‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Sam Kavanaugh Gets Candid About Controversial Show Changes

Sam Kavanaugh, who went on a five-day Jeopardy! winning streak in 2019 and won the 2021 Tournament of Champions, has shared his thoughts on changes to the game show, including its recent obsession with tournaments.

Speaking with The U.S. Sun, Kavanaugh opened up about competing on the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament earlier this year and whether he thinks the show runs too many tournaments.

“That series of all the different tournaments and everything, I think a certain segment of the viewership are people who see themselves up there,” Kavanaugh said. “So, when you’re seeing that there aren’t new people up there, I’m sure that felt discouraging for a lot of people.”

Jeopardy‘s 40th season saw a change in format due to the Hollywood writers’ strike, which meant the show continued with recycled questions and former contestants. This led to a string of tournaments, including two sets of Second Chance tournaments, two sets of Champions Wildcard tournaments, the JIT!, and the 2024 Tournament of Champions.

This meant new players didn’t appear on the show until April. Season 40 wrapped up last week on Friday, July 26.

“Now that they’re back into regular play, and this is sort of the big challenge: Balancing the people who are coming back, old favorites, some of those familiar faces and people who have perfected the game and that sort of spirit of anyone off the street,” Kavanaugh continued. “People watch it and prepare for it; that’s a big part of the audience.”

Kavanaugh, who made it to the semi-finals of the JIT!, went on to say, “There’s a lot of latent talent out there; I hope that for everyone’s sake, the show is able to [find that balance] and continue to grow in that direction.”

He also added that part of Jeopardy!‘s appeal is saying regular folk compete on TV. “One of the joys of the show is, ‘oh, you’re a waiter,’ and you watch them do well, and it’s super affirming,” he stated.

Kavanaugh also revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets from his time on JIT!, including why the “say the full name of the category” rule was quickly dropped. He confessed that he and his fellow JIT! players refused to follow the rule, so it was soon removed.

He also said he was a fan of them increasing the consolation prizes to $3,000 and $2,000 in Season 40.

“Going forward, I do have a lot of faith in how they run things,” Kavanaugh shared, referring to the show’s executive producer Michael Davies. “One particular example that slid under the table a little bit under Michael Davies’ tenure is they increased the consolation prizes. There wasn’t really pressure to do that I think it was just the right thing to do.”

He continued, “It’s really heartening to see that because if you have someone coming in with plenty of money and time, that is not an issue. But if someone is a single parent, working an hourly job, you’re losing money when it’s $1,000 for the third place consolation prize.”

“That used to discourage a lot of people to try out. For me, I would have lost money in 2019 if I placed third. That was really good and shows they’re thinking how to cultivate a good contestant pool,” Kavanaugh concluded.

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