A Salute to Game Shows - Jeopardy!

Tournaments

Jeopardy! has a number of tournaments that are played annually. The big one every year is the Tournament of Champions. This one takes five-time winners, as well as winners from the other tournaments throughout the year, as well as the bigger four-day winners, etc., to come to a total of fifteen people. The big prize for the winner of this tournament is $100,000.

In this tournament, as well as the others, the competition lasts two weeks. The first week of shows is the quarter-finals, where all fifteen people, three at a time, play Jeopardy!. Of these fifteen, the five winners, as well as four "wild card" players from the ten that did not win move on to the semi-finals. From here, the winner of each of three games goes on to the final match, which is a two-day total-point affair. And the winner after these final two days is the champion.

Besides the Tournament of Champions, Jeopardy! has other tournaments. The Teen Tournament is played by high-school-aged students from around the country. This started in 1987. The Jeopardy! College Tournament features college students from around the country, beginning in 1989. Note, though, that college students are also eligible for the regular Jeopardy! shows.

There was also a Seniors Tournament at one point along the way, beginning in 1987. This tournament featured players over fifty. The reason behind this was to allow for the slower reflexes on the buzzer of senior citizens, despite a vast knowledge base. This tournament was discontinued in 1997.