Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions facts for kids
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is a special yearly competition on the popular American TV game show Jeopardy!. It brings together the 15 contestants who have won the most games during the past season. This exciting tournament first started way back in 1964 when Art Fleming was the host. It has continued since 1985 on the current version of the show, which was hosted by Alex Trebek for many years.
Contents
How the Tournament Works
The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions usually takes place over two weeks. It's a big event where the best players compete for a grand prize!
Quarterfinals: The First Round
The first five games are called the quarterfinals. In each game, three new contestants play. The person who wins each of these five games moves on to the next stage, called the semi-finals.
But wait, there's a twist! Four other players also get to move on. These are the four losing contestants from the quarterfinals who had the highest scores. They are called "wild card" players.
If a game ends in a tie, the players get a special "Final Jeopardy!"-style question. The first player to buzz in with the correct answer wins that game. If all three players end up with a score of zero, none of them move on to the semi-finals. In this rare case, an extra wild card spot is added for another high-scoring loser.
Semifinals and Finals: The Road to Victory
After the quarterfinals, the next three games are the semi-final games. The three winners of these semi-final games then move on to the grand finals.
The last two games are the two-day finals. In both of these final games, the contestants start with zero scores. Their final scores from both days are added together. The contestant with the highest total score after the two days wins the entire tournament! The other two finalists win smaller cash prizes.
Special Tournaments
Sometimes, Jeopardy! holds extra special versions of the Tournament of Champions. These are even bigger competitions!
Million Dollar Masters
In 2002, the show held a "Million Dollar Masters" tournament. This was a two-week event where the winner took home a huge prize of $1,000,000! It was filmed in a famous place: Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Ultimate Tournament of Champions
In 2005, Jeopardy! had an "Ultimate Tournament of Champions". This was a massive 15-week tournament with 145 contestants! The two players who made it to the very end got to play against the legendary Jeopardy! champion, Ken Jennings, for an amazing $2,000,000 prize!
Prizes for Champions
The prizes for the Tournament of Champions have changed over the years. Here's a look at what contestants could win:
| Year(s) | Finalists (guaranteed amounts) | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Second place | Third place | |||
| 1964–1974 | All players kept their total cash scores | none | |||
| 1985 | $100,000 | Kept their total cash scores | $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 | |||
