JEOPARDY! viewers craving to see big winners battle it out are about to have their patience pay off.
Here's everything to know about the 2024 Tournament of Champions before its February 23 premiere and who fans are banking on winning.
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The 2024 Tournament of Champions, hosted by Ken Jennings, 49, is finally just days away.
The annual $250,000 event was delayed due to this summer’s WGA strike, and in the meantime, an onslaught of Wildcard and Second Chance contests have ensued.
However, it's back, and with an unprecedented 27 contestants (the largest playing field ever), it will be epic.
Unlike the previous Tournament of Champions, won by its top seed Amy Schneider, this year is all about settling the score.
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Many contestants lost their initial runs sooner than expected or in controversial ways, while others became plain controversial.
Reacquaint yourself with the game show stars looking to cement their icon status at all costs.
CRIS PANNULLO
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Cris, 38, the operations success manager and former professional poker player from Ocean City, New Jersey, is the TOC’s frontrunner.
He stared down the clue board last fall, amassing 21 wins and $748,4286, the fifth-highest regular gameplay earnings in history.
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Taking a page from fellow gambler James Holhahzuer's book, Cris found 48 of 63 Daily Doubles during his streak, winning 17 of his 21 games in runaways.
He won by such huge margins that execs came up with a nickname for those who lost to him: “Pannullod.”
Fans were shocked by his abrupt defeat, as many thought he'd keep winning and become the next household name.
Cris’ love is his girlfriend Heather, who has been with him for 12 years, and he often incorporates her birthday into his wagers.
With no social media, he’s an enigma, but that hasn’t stopped fans from lusting over him or thinking he’ll pick up right where he left off.
BEN CHAN
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Ben Chan, the philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, amassed nine wins, $252,200, and set a record by winning all of his victories in runaways.
He was also in last season’s two most climactic games- one being that controversial Benedict Final Jeopardy ruling, in which a small spelling mistake on an otherwise correct Final Jeopardy! ended his run.
“I've kind of put it behind me, but every time I run into someone, they want to talk about it," Chan said on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.
"So maybe don't bring it up when you run into me."
Ben’s parents immigrated from Japan, and he wears his dad's keepsake Rolex explaining why, as fans noticed, he holds the buzzer "like it's a baby."
Ben fell ill from Covid and left after his third runaway win, which led to the second most climatic match of Season 39 against...
HANNAH WILSON
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While Ben was recovering last year, another streak was taking shape, that of Hannah Wilson
Hannah became a smash hit as she racked up eight wins and $229,801 in May.
Getting backing from Schneider on social media, the trans sensation (who, like Amy, had her wife in the audience) made her mark when Jeopardy! Masters Season 1 was airing in primetime.
However, Hannah’s run was arguably cut short by none other than Chan due to a co-returning-champion rarity match.
When Chan returned from his illness, he was unfortunately scheduled smack-dab in the middle of her run, and he "thrashed" her (her words).
If Hannah can beat Chan and win the ToC, she’d be the second trans contestant to do so in a row.
JUVERIA ZAHEER
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Amid this season's seemingly endless past player contests, a star was born in Juveria Zaheer.
The Whitby, Ontario, Psychiatrist is a mother of two daughters and the oldest of three siblings; her brother was a strategic standout on Survivor Season 42.
She initially arrived at Jeopardy! only to lose to Hannah Wilson last year, but she came back with a vengeance.
Juveria returned this season for a Second Chance contest, amassing a demoralizing $52,100 in just one match.
She became the fourth woman to break $50,000 in a single game of Jeopardy! and is the only Canadian to ever do so - her win there propelled her to Champions Wildcard.
There, she kept the money moves coming and triumphed, catapulting her into the ToC.
Winning three games in Second Chance and four games in Wildcard may be the most victories anyone's ever had to earn to get into a Tournament of Champions.
So, she has a recency bias, a Cinderella story, and plenty of fans on her side.
RAY LALONDE
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The second seed is Canadian TV set designer Ray LaLonde, who won 13 games and $386,200.
Ray, who worked on Hulu's Handmaid's Tale, won many of his episodes by the thinnest of margins, making for great TV.
Instead of "Daily Double hunting" like fellow ToC competitor Pannullo, Ray's calling card was going 12/14 in Final Jeopardy.
As a result, he won his 13th game by a scant $100 and another only when his rival was incorrect in the last round.
As fans have seen during the current Wildcard episodes, Final Jeopardy has been separating the wheat from the chaff, so with such a dangerous batting average, Ray shouldn't be underestimated.
TROY MEYER
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Troy Meyer, a music executive and online trivia whiz from Tampa, Florida, dominated last season with six victories and $214,802 in winnings.
He’s been one of the top quizzers in the United States for years in the invite-only online trivia club Learned League.
Troy's fifth win set a record that saw him rubbing elbows with the greats; at that point, he amassed a total of $170,401.
By Schneider's fifth win in 2022, she had won $170,400, or $1 less.
In doing so, Troy boasted the best five-day total since James Holzhauer, so even if his run ended shortly after, the longtime trivia titan is a legacy pick.
YOGESH RAUT
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In a major twist, all three-day winners from last season received surprise invites from Ken Jennings via their local news stations (the contest is usually for four-day-plus winners).
That means fans are in for the return of another pro quizzer, the infamous Yogesh.
Yogesh, a blogger, podcaster, and self-professed quiz whiz originally from Springfield, Illinois, won $96,403 in just three episodes.
He drew backlash after the show for his various Facebook rants where he blasted Jeopardy!'s culture, and fans were shocked as many thought he'd be banned from competing again.
If Yogesh can get his buzzer skills under control, he'll surely make it deep into the tournament.
FANS PREDICT WINNER
Fans took to a Reddit internet thread with the tournament just days away, naming the clear frontrunners.
One fan posted: "I’m very compelled to root for Juveria in the Tournament of Champions; she has some serious momentum heading into it."
Another replied: "She's going to run into a brick wall with Chris Panullo tho."
A third wrote: "Hoping for a Juveria-Pannullo-Lalonde final."
A fourth wrote: "Imagine a Hannah, Ben Chan, Juveria final for the TOC."
And a fifth: "Hannah's winning streak was incredible. Very unstoppable with tons of Knowledge to her credit."
A sixth backed Troy: "his dominance in LearnedLeague is really impressive."
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Counting last year's Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barenholtz (and one more Wildcard winner), the ToC will have 27 competitors in total.
WHO IS: ALSO COMPETING?
- 2022 Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike barinholtz
- 2023 High School Reunion Tournament winner Justin Bolsen
- Champions Wildcard winner and math whiz Josh Saak
- Bubbly Champions Wildcard winner Emily Sands
- Champions Wildcard winner Nick Cascone
- Bowtie-boasting Champions Wildcard winner Yungsheng Wang
- The winner of the now-airing Season 39 Champions Wildcard Group 2
- Daily Double-blind Stephen Webb, 8 wins and $184,881
- Suresh Krishnan, 6 wins and $96,595
- Mustachioed Luigi de Guzman, 5 wins and $140,700
- Ben Goldstein 5 wins and (a record low) $49,298
- Brit Lit lover Matthew Marcus, 4 wins and $114,200
- Priest David Sibley, 4 wins and $78,098
- Long Island "hater" Sean McShane, 3 wins and $80,401
- Emmett Stanton, 3 wins and $72,600
- The "annoying" Jake DeArruda, 3 wins and $68,661
- Brian Henegar (who changed up his viral facial hair) 3 wins and $68,202
- Melissa Klapper, 3 wins and $59,100
- Jared Watson, 3 wins and $56,202
- Drag queen Kevin Belle, 3 wins and $42,798
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WHAT IS: THE FORMAT?
Jeopardy! hasn't released the matchups yet, but there will likely be nine quarterfinals and three semifinals.
Then, like the previous Tournament of Champions, a first-to-three-wins finale.
That means the finals could take three or a grueling seven games, most likely concluding in late March.
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The winner also gets a custom championship belt (as is tradition) and will be invited to Jeopardy! Masters Season 2.
The last ToC was also considered one of the best in history so there's a lot to live up to, and it's anyone's game.
