The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is well underway, with the first six quarterfinal games determining who would make it to the semi-finals. Read the lineup below, including who was added from the Champions Wildcard Tournament, and who is facing off against each other in the finals, which begins on January 27.
Scott Riccardi, Laura Faddah, and Paolo Pasco all earned byes into the semi-finals, and the six winners from the quarterfinals will face them in three games this week. Whichever player wins from those three games will compete in the finals, in which the first to achieve three wins is the champion. The TOC winner advances to the Jeopardy! Masters.
Current season super-champ Harrison Whitaker will not be in the 2026 Tournament of Champions, as his run came too late into the season to qualify for it. However, he is the first seed in the 2027 ToC. Whitaker took home a total of $375,999 after 15 games and 14 wins with his final one on December 1.
Scroll down for everything you need to know about this year’s ToC.
When does Jeopardy‘s 2026 Tournament of Champions begin?
The Tournament of Champions kicked off on January 19.
Who will be hosting the Tournament of Champions?
As usual, Ken Jennings is at the helm as he returns to host the special event.
Who’s competing in the Tournament of Champions?
The ToC features the players who won the most games during the eligibility period, plus the winner of Champions Wildcard and Celebrity Jeopardy! champions.
This year’s players include:
- Scott Riccardi, a 16-game super-champion from Somerville, N.J.
- Laura Faddah, an eight-game champion from Memphis, Tenn.
- Paolo Pasco, a seven-game champion originally from San Diego, Calif.
- Andrew Hayes, a six-game champion originally from Tupelo, Miss.
- Liam Starnes, a six-game champion from Columbus, Ohio
- Josh Weikert, a six-game champion from Collegeville, Pa.
- Ben Ganger, a five-game champion from Goshen, Ind.
- TJ Fisher, a five-game champion from San Francisco, Calif.
- Alex DeFrank, a four-game champion from Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Allegra Kuney, a four-game champion from New Brunswick, N.J.
- Steven Olson, a four-game champion from Princeton, Ill.
- Bryce Wargin, four-game champion from Kansas City, Mo.
- Ashley Chan, a four-game champion from Lewisville, Texas
- Matt Massie, a three-game champion originally from South Charleston, W.Va.
- Tom Devlin, a three-game champion from Washington, D.C.
- Brendan Liaw, a three-game champion from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Mike Dawson, a three-game champion from Portland, Ore.
- Aaron Levine, a three-game champion from Seattle, Wash.
- Lisa Ann Walter, Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 2 champion originally from Washington, D.C.
- W. Kamau Bell, Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3 champion from Oakland, Calif.
- Cameron Berry, Champions Wildcard Winner, from Brighton, Massachusetts
What are the matchups in this year’s Tournament of Champions?
According to the Jeopardy! website, the matchups include:
Quartfinals:
- January 19— Starnes, Devlin, and Levine
- January 20 — Hayes, Liaw, and Kuney
- January 21 — Wargin, Berry, and Ganger
- January 22 — Chan, Bell, and DeFrank
- January 23 — Olson, Weikert, and Massie
- January 26 — Walter, Dawson, and Fisher
Semi-Finals:
- January 27 — Riccardi, Kuney, and Devlin
- January 28 — Faddah, Olson, and Fisher
- January 29 — Pasco, Berry, and Chan
The exhibition game between Riccardi, Faddah, and Pasco will take place on Friday, January 30.
Which contestants are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, weekdays, Check local listings
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