‘Jeopardy!’: Your Ultimate Guide to the Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy!‘s annual Tournament of Champions is upon us as the 2022 two-week event features returning winners from the past season who are all competing for the same top prize.
And what a matchup its sure to be with competitors such as Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach on the loose! Below, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the must-see Tournament of Champions ranging from contestants and matchups to who is favored to win among the best of the best.
Who are the contestants?
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
The Tournament of Champions features a slew of intelligent and talented competitors who will face off in the various matches set to take place. Among this year’s crop of contestants are Ryan Long, Jonathan Fisher, Brian Chang, Courtney Shah, Eric Ahasic, Zach Newkirk, Amy Schneider, Megan Wachspress, Andrew He, Tyler Rhode, Rowan Ward, Jaskaran Singh, Jessica Stephens, Matt Amodio, Mauren O’Neil, Christine Whelchel, Margaret Shelton, John Focht, Jackie Kelly, Sam Buttrey, and Mattea Roach.
What are the match-ups?
Monday, October 31 – Ryan Long, Megan Wachspress & Maureen O’Neil
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
Rideshare driver Ryan Long will go up against environmental attorney Megan Wachspress, and executive assistant Maureen O’Neil in the first Quarterfinals matchup of the tournament.
Tuesday, November 1 – Jonathan Fisher, Andrew He & Christine Whelchel
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
Meanwhile, Florida-based actor Jonathan Fisher, software developer Andrew He, and graduate assistant Christine Whelchel will play against one another for a spot in the Semifinals.
Wednesday, November 2 – Brian Chang, Tyler Rhode & Margaret Shelton
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
On the third day of the competition, attorney Brian Chang, start-up director Tyler Rhode, and Pittsburgh-based homemaker Margaret Shelton will compete for a chance to move forward in the tournament.
Thursday, November 3 – Courtney Shah, Rowan Ward & John Focht
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
And on Thursday, November 3, community college instructor Courtney Shah, Second Chance winner Rowan Ward, and software team lead John Focht will play America’s favorite game once more.
Friday, November 4 – Eric Ahasic, Jaskaran Singh & Jackie Kelly
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Closing out the first week of games is meteorologist Eric Ahasic, consultant Jaskaran Singh, and pension calculation developer Jackie Kelly.
Monday, November 7 – Zach Newkirk, Jessica Stephens & Sam Buttrey
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
Week 2 will pick up with the last Quarterfinal game between attorney Zach Newkirk, statistical research specialist Jessica Stephens, and associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School Sam Buttrey.
Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio & Mattea Roach
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
Meanwhile, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach will participate in the following three games as part of the Semifinals. The super champs got to skip the first round of competition and will play against advancing Quarterfinals winners. Only time will tell what the matchups will be.
Who is the favorite to win?
When it comes to favorites, the fact that Jeopardy! advanced three of its super champs, Schneider, Amodio, and Roach to the Semifinals speaks volumes. Clearly, they’re favored to win, but will an upset be on the horizon? If Jeopardy! has proven anything over the years, it’s that anything can happen when playing America’s favorite game show.
Who are dark horse candidates?
Based on stats, the competitor with the highest accuracy level for answering questions is Professors Tournament winner Sam Buttrey who slightly edges out Amy Schneider with his 96.1% average of correct responses, outdoing her 95.3%. Ryan Long and Jonathan Fisher are also potential dark horses as they were among the Top 5 most-winning Jeopardy! champs in this tournament behind Schneider, Amodio, and Roach.
What’s the format?
The Tournament consists of three rounds beginning with six Quarterfinal games featuring 18 players. The six winners from each of those games will move on to compete in the Semifinals alongside automatically advancing players Schneider, Amodio, and Roach. The winner of each Semifinal game will advance to the Finals where the three remaining competitors will battle for the top honor of Tournament of Champions winner.
(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)
What do the fans think?
It’s no secret that fans are rooting for super champions like Schneider, Amodio, and Roach, but Long is also among the online chatter for favored players. But we want to hear from you, let us know which players you think could take the top prizes by sounding off in our comments section, below, and stay tuned to see how the competition unfolds as Jeopardy!‘s annual Tournament of Champions commences.
Jeopardy!, Tournament of Champions, Begins Monday, October 31, Check your local listings
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Conversation16 Comments
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Pulling for Jonathan today.
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C
Thought the categories for Night One were particularly difficult. Would have liked to see how either Ken or James would have done on some of those.
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On March 6, 2023 on Jeopardy Teen show the Black contestant Stephanie, gave what I thought was the Wright answer and even the judges didn’t make the correction.. The question on Katherine Johnson!
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O
Amy all the way
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I just love it all! Great competitions so far. Would love to see it come down to Matt and Amy in the spirit of Ken and James. Personally was glad Rowan didn’t advance. Smart, but too giggly and over-enthusiastic.
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Andrew He performed very well (except for not even trying to guess Brutus on a substantial Daily Double - an easy one); Rowan Ward should also do very well. Two surprising upsets so far - neither Ryan nor Jonathan were on top of their games. Shows anyone can win.
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Long is already out...
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All in for Ryan! Only a few other favs on my short list; the top three are of no interest to me.
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G
It's clear that many really intelligent people are decidedly unattractive.
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It stands to reason that less attractive/popular young people have more time to read and study.
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I hate the way they're doing this years tournamen of champions. I'm sorry but giving your top 3 players from last year a bye into the semi-finals is ludicrous. They should earn they're way to the finals like any other player.
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Why? Rookie tennis players don't get to play top seed players. Upcoming boxers don't fight champs. These competitors are minor league right now. Some will work their way up to be real contenders.
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I will agree with the OP. Everyone shld have played in the first round. Look at Ryan Long. He was a top winner and he face planted in his first match. People seem to forget that Amy S cld have easily lost her first match and not even be in this. She had to have the champion miss in the final round to win. I think Jeopardy clearly did not want any of the top 3 winners to have any possibility of being upset. And many tennis tournaments the top seeds play wild cards or unranked players in the first round and it is fun when they are upset.
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The top 3 are being rewarded in the same way pole positions and starting order is determined in car racing. Qualifiers.
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R
Interesting. So the drivers in the top rows get to skip the first few laps so they don't wreck? I didn't know that. I must have been watching it wrong. Fascinating. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
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The pole position goes to the highest qualifier and the starting order trickles down to the lowest ones being in the back rows. That puts the best at the head of the pack. Was the analogy lost on you?
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