You’re a winner! (CREDIT: Jeopardy!/Screenshot)
Oh, hello there! Well, you guessed it: it’s time for another Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions reaction episode. Bob Malone is on the call once again with Jeff.
That’s Auntertainment! 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
February 23, 2025
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2022 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Preview
October 29, 2022
Jeopardy!, Television 2022 Tournament of Champions, Amy Schneider, Andrew He, Brian Chang, Christine Whelcheel, Courtney Shah, Eric Ahasic, Jackie Kelly, Jaskaran Singh, Jeopardy!, Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, Jessica Stephens, John Focht, Jonathan Fisher, Margaret Shelton, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Maureen O'Neil, Megan Wachspress, Rowan Ward, Ryan Long, Sam Buttrey, ToC, Tyler Rhode, Zach Newkirk Leave a comment
Champions is as Champions does (CREDIT: Jeopardy!)
Tournament of Champions Season is upon us! Jeopardy! has invited its super-dupe-rest recent victors to duke it out for our enjoyment. The format is a little different this time, with 21 contestants instead of the usual 15, and the top 3 (Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach) getting automatic byes into the semifinals. (Check out all the details here.)
In my years of prognosticating past ToCs, I’ve discovered that the champions who are on another level often do as well as you expect them to, but that there’s also plenty of room for surprises. With the revamped format, it’s even more in favor of the top seeds, but nobody should be counted out. So here are some cheerleader-y thoughts about each contestant:
2021 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Preview
May 13, 2021
Jeopardy!, Television 2021 Tournament of Champions, Andy Wood, Ben Henri, Jason Zuffranieri, Jennifer Quail, Jeopardy!, Karen Farrell, Kevin Walsh, Mackenzie Jones, Nibir Sarma, Paul Trifiletti, Ryan Bilger, Ryan Hemmel, Sam Kavanaugh, Sarah Jett Rayburn, Steve Moulds, ToC, Tournament of Champions, Veronic Vichit-Vadakan 2 Comments
CREDIT: Jeopardy!
When it comes to my game show fandom, there’s no semi-regular occasion I look forward to more than Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions. For the past few ToC’s, I’ve been handicapping the field in an attempt to identify the probable champions. My guesses have been decent thus far, as each of my #1 picks has made it to the Finals each time (and at least one of them won it all). But I’ve also come to realize that the entire ToC field is always filled with potential diamonds. You gotta keep an eye out for everybody. Having said that, I do feel confident in identifying certain favorites based on their performances in their initial winning streaks. So listed below are the 5 contestants in this year’s ToC who have impressed me the most, and listed below them are the other 10 contestants, who have also impressed me. (And sadly not included on the list is Brayden Smith, who won 6 games over December and January but passed away unexpectedly before the ToC.)
Handicapping the 2019 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
November 1, 2019
Jeopardy!, Television 2019 Tournament of Champions, Alan Dunn, Anneke Garcia, Dhruv Gaur, Emma Boettcher, Eric R. Backes, Francois Barcomb, Gilbert Collins, James Holzhauer, Jeopardy!, Josh Hill, Kyle Jones, Lindsey Shultz, Rachel Lindgren, Rob Worman, Ryan Fenster, Steven Grade, ToC, Tournament of Champions 2 Comments
CREDIT: Jeopardy/YouTube
Fifteen of the most memorable recent Jeopardy! champions are returning for the latest edition of the Tournament of Champions, airing November 4-15. The big favorite is of course James Holzhauer, holder of many a Jeopardy! record. Based on their performances in their initial appearances, here is my ranking of who is most likely to emerge victorious. My analysis is based on a mix of playing style, average win total, and gut feeling. Quite frankly, everyone after James is pretty tightly packed.
Also, for the second Tournament of Champions in a row, a contestant who would have been eligible was unable to return, as 2018 Teachers Tournament winner Larry Martin passed away earlier this year.
(I have not included five-game winner Steven Grade in the rankings, because I know him personally, but I will say that I know he has spent plenty of time studying.)
1. James Holzhauer (32 Wins) – It’s not impossible to beat James, but it is improbable, even more so in a tournament format.
2. Josh Hill (7 Wins) – Josh has a tendency to look down before he selects a clue, which makes me think he has a sneaky secret about how strong his chances are.
3. Emma Boettcher (3 Wins) – The James Dethroner has the lowest win total of anyone in the tournament, but the second-highest average per-game earnings.
4. Francois Barcomb (Teachers Tournament Champion) – One of the better recent Teachers Tournament winners.
5. Ryan Fenster (7 Wins) – Hopefully he knows at least one thing about football now.
6. Eric R. Backes (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, because I believe Eric had the goods to keep going even longer.
7. Anneke Garcia (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, becauseI believe Anneke had the goods to keep going even longer.
8. Lindsey Shultz (4 Wins) – The four-time curse was very much a real thing, because I believe Lindsey had the goods to keep going even longer.
9. Alan Dunn (5 Wins) – Easily the winner of the best facial hair of this field.
10. Kyle Jones (7 Wins) – Kyle kind of looks like Kirstin Cutts, a four-time winner back in 2017.
11. Rob Worman (6 Wins) – Probably the champion I remember least of this field, so maybe he’ll surprise me!
12. Gilbert Collins (5 Wins) – Does his promise to give his kids 1% of his winnings still apply now that he’s in the ToC?
13. Rachel Lindgren (5 Wins) – She was a solid five-game winner, but an average of less than $20,000 per win gives me a little pause about her chances.
14. Dhruv Gaur (College Tournament Champion) – The college winner always looks strong compared to the other college players, but the step up to the big leagues is a tough one.
Handicapping the 2017 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
November 3, 2017
Jeopardy!, Television 2017 Tournament of Champions, Alan Lin, Andrew Pau, Austin Rogers, Buzzy Cohen, David Clemmons, Hunter Appler, Jason Sterlacci, Jeopardy!, Jon Eisenman, Justin Vossler, Lilly Chin, Lisa Schlitt, Pranjal Vachaspati, Sam Deutsch, Seth Wilson, Tim Aten, ToC, Tournament of Champions 3 Comments
CREDIT: Jeopardy!
The latest round of Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions is airing November 6-17, and I’m here to rank the contestants in order of how likely I think they are to take the $250,000 grand prize.
(Special mention must be made of Cindy Stowell, who passed away from cancer after winning 6 games. She probably would have been in my top 3 had she survived long enough to make it to the ToC.)
1. Austin Rogers – His personality may rub some viewers the wrong way, but he understands how to play the game better than anyone else in this group, and his resilient attitude goes a long way.
2. Andrew Pau – He survived a gauntlet in his first game (one of the best non-tournament episodes ever) and went on to average nearly $30,000 per win.
3. Tim Aten – A steady competitor with his eyes on the prize.
4. Pranjal Vachaspati – Honestly, after the first two, there’s a huge drop in expectations, but I do remember Pranjal’s friendliness taking him far.
5. Seth Wilson – He won 12 games, which seems crazy in retrospect. But you gotta respect anyone who has a double digit streak.
6. Buzzy Cohen – Outside of Austin, this Simpsons lawyer lookalike is the most divisive player, but (even though he won 9 games) he’s nowhere near as impressive.
7. Sam Deutsch – Sam’s a strong College Tournament champ, but his presence mostly makes me sad that we won’t see College runner-up Niki Peters here.
8. Lilly Chin – Lilly’s also a strong College champ who I do not think will be intimidated by her adult competition.
9. Hunter Appler – At this point, we’re getting into the territory of, “Oh, I kind of remember him winning a lot.”
10. Lisa Schlitt – Lisa always looked shocked when she won. It will serve her best to come in expecting to win this time around.
11. Jason Sterlacci – Outside of Colby Burnett, I’ve never been much impressed by a Teachers Tournament champ, though I wouldn’t be shocked if this Dr. Rich from Community doppelgänger pulls off a run to the final.
12. Justin Vossler – Justin kind of looks like 2015 ToC champ Alex Jacob, but he’s nowhere near as idiosyncratic.
13. Alan Lin – I might be underestimating Alan. Or overestimating. I’m really not sure.
14. Jon Eisenman – I know I watched this guy’s episodes, but I don’t much remember what happened in them.
15. David Clemmons – The level of play in David’s Teachers Tournament was kind of meh.
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