tournament of Champions field consists of the 14 champions who have won the most games (with a minimum of 3) since the previous Tournament of Champions, as well as the winner or winners of any College Championship that occurred in the period between Tournaments of Champions (there is usually only one, but the possibility of multiple College Champions earning berths does exist). Beginning in 2011, the winner of the Teachers Tournament was also included. 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.
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]
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 | none, except in 1969 | |||
| 1985 | $100,000 | Kept two day total winnings | $5,000 | $1,000 | |
| 1986 | $5,000 | ||||
| 1987–1996 | $10,000 | $7,500 | |||
| 1998–2002 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $2,500 | ||
| 2003–2004 | $250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| 2006–present | $100,000 | $50,000 | |||
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions 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 (1964–1975)[3] | ||
| 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[4] | [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 Ogren | ||
| Eleventh annual (1974) | ||
| Winner: Denny Golden | ||
| Alex Trebek Era (1984–present) | ||
| Season 2 (November 11-November 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 Hannatt Ric Moser |
Elise Beraru Michael Day John Genova Paul Crozier Paula Tupper Nathan Walpow |
| Season 3 (November 3-November 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-November 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-November 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 Kathleen Waits |
Michael Block Barbara-Anne Eddy Leah Greenwald Stephen Lebowitz Bruce Seymour Ron Trigueiro |
| Season 6 (November 6-November 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 Mark McDermott Peggi Malys Eric Newhouse Ouida Rellstab Cigus Vanni |
Cathy Boggs Jeff Richmond Joel Sacks Chris Shea Yael Sofaer Jim Thompkins-McLane |
| Season 7 (November 5-November 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-November 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 Andrew Westney Lynne Wexler |
| Season 9 (November 9-November 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-November 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 |
| Season 11 (November 14-November 25, 1994) | ||
| Winner: Rachael Schwartz 1st runner-up: Jeff Stewart ($20,800) 2nd runner-up: David Hillinck |
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-November 24, 1995) | ||
| Winner: Ryan Holznagel[5] 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-November 29, 1996) | ||
| Winner: Michael Dupee 1st runner-up: Bob Scarpone ($11,000) 2nd runner-up: Michael Daunt[6] ($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 (February 2-February 13, 1998) | ||
| Winner: Daniel F. 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 Joshua Den Hartog Paul Gutowski Pam Mifflin Arthur Phillips Wes Ulm |
| Season 15 (February 8-February 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-May 19, 2000); taped at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Winner: Robin Carroll[7] 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) |
| Season 19 (May 5-May 16, 2003) | ||
| Winner: Mark S. 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 Maxine 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 Samantha 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 2nd runner-up: Jerome Vered |
Also see main article Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions | |
| Season 22 (May 8-May 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-November 16, 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 (Season 23 biggest winner) Cathy Lanctot Andrew Rostan Nick Swezey Sara Terrell Steve Unite |
| Season 25 (March 11-March 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-May 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-November 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 |
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