who won the jeopardy 2018 tournament of champions
List of Jeopardy! contestants


be $205,194, given the doubling of clue values; the contestant who beat this record, James Holzhauer (see below) won $298,687 in his first five games.) Spangenberg also won "Jeopardy!" 10th Anniversary Tournament in 1993, winning $41,800, and previously appeared in the 1990 Tournament of Champions, "Super Jeopardy!" earlier that year, and later competed in the 2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament, the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions and the 2014 Battle of the Decades tournament. Jerome Vered (born
4034079
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


1990 and pitted 1987 Tournament of Champions winner Bob Verini and finalist Dave Traini against 1988 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist and four-day champion Bruce Seymour in a one-day final match where the winner would receive $250,000. Traini finished in negative territory and could not play Final Jeopardy!, which meant he automatically finished third and won $25,000. Seymour, leading entering Final Jeopardy!, correctly answered the final clue and won the top prize. Verini, who did not answer correctly, finished second and won $50,000.
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Michael George Dupée


Michael George Dupée (born October 23, 1966) is an American game show contestant and author who played on the U.S. syndicated game show "Jeopardy!" and published a book about the experience. At the time that he won the 1996 "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions, he was the 4th biggest winner in "Jeopardy!" history. He went on to appear in the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005 and the "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades in 2014. Following his initial
2893216
List of Jeopardy! contestants


Verini's career earnings on "Jeopardy!" and "Super Jeopardy!" are $276,802. Mark M. Lowenthal was an undefeated five-time champion in 1988 and won the 1988 Tournament of Champions. He also appeared on "Super Jeopardy!", the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and the "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades, beating Spangenberg in his initial game. Lowenthal is the co-author (along with Season 2 record-setting five-time champion and Tournament of Champions winner Chuck Forrest) of
4034071
Frank Spangenberg


a semifinalist appeared in the 1990 version of the annual Tournament of Champions, won $5,000 as a quarterfinalist on the 1990 "Super Jeopardy!", then later won $10,000 as a quarterfinalist on the 2002 "Jeopardy!" Million Dollar Masters, then $105,199 on the 2005 "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and finally (as of 2019) $5,000 as a first-round participant in 2014's "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades tournament, bringing his lifetime "Jeopardy!"-related winnings (regular game
11076676
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


show has ever offered in a tournament. The tournament was won by Brad Rutter, with Jennings finishing second and collecting $500,000, while 1992 Tournament of Champions finalist Jerome Vered finished third and took home $250,000. All in all, the tournament's contestants won a combined grand total of $5,604,413. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Trebek version, "Jeopardy!" held a special "Battle of the Decades Tournament" in 2014 featuring 45 contestants who had all competed in past Tournaments of Champions. The field of
5145210
List of Jeopardy! contestants


the 1992 book "Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions", and has also written a college textbook on intelligence and national security. Eric Newhouse first appeared on "Jeopardy!" when he won the 1989 Teen Tournament. He was both a semifinalist in the 1989 Tournament of Champions and "Super Jeopardy!" After winning the 1998 Teen Reunion Tournament, Newhouse was invited to the Million Dollar Masters, where he placed second overall to Brad Rutter. Newhouse was one of nine players who advanced directly to the second round of the
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


for "Jeopardy!" winnings with either $4,255,102 or $4,270,102, and a pair of Chevrolet Camaros. Rutter became a five-day undefeated champion on "Jeopardy!" in 2000, with a total of $55,102. He subsequently won four "Jeopardy!" tournament titles: the 2001 Tournament of Champions, the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament, the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and the 2014 Battle of the Decades. In twenty games, Rutter has never lost an official "Jeopardy!" match to a
4034091
Jeopardy!


" tournaments and events (winning four of those specials). He won $55,102 (excluding the value of two cars also won) over five regular episodes in 2000, the $100,000 first-place prize in the 2001 "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions, the $1,000,000 first-place prize in the 2002 "Jeopardy!" Million Dollar Masters Tournament, the $2,000,000 first-place prize (plus $115,000 in preliminary rounds) in the 2005 "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions, the $200,000
18665382
List of Jeopardy! contestants


Champions in 2005, and again in the Battle of the Decades in 2014. Michael George Dupée (born October 23, 1966) originally appeared on "Jeopardy!" in 1996, and won the Tournament of Champions that same year. In 2005, Dupée participated in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He won his first match, but was defeated by Robert Slaven in his second game of the tournament. Nine years later, in 2014, Dupée competed in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades tournament, where he was defeated
4034082
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
19505428
List of Jeopardy! contestants


March 13, 1958) appeared on "Jeopardy!" in 1992 and won $96,801 as a five-day champion and retired undefeated. His total winnings at the time were second to Frank Spangenberg's $102,597. During that run, he shattered the one-day record for dollar winnings, earning $34,000 in one episode. After his five-day run, Vered returned for the 1992 "Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions", finishing in third place In the 2005 Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Vered won
4034080
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


vs.-machine competition in "Jeopardy!"s history. Watson locked up the first game and the match to win the grand prize of $1 million, which IBM divided between two charities (World Vision International and World Community Grid). Jennings, who won $300,000 for second place, and Rutter, who won the $200,000 third-place prize, both pledged to donate half of their total winnings to their respective charities. The competition brought the show its highest ratings since the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. One-week tournaments featuring champions
5145220
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


blue ribbons for colon cancer awareness, and the producers posted the Web site of the charity during the tournament in which 2016 Teachers Tournament winner Jason Sterlacci had the idea to get to remember her. Larry Martin, winner of the 2018 Teachers Tournament, died in January 2019 shortly after his win. On rare occasions, the "Jeopardy!" staff will invite another contestant for the Tournament of Champions who would not have qualified under traditional circumstances. Emma Boettcher, notable for her upset of James Holzhauer, was invited to fill Martin
19505443
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


!" champion Ken Jennings, who had won the most money in "Jeopardy!" regular play history and who (entering the tournament) had set a new all-time television game show winnings record with US $2,522,700. Those three contestants would then play in a three-game final for the largest cash prize the show has ever offered: an unprecedented grand prize of U.S. $2,000,000. After four rounds, the tournament's field of 144 past champions was winnowed to two: Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered. Rutter
15075066
Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament


50,000 and the second runner-up wins $25,000 (or their combined scores from the two-game final, whichever are higher). Semifinalists who are eliminated collect $10,000 while those eliminated in the quarterfinals pocket $5,000. The only Teachers Tournament winner to win the Tournament of Champions is November 2012 winner Colby Burnett, who won the 2013 Tournament of Champions. He was later invited to 2014's Battle of the Decades, where he advanced to the semifinals, and was also invited to the Jeopardy! All-Star
20049630
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


displaced Jennings as the all-time biggest game show money winner at the time, as a result of his victory. All in all, the tournament's contestants won a combined grand total of $5,604,413. On December 28, 2004, Sony announced a 15-week, 75-show "Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions". It featured Tournament of Champions, College Championship, and Teen Tournament winners from the show's 21-year run, as well as over 100 five-time champions. Jeopardy!'s executive producer, Harry Friedman,
15075068
Larissa Kelly


calls that prompted Standards and Practices to bring her back for a second appearance; in her second appearance, Arianna was defeated by Aaron Schroeder, who later faced Larissa in the 2009 "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions finals. In the 2009 "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, Kelly won her quarterfinal and semifinal matches and led after the first game of the two-game finals, with $24,400 to Dan Pawson's $22,301 and Schroeder's $9,600. Although she led going into Final Jeopardy!
15231473
List of Jeopardy! contestants


72,800 and qualifying for the 1986 Tournament of Champions, which he won, earning another $100,000. Forrest later played on the "Super Jeopardy!" tournament, the Million Dollar Masters tournament, the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and the Battle of the Decades tournament. Forrest implemented a strategy known as the "Forrest Bounce" to confuse opponents: the strategy involved picking each clue from a different category instead of taking the clues in order. With Mark Lowenthal, Forrest co-wrote the 1992 book "Secrets of the Jeopardy
4034068
List of Jeopardy! contestants


Rutter's winning team. Roger Craig set a then one-day "Jeopardy!" winnings record of $77,000 during his second appearance on the show in September 2010. Craig won the Tournament of Champions the following year, and in the process set a then record for largest daily double (unadjusted) in "Jeopardy!" history. He appeared again in the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games relay tournament with 2013 Teen Tournament champion Leonard Cooper on Rogers' team. Watson is a "deep question answering system"
4034102
Julia Collins (Jeopardy! contestant)


) in number of games won and finished just ahead of Madden (19). She would later be surpassed in both categories by James Holzhauer, who won 32 consecutive games in 2019, giving her the third longest winning streak and fourth highest total earnings in "Jeopardy!" regular play history. She is the top female contestant in both categories. Collins was invited to the 2014 "Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions", where she finished second in her quarterfinal game against Joshua Brakhage and 2013 College Champion Jim Coury, but
2278815
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


The "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions was a special 15-week single-elimination tournament that aired during the 21st season of the syndicated game show "Jeopardy!" that began airing on February 9, 2005 and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in total. The tournament involved 145 contestants, all of whom were winners of past tournaments or past five-time champions, and was designed to produce two contestants who would face off in a three-game, cumulative-score final against legendary "Jeopardy
15075065
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


explained: "The 2003 rule change, which allows Jeopardy! players to keep playing until they're defeated, raised the question about how other five-time champions might have played under this rule. This tournament is an opportunity to give those past champions another chance to shine." 145 contestants participated in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions; they consisted of five-time champions and tournament winners from the show's first 21 seasons. Contestants that were not tournament winners were invited in order of money won on the program until a
15075069
List of Jeopardy! contestants


by Brad Rutter. Dupée's total winnings on "Jeopardy!" is $203,901, including $66,401 won during his original five-day run; $100,000 for winning the Tournament of Champions in 1996; $32,500 from the Ultimate Tournament of Champions; and $5,000 from the show's Battle of the Decades. Ken Jennings praised Dupée's book, "How to Get on Jeopardy! and Win!", claiming it was the best preparation for competing on "Jeopardy!" In this book, which he wrote
4034083
List of Jeopardy! contestants


built by IBM to play "Jeopardy!" Watson was entered into a two-game, three-day exhibition match against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter aired February 14–16, 2011. Watson won the match with a total of $77,147. Colby Burnett is the first "Jeopardy!" contestant to have won both the Teachers Tournament and the Tournament of Champions. Burnett, a teacher at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, won the Teachers Tournament in November 2012. Later, in February 2013, Burnett won the
4034103
Colby Burnett


Colby Burnett is the first "Jeopardy!" contestant to have won both the Teachers Tournament and the Tournament of Champions. Burnett, who at the time was a teacher at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, won the Teachers Tournament in November 2012. Later, in February 2013, Burnett won the show's Tournament of Champions, taking home the $250,000 grand prize. He later appeared on season 3 of TBS's reality game show "King of the Nerds". Governor Pat Quinn named December 18 as "
4562755
Michael George Dupée


and winning $66,401. He then participated in the 1996 "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions, remaining undefeated and winning the $100,000 grand prize. In 2005, the undefeated Dupée was invited to participate in the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions, where he won his first game against former champions Jack Archey and Sandra Gore in a lock game. In his second-round game, he suffered his first defeat on "Jeopardy!" at the hands of Robert Slaven, despite having a sizable lead going into
2893221
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


history), 18 contestants were invited to a two-week tournament. 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
19505434
Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament


The "Jeopardy!" Teachers Tournament is one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!" Contestants in this tournament are full-time teachers of students in grades kindergarten through twelve. A total of 15 players compete, plus one alternate who is invited as a standby. The tournament is similar in format to the Tournament of Champions, Teen Tournament, and College Championship; with the winner receiving $100,000 and a berth in the Tournament of Champions. The first runner-up collects $
20049629
Jeopardy! (British game show)


Double amount was reduced to the standard one for the Jeopardy! Round and 2 for Double Jeopardy! The player leading after Final Jeopardy! won £500; five consecutive wins increased that champion's winnings to £3,000 with the undefeated champion retiring. During the Steve Jones series, the top three scorers of each of those series played "Master Jeopardy!" (the equivalent of the Tournament of Champions in the American show) for the grand prize of a holiday. For the 1992 series, the scoring system was changed from
13289519
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


full field was filled, with Bill Dickenson invited last with $48,401 won in his (pre-doubled) reign. Players who competed before the show doubled its prize amounts had their winnings adjusted as appropriate. Contestants that won a tournament or more than $48,401 in a 5 day reign that did not compete in the UTOC included 5 day champions Larry McKnight and Leslie Shannon (Miller), Teen Tournament winners Michael Block & Amanda Goad, and all living Seniors Tournament winners. As well, 1985 Tournament Of Champions winner Jerry
15075070
Brad Rutter


5-day undefeated champions). The rules would be changed in 2003, before Ken Jennings's run of 74 consecutive days in 2004, which made Jennings the all-time "Jeopardy!" money winner. As a 5-day champion, Rutter was invited to the 2001 Tournament of Champions, where he defeated other 5-day champions and won the $100,000 main prize. He was invited back for the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament, where he won the $1,000,000 main prize and became the all-time money winner in "Jeopardy!
12811428
Brad Rutter


he studied English). Before his success on "Jeopardy!", he worked at the Lancaster Coconuts record store. Rutter first appeared on "Jeopardy!" in October 2000, when the rules stipulated that a contestant who won five consecutive days retired undefeated and was guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Rutter retired as an undefeated 5-day champion, with $55,102 in winnings (he was also awarded a choice of Chevrolet cars of which he picked two Chevrolet Camaros; at the time, Jeopardy awarded new cars to
12811427
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in total. The tournament, whose contestants had all been either winners of past tournaments or former five-time champions, was designed to produce two contestants who would face off in a three-game, cumulative-score final against Ken Jennings, who had won the most money in "Jeopardy!" regular play history at the time; the three finalists would then play in a three-game final for a grand prize of $2,000,000, the largest prize the
5145209
List of Jeopardy! contestants


by winning $179,797. Kelly is also the second-highest-winning female contestant in any single game in "Jeopardy!"'s history, as Kelly's $45,200 performance narrowly trails Maria Wenglinsky, who won $46,600 on November 1, 2005. Kelly's husband and sister were also contestants; her husband fell to Jennings and her sister fell to Aaron Schroeder, the victors being later finalists in the 2009 Tournament of Champions. She appeared again in the 2019 Jeopardy! All-Star Games team tournament with Madden on
4034101
List of Jeopardy! contestants


a contestant in 1997 and won $58,000 as an undefeated five-time champion on the show. The following year, Harris finished in third place in the Tournament of Champions behind Kim Worth and Dan Melia. In the first round of the "Jeopardy!" Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002, Harris scored an upset victory over Rachael Schwartz and Frank Spangenberg. He would lose in the semifinals, however, to Eric Newhouse. In 2005, Harris competed again on the show, this time in the "Jeopardy!"
4034085
List of Jeopardy! contestants


born October 27, 1984), is a former professional poker player who lives in Chicago, Illinois, and worked as a currency trader for the Gelber Group. In 2015, Jacob won six games, and later won the 2015 Tournament of Champions. In a Final Jeopardy round where Jacob did not need any additional money to win the game, he humorously wrote "What is Aleve?" mimicking the slogan of one of the show's regular advertisers. Jacob appeared again in the 2019 "Jeopardy!" All-Star
4034109
Roger Craig (Jeopardy! contestant)


time, the largest successful Daily Double wager in the show's history. Craig won the Tournament of Champions. In the finals, he defeated Buddy Wright and Tom Nissley (the latter being the show's fourth highest all-time non-tournament money winner), to win the $250,000 tournament prize. Craig returned for the "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades tournament on April 1, 2014, as part of the 2000s Week. Facing Vijay Balse (2010 Tournament of Champions winner) and Stephanie Jass, he
807471
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


their game winnings, the Grand Champions also won a tropical vacation and were presented with a trophy called the Griffin Award, named for Merv Griffin. The ""Jeopardy!" Teen Tournament", which began in 1987, is an annual tournament in which 15 high school students between the ages of 13 and 17 compete in a ten episode tournament structured like the Tournament of Champions. Since 2016, the top prize awarded to the winner has been valued at $100,000. The Teen Tournament winners' top prizes were previously valued
5145190
List of Jeopardy! contestants


He later returned for the 2017 Tournament of Champions, which he won, collecting the grand prize of $250,000. Cohen appeared again in the 2019 "Jeopardy!" All-Star Games relay tournament. Seth Wilson is a Ph.D. candidate and adjunct professor formerly from Chicago now from Nacogdoches, Texas who won $265,002 over twelve games in September and October 2016, making him the contestant with the fifth-highest number of consecutive wins in the show's history beating Arthur Chu's number of winning games. He later returned for
4034111
List of Jeopardy! contestants


wins and $429,100. She is also the female contestant with the most wins and greatest money total. In the 2014 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions she finished second in her quarterfinal game against Joshua Brakhage and 2013 College Champion Jim Coury, but reached the semifinals as a wild card. She then won her semifinal game, advancing to the finals, where she finished third, behind Ben Ingram and second-place finisher Arthur Chu. Collins appeared again in the 2019 "Jeopardy!" All-Star Games relay tournament with Ben
4034107
List of Jeopardy! contestants


for the most money won in regular "Jeopardy!" play for the original series with her $8,250 total over five days. She was upset in the semifinal round of the 1969 Tournament of Champions but would return as part of the all-time best charity game on the 2000th episode in 1972, winning that game. Host Art Fleming cited Gschwend as an example of how a common person without traditional credentials could succeed at the game. Jay Wolpert won the 1969 Tournament of Champions. He later became known as a producer
4034065
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


"Jeopardy!" is an American television quiz show created by Merv Griffin, in which contestants are presented with clues in the form of answers and must phrase their responses in the form of questions. Over the years, the show has featured many tournaments and special events since Alex Trebek became host in 1984. Starting in 1985, the daily syndicated version of "Jeopardy!" has conducted a regular tournament called the "Tournament of Champions", featuring the most successful champions and other big winners who have appeared on the show
5145185
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


Tournament winners (Lou Pryor in 1991 and Marilyn Kneeland in 1993) made the Tournament of Champions finals, but neither won that event. As well, 1987 winner Zeke Sevilla Jr. and 1989 winner Ouida Rellstab both competed in 1990's "Super Jeopardy!" tournament, but neither advanced past the quarterfinals. A special event called "Celebrity Jeopardy!", whose inaugural episode aired on October 26, 1992, features notable individuals as contestants competing for charitable organizations of their choice (or, in the cases of public officials,
5145195
Bob Harris (writer)


friend answer for a contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Harris also participated in the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005 and the "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades tournament in 2014. In 2005, Harris was the officiant of the "Jeopardy! Wedding", in which Harris briefly assumed Alex Trebek's podium and presided over the real-life wedding of a former opponent and 1998 Tournament of Champions winner Dan Melia and his financé Dara Hellman. Alex Trebek himself was the official
6862166
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


of the 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Teen Tournament won a Chevrolet Cavalier, a Chevrolet Tracker, a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS Convertible, and a Volkswagen New Beetle. Jeopardy! went to a straight cash format in 2003 and eliminated automobile prizes for Season 20. As the most successful contestant in "Jeopardy!" regular season history, Ken Jennings received a bye to the three-game championship. Members of the "Nifty Nine" were selected based on records set in their "Jeopardy!" careers. Only 2
15075072
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


. Rutter won the match in a runaway and displaced Jennings as television's largest game show winner in history at the time (Rutter, by virtue of the tournament set up and the elimination of Bernie Cullen in the first round, was the only player who could have done so). However, Jennings later reclaimed that distinction by winning $500,000 on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" in October 2008, only to lose it again after coming in second to Rutter in the "Jeopardy!" Battle of
15075076
Mark Lowenthal


Lowenthal was a successful contestant on the American game show "Jeopardy!". He first appeared as a contestant in the spring of 1988 and went on to win the "Tournament of Champions" in that year. In 1990, Lowenthal was a quarterfinalist on "Super Jeopardy!"; in 2005, he played in the first round of the "Ultimate Tournament of Champions", and in 2014, he won in the first round of the "Battle of the Decades", defeating Frank Spangenberg and Phoebe Juel. His
20245067
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


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. In 2014, "Jeopardy
19505430
Brad Rutter


$100,000 to the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Rutter participated in the "Jeopardy!" 2014 Battle of the Decades, pitting top champions from throughout the previous 30 years of "Jeopardy!", where he won the tournament and $1,000,000. With this win, Rutter regained the record as the highest money-winner on American game shows, which Jennings had held since 2008. In 2019, Rutter teamed with fellow "Jeopardy!" champions Larissa Kelly and Dave Madden to win the "Jeopardy!" All-Star
12811432
DuPont Manual High School


, was the 1994 Teen Champion on "Jeopardy!". Three other Manual students have competed on "Jeopardy!". Manual's academic teams have also won both National Science Bowl and National Academic League championships, and achieved 7th place at the NAQT's High School National Championships. Manual has a history of one of the top policy debate programs in the state. In the 1990s Manual students won the Jefferson County championships most years and qualified teams for the National Forensic League tournament and the TOC Tournament of Champions. Manual has
21870033
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


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
19505436
List of Jeopardy! contestants


match and declined the prize money due to his office. Bob Verini was an undefeated five-time champion in 1987 and won the 1987 Tournament of Champions, using the money to finance several theatrical productions. He was then the runner-up in "Super Jeopardy!" and finished third in the Million Dollar Masters. He also appeared in both the Ultimate Tournament of Champions and the Battle of the Decades, both times losing his first game. Prior to Ken Jennings, Verini held the record for most matches appeared in.
4034070
List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


the Tournament of Champions. From 1987 to 1995, "Jeopardy!" featured a "Seniors Tournament", featuring 15 contestants all over the age of 50. The format of the tournament was structured similarly to the Tournament of Champions, with a top prize of at least $25,000. The tournament winner also received an automatic spot in the Tournament of Champions. Since the tournament's discontinuance, contestants over the age of 50 have regularly appeared on "Jeopardy!" in non-tournament games. When held, two Seniors
5145194
List of Jeopardy! contestants


Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He won $24,400 and defeated fellow "Jeopardy!" alumni Frank Epstein and Tom Cubbage in Round 1 of the tournament, but lost in Round 2 to fellow contestants Bruce Borchardt and Michael Daunt. In 2014, Harris competed in the Battle of the Decades. In his match, he finished in third place behind Shane Whitlock and Robin Carroll. Harris has written a book about his experiences on "Jeopardy!" called "Prisoner of Trebekistan." Besides appearing on "Jeopardy!", Harris
4034086
Harry Friedman


the show, Friedman also produced the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, in which 145 former champions played for a top prize of $2,000,000; Jennings, seeded as the only automatic finalist, pocketed $500,000 when he came in second to Brad Rutter, who won the top prize, with Jerome Vered placing third and collecting $250,000. Friedman continues to add new "Jeopardy!" formats, such as the 2009-2010 Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, in which 27 players from past Celebrity "Jeopardy!" matches returned to compete
4414105
List of Jeopardy! contestants


competed in the 1998 Tournament of Champions, but lost his quarterfinal match to Teen Tournament winner Sahir Islam. Seven years later, in 2005, Phillips competed in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He won his first match, winning $8,800. However, he lost his second round match, finishing behind Eric Terzuolo and former College Championship winner Pam Mueller, and was subsequently eliminated. Eddie Timanus (born August 9, 1968) was the first blind contestant to compete on the show, appearing in October 1999. He
4034088
Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament


Games in 2019 (where he competed as Captain of his team of three players) along with 2015 winner Jennifer Giles (who competed as a member of team Buzzy Cohen). 2013 winner John Pearson was the alternate of the All-Star Games appearing in the audience on Facebook live. 2016 winner Jason Sterlacci is the only other Teachers champion to advance out of the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions, advancing to the semifinals in the 2017 event. One Teachers Tournament winner, 2018's Larry Martin, died before reaching the
20049631
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


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
19505445
Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


Frankel and 1992 5 day champion Richard Kaplan had previously died, hence their absence. "Note: Totals given are from regular play, five games unless noted. Tournament winnings are used instead if player initially appeared in a tournament. Undefeated champions from Seasons 14–19 won cars. From Seasons 14–17, undefeated champions had their choice of one or two Chevrolet cars. Seasons 18–19 undefeated champions won Jaguars. College Champions won Dodge cars from 1993 until 1994, Volvo cars from 1995 until 2003, and a Volkswagen in 2004. The winners
15075071
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?


Federalist). However, his winnings of $500,000 were enough to regain the all-time game show winnings record from Brad Rutter, who had defeated him in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions to claim it (but Brad Rutter since reclaimed the title by winning in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades, where Rutter won the tournament, prize money of one million dollars, and the record as the highest money-winner ever on American game shows, which Jennings had held since 2008). Seven other contestants have
5801196
David Madden (Jeopardy! contestant)


to contractual issues. He was invited and was able to participate in the 2019 All-Star Games tournament featuring 18 past champions. Madden was selected as the 7th out of 12 picks in the All-Star Games Draft in September 2018, thus becoming a member of "Team Brad", led by the all-time US game show winnings leader, Brad Rutter, along with his former Princeton University Quiz Bowl teammate, Larissa Kelly who was the 6th pick in the draft. Team Brad won their first-round match
13648427
Brad Rutter


" history. Rutter returned for the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions, winning the tournament and $2,100,000. After his 2005 tournament win, in which he defeated Jennings and Jerome Vered in the finals, Rutter surpassed Jennings as the highest money-winner ever on American game shows. Jennings later regained his record by 2008 after appearing on various other game shows. There is a minor discrepancy between sources as to Rutter's total "Jeopardy!" winnings stemming from the prize structure of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Players who won
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


by Tom Walsh, who had won $186,900 in 2004. Jennings continued to win and eventually set a record of 74 wins before he was defeated by Nancy Zerg in his seventy-fifth appearance. Jennings's total winnings from the program amount to $3,022,700, which includes $2,522,700 won in his initial appearances and an additional $500,000 for his second-place finish in the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions. In addition, at the end of Season 20, he set a one-day record of $
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List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


field of 15 comprising the champions who have won the most games (with a minimum of three games to qualify). Champions with an equal number of wins are further ranked by total money earned in their wins (excluding the consolation prizes awarded in the game they lose). The Tournament of Champions lasts two weeks over ten episodes in a format devised by Trebek himself in 1985. The first week consists of five quarterfinal matches featuring three different champions each day. The winners of those five games, plus the four highest-
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Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


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
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Jerome Vered


failed to advance to the next round, winning $5,000 when he finished second to Cubbage. At that time, this placed Vered behind Rutter and Jennings, respectively, as the third highest-earning contestant in "Jeopardy!" history, having won a total of $359,301 across his original five wins, the 1992 Tournament of Champions, 2005's Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and 2014's Battle of the Decades. Although Vered is best known for his "Jeopardy!" prowess, he has also dominated in other quiz
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Arthur Chu


by reviewing tapes, study guides, game theory and "Jeopardy!" strategy. He made his debut on January 28, 2014, winning $37,000 in his first game. After winning 11 games, he lost his 12th game (which aired on March 12, 2014) to Diana Peloquin. Chu is the seventh highest-earning "Jeopardy!" champion in non-tournament gameplay, with a grand total of $298,200. Chu also won an additional $100,000 for taking second place in the 2014 Tournament of Champions
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List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


the two-week "Million Dollar Masters Tournament". The tournament featured the same two-week, three-round format as the traditional tournaments on "Jeopardy!" The event's first round ran from May 1 to May 7, and ended with the champions of all five games, as well as four "wild card" non-winners with the highest scores, moving on to the semi-finals. The three semifinal matches, televised on May 8–10, were won by two-time Teen Tournament winner Eric
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Jeopardy!


, leading hosts to remind them that they are not competing on "Jeopardy!" Starting in 1985, the show has held an annual Tournament of Champions featuring the top fifteen champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament. The top prize awarded to the winner was originally valued at $100,000, and increased to $250,000 in 2003. Other regular tournaments include the Teen Tournament, with a $100,000 top prize; the College Championship, in which undergraduate students from American colleges and universities compete for a $100,000
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List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


The winners of each qualifying game returned in May 2010 for three semi-final games, sans Andy Richter due to scheduling conflicts, and he was replaced by the highest scoring quarterfinal runner-up, Isaac Mizrahi. The semi-final winners competed in a two-day "total point" final to determine the grand champion in a format similar to other annual "Jeopardy!" tournaments. The winner of each qualifying game won a minimum of $50,000 for their charity (more if their post-"Final Jeopardy!" score exceeded
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Michael George Dupée


Final "Jeopardy!" He was defeated a second time in the "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades in 2014, where he lost by $2,300 to all-time "Jeopardy!" money winner Brad Rutter. Dupée's total earnings on "Jeopardy!" are $203,901, consisting of $66,401 from his original 5-day run, $100,000 prize in the 1996 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, $32,500 from the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and $5,000 from the Battle of the Decades
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


Games relay tournament with 2015 Teachers Tournament champion Jennifer Giles on Buzzy Cohen's team. Austin David "Buzzy" Cohen (born March 5, 1985) is a recording music industry executive from Los Angeles, California who won $164,603 over nine games in April and May 2016. Many of his victories were runaways (guaranteed victories), which allowed Cohen to wager nothing and use his final response to make sarcastic remarks toward Alex Trebek, a humorous style that earned him both praise and disdain from "Jeopardy!" fans.
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Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


, 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
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Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


of the 9 (Brad Rutter and Frank Spangenberg) advanced beyond their initial round (they all received an extra $15,000 at the end of their games). 135 of the 145 contestants involved in the tournament started in the first round. The tournament's twenty highest finishers are shown below in order of prize money won. Round 1, which started on February 9, 2005 and ended on April 12, 2005, featured 135 contestants competing for entry into Round 2. Unlike most "Jeopardy!" tournaments, in which
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Sports Jeopardy!


easily binge-watched. Under the returning champions format, four contestants won 5 consecutive games, including 15 day champion Vinny Varadarajan, 8 day champion Earl Holland, 6 day champion Eric Park, and 5 day champion Roy Hollis, with no tournament or final announced on-air for top winning contestants as of the most recent episodes. In April 2016, "Sports Jeopardy!" was acquired for television by NBCSN. Starting on August 6, 2016, the program aired nightly for the duration of the 2016 Summer Olympics after
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Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions


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: The standard tie-breaker round is in effect at the end of a quarterfinal, semifinal, or if the game is tied after the two-legged
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American game show winnings records


1992, while Rutter had won the 2001 Tournament of Champions and the 2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament and was the show's highest-earning contestant of all-time before Jennings. In the tournament's three-day final, Rutter defeated Jennings and Vered to win the tournament and $2,000,000, supplanting Jennings as the winningest all time American game show contestant in the process. Including the $1.18 million he had won in his previous "Jeopardy!" appearances (five regular season games, a Tournament of Champions win, the
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


to $442,400. Madden was invited to take part in 2014's Battle of the Decades "Jeopardy!" event, but declined to participate due to contractual issues. However, he was again invited and able to take part in its 2019 All-Star Games tournament, featuring 18 past champions. Madden was selected as the 7th out of 12 picks in the All-Star Games Draft in September 2018, thus becoming a member of "Team Brad" along with his former Princeton University Quiz Bowl teammate, Larissa Kelly who
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Ken Jennings


Rutter's "Jeopardy!" official record, as the competition was deemed an exhibition. Jennings wrote about playing against Watson for "Slate". In 2014, "Jeopardy!" aired a special 5-week Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades tournament. Jennings made it to the finals along with Brad Rutter and Roger Craig. Jennings placed second, winning a $100,000 prize, and Rutter won first place, securing a $1,000,000 prize. In the 2019 "Jeopardy!" All-Star Games, with 18 former champions,
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Roger Craig (Jeopardy! contestant)


Jeopardy! wagers to amass his totals. Holzhauer also surpassed Craig's records for most earnings won in a player's first five games and largest successful bet on a Daily Double. In 2011, Craig returned for the Tournament of Champions, which aired in November. In the quarter-final match, he had $200 shy of $40,000 going into Final Jeopardy! and won despite losing $20,200 after getting it wrong. In the semi-final match, described as "a bloody, epic, inter-planetary death
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The Challengers (game show)


filled by former champions. On the November 9 edition of the program, reigning champion Stan Newman won his second match and his total to that point made him one of the nine highest winners. In an unusual move, as many game shows that conduct tournaments like this do not feature sitting champions (including "Jeopardy!"), Newman interrupted his reign as champion to compete in the tournament. The final concluded on November 16, 1990 with Newman emerging victorious. He won over $40,000, including the $25,000 bonus
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


Ultimate Tournament of Champions, but lost his initial game. Tom Cubbage is the only contestant in "Jeopardy!" history to win both the show's College Championship and the Tournament of Champions. Cubbage became the first ever winner of the College Championship in May 1989, winning $26,600. In November of that same year, he was the $100,000 grand prize winner of the 1989 Tournament of Champions. He also appeared on "Super Jeopardy!" in 1990, and earned $5,000 for appearing as a quarterfinalist. 15
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List of Jeopardy! tournaments and events


the winner would earn his or her two-game total plus a $25,000 bonus. Frank Spangenberg won the tournament with a two-game score of $16,800 plus a $25,000 bonus for a total of $41,800. Tom Nosek finished second with $13,600, while Leslie Frates won the $7,500 guaranteed third place prize, which exceeded her score of $4,499. In May 2002, to commemorate the Trebek version's 4,000th episode, "Jeopardy!" invited 15 former champions to Radio City Music Hall to participate in
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Jeopardy! (franchise)


written by Tournament of Champions winner Michael Dupée, serve as preparation aids for the "Jeopardy!" contestant hopeful; and "Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" (2006), by 74-game winner Ken Jennings and "Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!" (2006), written by comedian and former contestant Bob Harris, provide the insights of the extensive "Jeopardy!" experiences of two other notable champions who subsequently became authors of several books each. The earliest
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Jeopardy!


provided cash prizes to the losing contestants (, GEICO serves as the presenting sponsor of the consolation prizes). The winner of each episode returns to compete against two new contestants on the next episode. Originally, a contestant who won five consecutive days retired undefeated and was guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions; the five-day limit was eliminated at the beginning of season 20 on September 8, 2003. Since November 2014, ties for first place following Final Jeopardy! are broken with a tie-breaker clue,
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Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


the Decades (May 2014). During the offseason between Seasons 21 and 22, select matches from the Ultimate Tournament of Champions were aired as part of the slate of "Jeopardy!" summer reruns. In addition to its then-recent acquisition of episodes from seasons 20 & 21, GSN also acquired the rights to air the entire Ultimate Tournament of Champions, with the episodes beginning their airings on December 11, 2008. The 2006 DVD release "Jeopardy!: An Inside Look at America's Favorite Quiz Show" features
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Jeopardy!


prize of $1 million, which IBM divided between two charities (World Vision International and World Community Grid). Jennings, who won $300,000 for second place, and Rutter, who won the $200,000 third-place prize, both pledged to donate half of their winnings to charity. The competition brought the show its highest ratings since the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. In 2019, The All-Star Games had six teams with three former champions each. Each team member played one of the three rounds in each game
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Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions


had set the previous all-time "Jeopardy!" prize money record in the 2002 Million Dollar Masters tournament, while Vered had set a single-day winnings record in 1992 that (if adjusted for the doubling of clue values) stood for twelve years until Jennings (in his 38th game) broke it. Rutter decisively won the three-game final, claiming the tournament title and the $2,000,000 prize, while Jennings finished second and collected $500,000, with Vered finishing third and taking home $250,000. Rutter also
15075067
Arthur Phillips


New York. He was featured on the July 27, 2007, episode of "This American Life", reading his short story "Wenceslas Square." The story is being produced for film by Amazon Studios, with a script by Phillips, to be directed by Sophia Takal. Before becoming a best-selling novelist, Phillips was a five-time champion on "Jeopardy!" in 1997. In 2005, he competed in the "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He won his opening-round game
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


! Champions". Richard Cordray (born May 3, 1959) was an undefeated five-time "Jeopardy!" champion in 1987, while still serving as a law clerk, and appeared in the 1987 Tournament of Champions. Cordray parleyed his success on "Jeopardy!" into political office, serving as an Ohio State Legislator, Attorney General of Ohio, and later as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He was a participant in the Battle of the Decades Tournament, but was defeated in the first
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Jeopardy!


and $100,000 – one-third of the $300,000 second-place prize – in the 2019 "Jeopardy!" All-Star Games, as captain of a three-person team of former champions. This brings his lifetime "Jeopardy!"-related winnings to $3,522,700. The record holder for lifetime "Jeopardy!"-related winnings is Brad Rutter, who has won a cumulative total of $4,355,102 across five episodes of the regular series (when the rules stipulated that a contestant who won five consecutive days retired undefeated) and six "Jeopardy!
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Jeopardy!


Music Hall in New York City. The Ultimate Tournament of Champions aired in 2005 and pitted 145 former "Jeopardy!" champions against each other, with two winners moving on to face Ken Jennings in a three-game final for $2,000,000, the largest prize in the show's history; overall, the tournament spanned 15 weeks and 76 episodes, starting on February 9 and ending on May 25. In 2014, "Jeopardy!" commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Trebek version with a Battle of the Decades tournament,
18665375
Matt Jackson (Jeopardy! contestant)


in both consecutive games won and total regular-play earnings Jackson returned in November 2015 for the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions. On the November 11 episode he won his quarterfinal game and moved on to the next round. On the November 18 episode he won his semifinal game to advance to the finals. In the two-day final aired on November 19 and 20, Jackson finished second, behind Alex Jacob, winning $100,000. Jackson appeared in the show's "All-Star Games", which aired
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Jay Wolpert


Jay Wolpert (born in The Bronx, New York) is an American television producer and screenwriter. Wolpert's first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version of "Jeopardy!" in 1969. He competed in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions that year and won. Wolpert's upset win was notable for defeating the two highest-winning contestants in regular "Jeopardy!" play up to that point, Jane Gschwend and Elliot Shteir. Wolpert began his game show-producing career working for Dan Enright
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Jeopardy!


's ratings and popularity to the point where it became TV's highest-rated syndicated program. In addition to these winnings on the daily "Jeopardy!" series, Jennings returned for a number of "Jeopardy!" special tournaments, taking the second-place prize of $500,000 in the 2005 "Jeopardy!" Ultimate Tournament of Champions, the $300,000-second-place prize in the 2011 "Jeopardy!" IBM Challenge, the $100,000-second-place prize in the 2014 "Jeopardy!" Battle of the Decades,
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List of Jeopardy! contestants


he was the only contestant with two of the top ten one-day totals: $69,000 on October 3, 2017 (third place) and $65,600 on October 2, 2017 (seventh place). In the 2017 Tournament of Champions, Rogers finished third behind Buzzy Cohen and second-place finisher Alan Lin. All three finalists (including Seth Wilson) appeared at the "Jeopardy!" All-Star Games tournament relay in 2019. Austin was also a contestant on "Cash Cab". He won $2,400
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Chuck Forrest


competitors] don't." Host Alex Trebek has expressed aggravation with people who use the Forrest Bounce, noting that the show's writers purposely set up the clues in each category to flow when picked sequentially. Forrest and Mark Lowenthal, a five-time champion in Season 4, co-wrote the 1992 book "Secrets of the "Jeopardy" Champions". Like Forrest, Lowenthal won his Tournament of Champions. A revised edition of the book was released in 2017 as an Amazon Kindle book. In 1992, Forrest
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Roger Craig (Jeopardy! contestant)


Roger Alan Craig (born 1977) is an American game show contestant and computer scientist. He held the record for highest single-day winnings on the quiz show "Jeopardy!" from September 14, 2010 (surpassing Ken Jennings) to April 9, 2019 (when James Holzhauer surpassed him). In 2011, Craig returned to win the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions. In 2014, he competed in the Battle of the Decades tournament, finishing third overall behind Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. Craig, who
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Jeopardy! (franchise)


: "Inside Jeopardy!: What Really Goes on at TV's Top Quiz Show" (1993), written by former "Jeopardy!" writer and producer Harry Eisenberg, was reissued in 1995 as "Jeopardy!: A Revealing Look Inside TV's Top Quiz Show" with several allegations of scandal removed; "Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions" (1992), written by Tournament of Champions winners Chuck Forrest and Mark Lowenthal, and "How to Get on Jeopardy! and Win!" (1998),
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