While not every Jeopardy! fan may love seeing the same contestants go on long winning streaks, plenty of trivia fans enjoy watching contestants show off their impressive knowledge and signaling device skills over the course of a grueling taping schedule.
Players like Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider, and Mattea Roach all dazzled audiences over the last year with record-breaking performances and impressive winning streaks. And now we know that all that winning has given those three, in particular, an advantage the next time they appear on stage in the Jeopardy! studio.
On the latest episode of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, we got a few new details about the show’s upcoming Tournament of Champions. The annual outing features the best players from the show’s most recent season, and the trio of superstar players are certainly atop the list. Which is why, as detailed in the podcast, they get an advance spot into the tournament’s second round. The episode, which featured an appearance from 2021 Tournament host Buzzy Cohen, made it clear that Roach, Schneider and Amodio will have an easier path to the grand prize than other contestants.
That’s because, well, they all went on massive winning streaks to qualify in the first place. Schneider famously won 40 games, Amodio took 38 and Roach managed 23 before finally being bested during Season 38. So those three out of the already-announced 19 players will automatically get a bye into the semifinals matches.
As The Ringer’s Claire McNear also noted, the full list of eligible champions playing in the tournament has been on the show’s website, but the official final list was mentioned in the podcast as well.
the full list of contestants: pic.twitter.com/1WiAlFKIRT
— Claire McNear (@clairemcnear) August 15, 2022
All that’s left now is to decide the final two slots with the Second Chance Tournament, which will take place later this fall. Then comes the real deal, and a chance to see the best of the best compete against one another for some serious bragging rights. And, you know, another big payday.
[via The Ringer’s Claire McNear]