Why ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Cris Pannullo Is ‘Dreading’ Tournament of Champions

Martin Holmes August 30, 2023, 1:20 pm

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Cris Pannullo on 'Jeopardy!' — Jeopardy!, Inc.

Jeopardy! super champ Cris Pannullo is feeling the pressure for the 2023 Tournament of Champions as he enters as the frontrunner after becoming Season 39’s biggest winner.

The former poker pro won an impressive 21 games and $748,000 during his run on the beloved game show, putting him in the top ten list for most consecutive wins and highest winnings, sitting among greats such as Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Amy Schneider. This makes him the man to beat heading into the next TOC.

“I was thrilled just to be able to go to the studio once for a single tape day and play in a single episode, but now I’ve had 22 games over six tape days… every time I go out there, it’s sort of like a childhood dream re-accomplished and relived. So knowing I get to go back again, it’s a dream come true,” Pannullo told show producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss on the latest episode of the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast.

He continued, “I know it’ll be harder this time because everyone out there for the TOC is really, really good, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Pannullo will face off against other Season 39 champions, such as Ben Chan, Hannah Wilson, Luigi de Guzman, and Troy Meyer, and he isn’t taking his competition lightly.

“I think there are some incremental improvements I can make, and I’ll hopefully make those,” the New Jersey native said. “But like Ben [Chan] said, everyone there is really good. And a lot of people could have probably won 10 games or more this year.”

“When you think about how they lost, Troy ran into Jake DeArruda, who’s really, really good; Hannah ran into Ben; Ben lost by misspelling a single letter; Luigi lost because he didn’t wager enough on a question he got right,” Pannullo explained. “So all of these people who are really, really good and who I’m sort of dreading playing, but also looking forward to, they all went out in a way that is… Jeopardy is a minefield, and you never know when you’re going to step on that mine.”

He added, “You never know when your next opponent is Yogesh [Raut], Jake, Ben Chan… there’s always another potential super champion waiting for you.”

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Pannullo is one of 13 contestants who have qualified for the 2023 TOC, alongside the aforementioned Ben Chan (9 wins), Hannah Wilson (8 wins), Troy Meyer (6 wins), and Luigi de Guzman (5 wins).

Other TOC qualifiers include High School Reunion Tournament winner Justin Bolsen; Ray LaLonde (13 wins); Stephen Webb (8 wins); Suresh Krishnan (6 wins); Ben Goldstein (5 wins); Matthew Marcus (4 wins); David Sibley (4 wins); and Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barinholtz.

There is no word yet on when the 2023 TOC will air due to the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes. Jeopardy! is currently airing summer re-runs and will then premiere Season 40 on September 11 with a Second Chance tournament featuring Season 37 contestants and using recycled material and material written pre-strike.

Several TOC qualifiers, including Pannullo, previously said they would only participate in filming once the strikes were resolved.

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