Controversial ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Yogesh Raut Gets Shock Tournament of Champions Invite
This… Is… Jeopardy!
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Jeopardy!‘s upcoming Tournament of Champions (TOC) seems to have settled on its field of 27, which includes one surprising name: three-day Season 39 winner Yogesh Raut.
Raut, a freelance writer and podcaster from Springfield, Illinois, drew criticism during his time on the show for what some perceived as “arrogance” and “bad sportsmanship.” At the time, he clapped back at his critics in a series of Facebook posts, where he also ranted against Jeopardy! itself.
His outspoken posts made many believe he would be disqualified from future appearances on the long-running game show. However, that isn’t the case, as host Ken Jennings surprised Raut with his TOC invite live on Oregon’s KATU2 ABC.
“I’m sorry to have to break this to you, but we are not going to be able to invite you back for our Champions Wildcard competition as you were probably expecting,” Jennings said in a video message. “But that’s because you’re going straight to the Tournament of Champions.”
KATU2 ABC
Raut was clearly taken aback by the news as he struggled to find the right words to say. “I’ve watched all the Tournament of Champions,” he shared. “Growing up, that was always an aspiration of mine, so… that’s awesome!”
The controversial champ will join super champs Cris Pannullo and Ray LaLonde in the upcoming TOC, as well as fan favorites such as Hannah Wilson, Ben Chan, and Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barinholtz. The eight winners of the Champions Wildcard (both the Seasons 37 & 38 edition and the upcoming Season 39 edition) will also take part in TOC.
According to TheJeopardyFan.com, other three-time champions from Season 39 will join Raut in the tournament, including Kevin Belle, Sean McShane, Emmett Stanton, Jake DeArruda, Brian Henegar, Melissa Klapper, and Jared Watson, all of whom are reported to have received their invites.
You can keep up to date with the TOC tracker here.
Fans had mixed reactions to Raut’s inclusion in the upcoming tournament, especially after the way he blasted the show in his previous Facebook rants.
In one of his posts, Raut said Jeopardy was “not important,” stating, “Jeopardy has not nor will ever be the Olympics of quizzing… Jeopardy is not the problem; its centrality to American quizzing culture is…. There will never be healthy quizzing culture in this country until we can learn to stop pretending Jeopardy! is important.”
One fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum wrote, “As much as [Raut] hates Jeopardy, he’s not going to say no to a chance to win $250k and to prove his haters wrong.”
“I get it’s a ratings draw but I am disappointed he is coming back after his comments and behavior. I will not be watching that day,” added another commenter.
“As much as his comments after the show annoyed me, I’ll be watching this. Hopefully he improved his buzzer technique since his original games,” another said.
Another wrote, “He has his issues but honestly I could see him making some waves. His trivia knowledge was top tier and buzzer technique is some that theoretically he should be able to improve.”
As for when viewers can see the TOC, well, there is still a bit of a wait. The show is nearing the end of its first Champions Wildcard tournament, which sees brief winners from Seasons 37 and 38 (plus the recent Second Chance winners) competing to earn a spot in the TOC.
Following the Champions Wildcard, there will be another Second Chance tournament for Season 39 contestants, then another Wildcard tournament for brief winners from Season 39. This means the TOC will likely start in late February 2024.
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