Considering not only that last year’s Jeopardy Invitational was the
pot of gold for those of us who endured the endless postseason that started
Season 40 but that the eventual winner Victoria Groce ended up being the
superstar of the Jeopardy Masters that followed eventually destroying James
Holzhauer, the anticipation for the lineup of this year’s Invitational has been
just as heated. We’ve had to wait a bit for it to happen due to the most tragic
of circumstances: the wildfires that devastated LA for the last several weeks
postponed the filming of the tournament until the first week of February.
As a result the Invitational has been pushed back and will air two
weeks after the end of the Tournament of Champions ends. But finally after much
anticipation the lineup has been announced.
Five of the spots have been filled by five of the greatest Jeopardy
players of the post-Trebek era. It was a given that Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider
and Mattea Roach would all participate having been eliminated from last year’s
Jeopardy masters by the end of the semi-finals. No one needs a repetition of
their credentials. Two of the other players who were given automatic byes were
the second and third place finishers in last year’s Tournament of Champions. Few
who witness them not only in Season 39 but in the Tournament of Champions last
year would doubt the amazing ability of those two players: Ben Chan, who won 9 games and $252,600 in his
original run with all of his victories coming in runaways and Troy Meyer who
won $214,802 in six games in Season 39. Ben won more money than any player than
any player other than Adriana Harmeyer.
Troy won nearly as much money in six games that Isaac Hirsch won in nine.
Both Adriana and Isaac are currently facing off in this year’s Tournament of
Champions.
Speculation was ripe on who the other 22 players were going to be.
Today we learned their names. Mattea Roach seemed to be unavailable but we’ve
got some more than qualified substitutes. There is quite an emphasis on the
more recent past but there’s more than bit from a LOT further back.
As with last time around to be fair I’ll go alphabetically.
Robin Carroll
A groundbreaker in many ways. Robin Carroll became the second woman to
win a Tournament of Champions in 2000. Six months later after winning the third
– and last – International Tournament, she was Jeopardy’s all-time winningest
play in terms of money won. She held that title until both the dollar figures
were doubled and the first Masters Tournament – the Million Dollar Masters in
May of 2002. While she was invited back she was eliminated in the quarterfinals
and went home with $10,000.
She was granted a bye to the Ultimate Tournament of Champions second
round and was doing well through most of it until another Daily Double ended
her chance to the lead and advancing. She picked up $25,000. Her last
appearance was in the Battle of the Decades when she represented the 1990s. She
made into the quarterfinals but finished out of the running and went home with
another $10,000.
As one of only four female contestants to win a Tournament of
Champions, it’s fitting she’s back. As for the first, well, keep reading.
Roger Craig
The most glaring exclusion in the first Jeopardy Invitational was
Roger Craig in my opinion. And with respect to Brad Rutter and Julia Collins,
he’s the one player who I thought had to come back this year.
It’s not just that he broke Ken Jennings one day record which last for
nearly a decade or that he won the 2011 Tournament of Champions. It’s that it’s
safe to say if there is no Roger Craig, there really isn’t a James Holzhauer or
all the super-champions that have followed in his wake. For a long time I
considered Roger the third greatest Jeopardy player in history behind Ken
Jennings and Brad Rutter. And it was appropriate the Battle of the Decades
finals came down to those three men – and that Roger came damn close to beating
both of them. (I wonder if Ken will remind him of why when he interviews him.)
His luster was slightly tarnished due to subpar play as part of Team Austin the
Jeopardy All-Star Games back in 2019 but that doesn’t change the fact that his
totals just over $565,000 still rank him 13th all-time in money won.
And now he’s back among those great players who followed in his wake.
I want to see Roger go toe to toe with Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio and Ray
LaLonde. Hell, I want to see him face off against James Holzhauer. And let’s
face it, so does every fan of the show.
Luigi De Guzman
‘Only’ a five time champions during Season 39 Luigi managed an
impressive $140,700 before falling to Emmett Stanton. He managed to make it to
the quarterfinals before being defeated by Troy Meyer in the semi-finals. I
imagine he wants a chance at a rematch.
Jonathan Fisher
Jonathan is, of course, one of the more successful giant-killers in
Jeopardy history. After ending Matt Amodio’s incredible run, he managed to win
11 games and $246,100. Impressive in any other season, he was only the fifth
winningest player in Season 38.
He was leading in his quarterfinal match in the 2022 Tournament of
Champions but a tough Final Jeopardy and a savvy wager led to Andrew He’ path
forward to a Jeopardy Masters. I bet he wants a crack at Matt Amodio and is no
doubt determined to make people remember him. He’s earned it.
John Focht
It’s all right if you don’t remember John Focht. His four wins and
$103,800 were not particularly impressive in the context of Season 38. Then in
the 2022 Tournament of Champions he made absolute mincemeat of Rowan Ward and
Courtney Shah in the quarterfinals and gave both Matt Amodio and Sam Buttrey a
run for their money in the semi-finals before Sam managed to make it into
Jeopardy lore. Perhaps John is here in the Invitational as a sort of Second
Chance. He definitely earned it
Avi Gupta
Avi Gupta is a significant player in a couple of ways. Back in 2019 he
won what would be the last Teen Tournament Alex Trebek ever hosted. He got into
the finals on a tiebreaker and then managed to impressively win – and salute
Alex and the writers on each Final.
Like so many others Avi was invited back to the High School Reunion
Tournament in 2023. He did well in his quarterfinal match but couldn’t get past
Jackson Jones and went home with $10,000. He is something of a fan favorite for
his overall behavior – and he may get a chance for some payback numerous ways
depending on how the Tournament goes.
Skyler Hornback
Once upon a time, before lazy parenting ruined it, Jeopardy did a Kids
Week for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. And way back in 2013 twelve year old
Skyer Hornback played like a twelve year old Ken Jennings. He ended up winning
$66,600 -which at the time was almost a new one day record for any Jeopardy
show. Indeed only Ken Jennings and Roger Craig had ever won that much before
and it would be a long time before anyone won more. (Incidentally that bad
parenting happened during Skyer’s rout and led to it being cancelled – but let’s
not dwell on that.)
It's a little terrifying to wonder just how good 24 year old Skyler
will be now that’s he playing with grownups. I want to see for sure.
Jackson Jones
Remember that tie-breaker I mentioned Avi Gupta managed to get into
the finals of the 2019 Teen Tournament. Guess who he was tied with? Perhaps it
was a twist of fate that Jackson ended up defeated Avi in order to earn his
place in the finals of the Teen Reunion Tournament.
At the end of Game 1 of the finals he had a lead going up against Maya
Wright and Justin Bolsen. But then he blundered on a Daily Double late in
Double Jeopardy of Game 2 and dropped to third place. He couldn’t recover and
finished second to Justin. He’ll have a chance for advance in this tournament –
though wouldn’t it be funny if Avi got to him again?
Jackie Kelly
During a one month period from the end of February to the end of March
four different women won four games. Two of them were invited back to
participate in the 2025 Invitational Tournament. Jackie was by far the most
successful of the four women in terms of money won: she managed to win $115,100,
pretty good for four game (or in some cases that year, more)
Jackie’s quarterfinal match against Eric Ahasic and Jaskaran Singh was
the most thrilling of the six games and even though Eric won her play to that
point was by far the best. Jackie deserves another bite at the apple.
Ray LaLonde
There are six players in this year’s Invitational that have won eleven
games or more. Ray is the most recent – and most likely, the most beloved among
Jeopardy fans. Considering how impressive his $386,400 was during his incredible
13 game win, he no doubt scored extra points for his integrity during the
strikes of 2023. Because of his working in Hollywood, he refused to cross a
picket line causing the other competitors in that Tournament to take a similar
stand, forcing Jeopardy to postpone it. (You could argue, of course, he’s the
most responsible person for the endless postseason last year but I think we all
know that’s the producers fault. ) Ray of course went into Jeopardy history when
he became the first super-champion defeated by a Celebrity Jeopardy winner and
making it clear that Ike Barnholtz’s victory was not a fluke. Now a year later
he gets a chance for redemption and I think we all want to see him again.
Ryan Long
The last super-champion of Season 38, Ryan Long’s 16 wins and $299,400
would have been incredibly impressive had they not come after three of the
greatest players of all time. Ryan was the most obvious victim of the new
format of the Tournament of Champions as he ended up getting eliminated after having
the worst day of his Jeopardy career at the worst possible time – in the first
quarterfinal match. He ended up being defeated by Maureen O’Neill– and given
the lineup, I bet he really hopes history doesn’t repeat itself. (Maureen isn’t
here, but…
Doug Molitor
You really can’t get more old school than Doug Molitor in this
Tournament. And when I say old school, I mean really old school.
Doug was a four game winner way back in June of 1987. He
managed to win $51,001 and in one of those wins he was in a single player Final
Jeopardy. He managed to make it in to the semi-finals in a wild card spot but
ended up finishing in the red at the end of Double Jeopardy.
However because Jeopardy never forgets he was invited to take place in
the 10th Anniversary Tournament all the way back in 1993. He ended
up losing in a runaway match to Tom Nosek the winner of that year’s Tournament
of Champions.
Doug has never been invited back to another Tournament since but
things have gone pretty well for him since. He’s been writing for TV for the
last thirty years almost all of it for either animated series or syndication. He’s
another one of those players who became more famous for their career after they
played on Jeopardy but he’s a celebrity I don’t mind coming back.
Emily Sands
I actually thought it was somewhat demeaning that Emily Sands had to
earn her way into the 2024 Tournament of Champions via the Wild Card
Tournament: other three game winners were invited back to fill out the roster;
she had to work her way through. When she did play she pretty much made it look
easy playing impressively in every game and having a big enough lead in Game 1 so
that a poor performance in Game 2 didn’t cost her a spot. Then she breezed to a
runaway victory in the quarter-finals only to lose to Yogesh Raut – a 3 game
winner who automatically got in – in the semi-finals. Emily has more than one
reason to want to get into the Masters this year – and I can’t personally blame
her.
Claire Sattler
Claire got into the semi-finals of the 2018 Teen Tournament via wild
card. It only got marginally easier from there. She went ahead in Double
Jeopardy for good on one of the last clues which was key because all three
players got Final Jeopardy correct. She was then in a knock down drag out fight
in an all-girl final (one of the few times in Jeopardy history any tournament
has ended that way) and managed to lock it up by the end of Double Jeopardy on Day
2.
In the High School Reunion, now a Senior at Yale she won her
quarterfinal and was leading in her semi-final match going into Final Jeopardy
before a tough clue no one could get right and a wager that cost her the lead
sent Justin into the finals – and eventual victory. Claire deserves to come
back as much as Avi does.
Rachel Schwartz
And here is the original pioneer for Jeopardy, Rachel the first woman
to win a Tournament of Champions back in 1994. Her track record to that point
wasn’t as impressive as some – she won ‘only’ $37,599 in four games but she did
play against a very strong field to get there.
She was invited back to the Million Dollar Masters and the Ultimate
Tournament of Champions and was eliminated in the first round of each one. She
did better when she represented the 1990s in the Battle of The Decades, coming
from behind to make it into the quarterfinals. Unfortunately she had to face
Ken in that particular match and, well, we all know that goes. I imagine she’s
glad to be back – if for no other reason that she doesn’t have to face Ken this
time.
Margaret Shelton
Margaret is the second of those four female four game winners from
Season 38. (Maybe the other two will show up next year. ) She won $79,700
before being defeated by Maureen O’Neill. Margaret was in a tense game with
Tyler Rhode in her quarterfinal and was tied with him going into Final
Jeopardy. They both responded correctly on Final Jeopardy but Tyler bet
everything and she didn’t bet enough. Maybe she’ll remember that next time.
Jaskaran Singh
Jaskaran is the winner of the first – and as of this writing, the only
– Jeopardy National College Championship. (It’s also the last College Tournament
of any kind the show has had and I hope one way or another the show gives one
later on.)
Jaskaran won his quarterfinal match in a runaway and managed to make
it to the finals. His win was incredibly impressive as he locked up the Tournament
by the end of Double Jeopardy on Game 2. He’d already won $250,000 by doing so,
so maybe it wasn’t a huge disappointment that he lost his quarterfinal
appearance to Eric Ahasic. However he is far from the most impressive college
champion invited back. That title belongs to….
Shane Whitlock
Back in the Dark Ages (and in
this case that’s 1996) when the maximum for all special Tournaments was $25,000
Shane was a junior at the University of Arkansas. In two days he locked up the
Tournament and took home $32,800 and a brand new sports car. He didn’t know his
life in Jeopardy was beginning.
He managed to make it to the semi-finals and only narrowly lose to the
ultimate winner of the 1996 Tournament of Champions Mike Dupee. Eight years
later he returned to the Jeopardy Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Of the
players invited back to the JIT this year he has the most impressive record in
the UTC of all of them: he made it to the quarterfinals and was leading Frank
Spangenberg before he got Final Jeopardy wrong. He still walked away with $55,400,
19th out of a field of 145.
He was voted the fan favorite to compete for the 1990s in the Battle
of The Decades (he mouthed thank you when Johnny announced it) and he had a big
lead going into Final Jeopardy of his match. But it wasn’t a runaway and when
Robin was the only player to get Final Jeopardy correct, she advanced and he
lost. Many fans were hoping he’d be invited back this time, and I’m glad to see
him too.
Seth Wilson
Seth wasn’t the most obvious super-champion who wasn’t invited back in
the first Invitational Tournament but I advocated for him to come back this
time. Considering his track record that’s understandable. Back at the start of
Season 33 he won an impressive twelve games and $265,002. Those were impressive
numbers in 2016 but by the time of the 2017 Tournament Champions everyone was
singing the praises of another 12 game champion Austin Rogers. Seth was
eliminated in the quarterfinals by Lisa Schlitt as I wrote.
He was part of Team Julia during the Jeopardy All-Star Games and despite
playing very well the team was the first sent home and he split a prize of
$50,000. I’m glad to see him back. (That said, Ben Ingram was invited back in
2024. Seth in 2025. Does that mean they’re saving Julia for next year? One can
only hope.)
Hannah Wilson
Hannah Wilson is significant for many reasons: not only did she win
eight games and $229, 801 she was the first transgender woman to win after Amy
Schneider great run. I’m not sure she wants to meet her idol in competition in this tournament – or for that matter Ben Chan.
Ben’s original run was interrupted due to Covid and the day he returned Ben ran
right over her. Of course Hannah. As for Hannah her run in the 2024 Jeopardy
round ran into a snag when after getting a Daily Double right in her
quarterfinal, she wagered too much on the next one on the next clue. She couldn’t
recover from that mistake and David Sibley ended up winning the Tournament of
Champions. The good news is David hasn’t been invited back this year. We’ll see
how long Hannah’s run lasts.
Maya Wright
One of the players Claire beat on her way to victory in the 2018 Teen
Tournament was Maya Wright. Maya had played impressively – she was the only
finalist who won both her games instead of needing a wild card spot to get to
the finals and she was the only one to get in by a runaway. But when she was
the only person to get Final Jeopardy incorrect in Game 1 she went into Game 2
in third place and couldn’t recover. She ended up being the second runner up.
Things went better for her in the High School Reunion Tournament: she
ran away with her quarterfinal match and came from behind to win her semi-final.
She was in a distant third after Game 1 of the Final and even though she was
leading at the end of Game 2, it wasn’t enough for her to better than second
runner up again. This is her third bite at the apple and maybe it will be the
charm.
Juveria Zaheer
Talk about making the most of your Second Chance. Juveria may have
been the great heroine of the seemingly endless postseason of Season 40. She was
by far the most impressive winner of all the Second Chance Tournament that took
place and her deciding to bet very, very big on Daily Doubles led her to win
with a combined score of $70,800. Then she routed all comers in the first
Champions Wild Card Group of 2024, came from behind to win the semifinals and managed
to lock up her spot in the TOC. Juveria didn’t quite convince me of the value
of Second Chance Tournament but she came damn close; the fact she almost beat
Luigi De Guzman in the TOC makes me really thinks she’s earned the right to be
invited back.
You will note that we don’t have any players from this time around who
are more famous for their play outside of Jeopardy then in it. So it’s highly
unlikely any Victoria Groce’s will rise this time around. I am, however, thrilled
to see a lot of holdovers from Teen and College Tournaments because hopefully
that will mean, in the near future, those tournaments will be reestablished by
Jeopardy - if for no other reason it would make filling out brackets for future
TOC’s a little bit easier.
This may not be as strong a lineup as the inaugural tournament but for
the sophomore lineup it has a lot to recommend it. There are still quite a few
notable absences but it now seems that inevitably they’ll show up down the road
to mix with the newer breeds.
I’ll be back with the blow by blow when the 2025 Jeopardy Invitational
begins which will probably be at the end of February if not sooner.
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