The “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions is finally here after what feels like a very long wait since season 38 came to a close earlier this summer.
This tournament will feature several notable super champions, including Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach. Although the 2021 Tournament of Champions was hosted by former champ Buzzy Cohen, this tournament will be hosted by current co-host Ken Jennings, who has been hosting season 39 since it began in September and will continue to host through December.
Ken Jennings Is Celebrating The ‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions Starting On Halloween
It’s not every day a Jeopardy ToC begins on Halloween! To celebrate, I have created tiny, animated homunculi of all 21 champs and arranged them around me in my lab. pic.twitter.com/8riocHhFyd
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) October 31, 2022
On Monday, Ken Jennings took to Twitter to tease the promotional photo for the upcoming Tournament of Champions. “It’s not every day a Jeopardy ToC begins on Halloween!” he tweeted. “To celebrate, I have created tiny, animated homunculi of all 21 champs and arranged them around me in my lab.”
This ad is giving early 2000s WrestleMania poster and I am INTO IT.
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) October 31, 2022
He later added, “This ad is giving early 2000s WrestleMania poster and I am INTO IT.”
Ken Isn’t The Only One Excited For The 2022 Tournament Of Champions
It all kicks off tonight, and there are indeed triumphs, defeats, and epic highs and lows!! Strap in and get ready for somewhere between two and a half to three and a half weeks of genuinely fantastic television
— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) October 31, 2022
Ken wasn’t the one who took to Twitter to express their excitement for the 2022 “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions. Canadian champion Mattea Roach shared an edited screengrab on Monday afternoon, saying, “Then you haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic high and lows of the 2022 Tournament of Champions.”
“This is what I sound like talking to anyone who wasn’t in the studio for the taping of #JeopardyToC,” she tweeted. “It all kicks off tonight, and there are indeed triumphs, defeats, and epic highs and lows!! Strap in and get ready for somewhere between two and a half to three and a half weeks of genuinely fantastic television.”
Many fans are excited to see her compete, but unfortunately, they won’t be able to see her take the stage for quite a while. On August 15, on episode 3 of the “Inside Jeopardy!” Spotify podcast, hosts Michael and Sarah revealed the line-up and discussed the new formatting of the 2022 Tournament of Champions.
Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider, and Mattea Roach Will All Automatically Advance To The Semi-Finals
According to executive producer Michael Davies, three players will proceed directly to the semi-final round, known as “byes” or “automatic qualifiers.” It seems “Jeopardy!” producers felt that they were so far ahead of their other contestants that it would be unfair to have them compete in the earlier rounds.
These three players are Amy Schneider, who won 40 games in January, Matt Amodio, who won 38 games when season 38 began in September 2021, and Mattea Roach, who won 23 games in May.
The rest of the contestants and their wins are Ryan Long (16), Jonathan Fisher (11), Brian Chang (7), Courtney Shah (7), Eric Ahasic (6), Zach Newkirk (6), Megan Wachspress (6), Andrew He (5), Tyler Rhode (5), Jackie Kelly (4), John Focht (4), Margaret Shelton (4), Maureen O’Neil (4), and Christine Whelchel (4). The final two spots are open for the show’s first-ever Second Chance Tournament Winners.
As explained on the podcast, the 2022 Tournament of Champions will feature six quarter-final games. The winner of each quarter-final will then advance to the semi-final round. Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach, will automatically be added to the semi-final brackets. The nine total semi-finalists will each play three games to determine the three winners that will play in the finals.
The final match will work a bit differently than it did in previous years. This year, the three finalists will play until someone wins three matches, just like the 2019 Greatest of All Time tournament between Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.
This means that the final round could take as little as three days or stretch for as long as seven days. Fans have no idea who is going to make it to the final round, but they definitely can’t wait to find out!
