The 27 players in Fall 2023’s Champions Wild Card’s Hearts bracket have been unveiled. Much like the Clubs bracket, even though the opening game has been played, my preview (which was written prior to the game being played) will be published for posterity.
I should also note that the 27 players have been ranked by wins and money won (with the two tournament invitees ranked between the 1- and 2-day champions). Those “seeds” are posted along with the players.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023:
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Rhone Talsma (19) Chicago, Illinois  33 correct, 7 incorrect 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities) 28.32% in first on buzzer (32/113) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,400) 1/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $10,800 Rhone is best known for being a “giant killer”, having ended Amy Schneider’s 40-game win streak in January 2022. |
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Nell Klugman (22) Brooklyn, New York  44 correct, 11 incorrect 1/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities) 40.54% in first on buzzer (45/111) 2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,400) 2/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,700 Nell was a 1-day champion from April 2022. Nell had one of the most mercurial performances ever; her victory saw her pick up 31 correct responses (including Final) and successfully signal 31 times in 44 attempts. Her loss saw that percentage drop to 46% (18 times in 39 attempts). Her performance will depend on how things go with the signaling device. |
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Henry Baer (7) San Francisco, California  60 correct, 6 incorrect 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities) 30.41% in first on buzzer (52/171) 6/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $12,200) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,067 Henry won $61,400 as a 2-day champion in the fall of 2020. He was generally very good at finding Daily Doubles, although his bet sizing was small for my liking. He may need to be more aggressive on those in his return to the Alex Trebek Stage. |
Overall Thoughts: This one will definitely come down to “does Nell find her signalling device timing like her first game” and “who finds the Daily Doubles”.
Thursday, November 30, 2023:
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Tyler Vandenberg (13) Stuttgart, Germany  61 correct, 9 incorrect 6/6 on rebound attempts (on 16 rebound opportunities) 32.75% in first on buzzer (56/171) 4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,600) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,600 Josh Saak ended Tyler’s 2-game win streak in the summer of 2021. That might bode well for Tyler’s chances in this event. |
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Ciara Donegan (21) Washington, D.C.  42 correct, 6 incorrect 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities) 36.94% in first on buzzer (41/111) 2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,000) 1/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,900 Ciara was a one-day champion in March 2022; she lost to Tournament of Champions player Jackie Kelly. Ciara’s victory was on the strength of her buzzer timing; per the show’s box scores, she successfully rang in on 74.6% of her attempts. Ciara will be a force in this bracket if the attempt numbers increase. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say that Ciara seemed excited to announce her return to this event. (Nick Cascone did very well in the Clubs bracket after being very excited to announce his return on social media.) |
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Alisa Hove (17) Asheville, North Carolina  46 correct, 13 incorrect 2/4 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities) 21.78% in first on buzzer (49/225) 3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,600) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $7,500 Alisa finished 3rd in the 2021 Professors Tournament, behind Sam Buttrey and Ed Hashima. |
Overall Thoughts: This one will come down to “Does Ciara still have buzzer timing?” and “How well does the board suit Ciara?”. Tyler and Alisa should be able to give anyone a good game, though, having played against strong players before.
Friday, December 1, 2023:
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Garrett Marcotte (2) Boulder, Colorado  90 correct, 12 incorrect 4/5 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities) 40.00% in first on buzzer (88/220) 4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,900) 2/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,150 Garrett was a 3-day champion from October 2020 before he lost to ToCer Kevin Walsh. |
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Bryce Hwang (6) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  74 correct, 12 incorrect 9/9 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities) 40.24% in first on buzzer (68/169) 5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $18,400) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,400 Dr. Oz was Bryce’s guest host when he won two games; I’m sure Bryce will be happy to have a much better host this time around. |
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Brianne Barker (26) Madison, New Jersey  43 correct, 6 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities) 37.72% in first on buzzer (43/114) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$500) 0/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,800 Brianne was a 1-day champion from very late in Season 38. |
Overall Thoughts: Bryce’s stats make him the favorite in this one, especially if he finds the Daily Doubles.
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Monday, December 4, 2023:
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Julia Markham Cameron (16) Brooklyn, New York  62 correct, 10 incorrect 6/7 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities) 35.12% in first on buzzer (59/168) 1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $0) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,000 Julia was a 2-day champion from Mayim Bialik’s guest host stint. I noted during her original games that she was a very expressive champion. |
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Finn Corrigan (15) Vista, California  56 correct, 16 incorrect 3/5 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities) 35.29% in first on buzzer (60/170) 2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$600) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,867 After being the alternate for the Jeopardy! National College Championship, Finn was brought onto regular play, where he won a pair of games. |
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Kristen Thomas-McGill (23) Louisville, Kentucky  44 correct, 7 incorrect 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities) 38.60% in first on buzzer (44/114) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,800) 2/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,200 Kristen was a 1-day champion from December 2020. |
Overall Thoughts: I could definitely see Julia ending up as a new “fan favorite”, just based on how I noted her initial games. This definitely seems like it’s going to be a close match.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023:
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Laura Portwood-Stacer (12) Livonia, Michigan  50 correct, 3 incorrect 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities) 26.04% in first on buzzer (44/169) 3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,000) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $13,667 Laura was Katie Couric’s first champion from March 2021; Laura won a pair of games. |
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Andrew Chaikin (24) San Francisco, California  54 correct, 1 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities) 42.98% in first on buzzer (49/114) 2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000) 1/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $22,500 Andrew was a 1-day champion; he was the defending champion in “Jeopardy! air time” when Alex Trebek passed away in November 2020. In the game he lost (to Ben Lewis), Andrew had $22,200 going into Final, but did not lead. |
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Matt Mierswa (9) River Edge, New Jersey  84 correct, 8 incorrect 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities) 45.61% in first on buzzer (78/171) 3/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,200) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $23,867 Matt was a very dominant 2-day champion in July 2022 who was unlucky not to win a third. I noted that Matt struggled on the Daily Doubles—something that turned out to hurt him in his initial run. |
Overall Thoughts: This is your fireworks quarterfinal—all three players are very strong. I could see any of these three players winning, and whoever wins this one I think has the strength to at least make the final, if not win the whole thing.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023:
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Ed Coulson (14) Dana Point, California  61 correct, 8 incorrect 4/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities) 33.33% in first on buzzer (57/171) 3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,500) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,467 Ed was a 2-day champion in July 2022 before losing to Brianne Barker. Interestingly, there’s a chance of a rematch between Brianne and Ed if the two of them go on a winning streak. |
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Kate Freeman (27) Lake Orion, Michigan  34 correct, 7 incorrect 2/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities) 30.63% in first on buzzer (34/111) 1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,000) 0/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,500 Kate Freeman made history in December 2020, becoming the show’s first openly transgender champion when she won 1 game. She comes back to this event hoping to win more. |
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Patrick Hume (3) Van Nuys, California  83 correct, 6 incorrect 9/9 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities) 31.14% in first on buzzer (71/228) 4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,500) 3/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $17,250 Patrick was one of many 3-day champions in Season 37; he won 3 games with Aaron Rodgers hosting and then lost on Anderson Cooper’s first day. |
Overall Thoughts: I’m cheering for Kate in this quarterfinal. One thing that I’ve definitely found in these events is that anything can happen, anyone can win, and that the seeds don’t really matter as much.
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Thursday, December 7, 2023:
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Scott Shewfelt (10) Tavistock, Ontario, Canada  55 correct, 15 incorrect 5/7 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities) 32.75% in first on buzzer (56/171) 4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $17,100) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,667 Scott Shewfelt won a pair of games with Dr. Oz hosting, had to deal with the infamous stumbling of “Antidisestablishmentarianism” from Oz, and then got to meme on Aaron Rodgers with “Who wanted to kick that field goal?” as a departing moment. |
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Yungsheng Wang (1) Lafayette, Louisiana  83 correct, 13 incorrect 6/7 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities) 35.09% in first on buzzer (80/228) 5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,899) 3/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,300 Yungsheng won 3 games in July 2022 and was an alternate for the 2022 Tournament of Champions. |
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Robin Lozano (25) Shavertown, Pennsylvania  43 correct, 9 incorrect 5/5 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities) 37.50% in first on buzzer (42/112) 1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,000) 1/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $13,300 Robin was a 1-day champion during Mayim Bialik’s guest hosting stint. |
Overall Thoughts: Yungsheng, being a ToC alternate, is the #1 seed here. His stats aren’t as strong as some of the other players in the bracket, though. I do think Yungsheng is likeliest to win this one, but as I’ve said, anything can happen.
Friday, December 8, 2023:
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Gary Hollis (18) Roanoke, Virginia  41 correct, 8 incorrect 6/6 on rebound attempts (on 16 rebound opportunities) 33.33% in first on buzzer (38/114) 3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000) 0/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,600 Gary was a Professors Tournament semifinalist; he had a strong quarterfinal win before losing to Ed Hashima in the semifinals. |
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Carmela Chan (4) San Diego, California  75 correct, 11 incorrect 6/10 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities) 31.88% in first on buzzer (66/207) 4/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,700) 3/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,050 Carmela was a 3-day champion in the lead up to Election Day 2020. |
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Jon Spurney (8) Los Angeles, California  71 correct, 10 incorrect 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities) 42.11% in first on buzzer (72/171) 2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,667 Jon Spurney was a 2-day champion in March 2021 before falling to a grammatically poor Final Jeopardy. |
Overall Thoughts: I think that all three players in this game are very capable of having a strong game. I don’t know if I can confidently predict a winner in this one.
Monday, December 11, 2023:
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Amal Dorai (11) San Francisco, California  52 correct, 10 incorrect 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities) 31.36% in first on buzzer (53/169) 5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,500) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,267 Amal was a 2-day champion during Dr. Oz’s hosting stint. Amal was known for his deliberately methodical play that I believed caused unplayed clues during his initial stint. That definitely won’t work this time around. |
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Donesh Olyaie (20) Los Angeles, California  37 correct, 4 incorrect 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities) 28.07% in first on buzzer (32/114) 1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$6,000) 2/2 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,000 Donesh was a 1-day champion who was defeated by ToCer Brian Chang. |
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Emma Saltzberg (5) Brooklyn, New York  83 correct, 14 incorrect 5/6 on rebound attempts (on 20 rebound opportunities) 35.68% in first on buzzer (81/227) 5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,400) 1/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,200 Emma was a Season 38 3-day champion; she lost to Lawrence Long in her fourth game. |
Overall Thoughts: All three players in this game are no slouches. Amal’s methodical play won’t get him anywhere in this match—the show will just use judicious editing to make sure all 61 clues get played. I could see any of these three players winning this quarterfinal.
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I didn’t make predictions for the semifinal last bracket, oops! And much like last bracket, I’ll omit the first prediction from this comment, since the game has already aired (unfortunately, unlike the last bracket, my prediction was incorrect). But regardless, here’s how I think this will play out!
Match 2: Tyler – This matchup will basically just be a battle between Tyler and Ciera, if past stats are any indication. What makes this interesting is how each player is able to use the buzzer. Ciera is more consistent at getting in on the buzzer when she wants to do so, but if Tyler’s able to find his buzzer timing, he goes on cruise control with little to get in his way. I think this one will come down to who is able to find their buzzer groove first. (Well, that and the amount of Canadian geography categories that come up.)
Match 3: Bryce – In my mind, Bryce is basically the perfect candidate for a ToC. He’s strong on the buzzer, has a strong average Coryat, and isn’t afraid to go big on any Daily Doubles he happens to find. What makes me feel even better about his chances is that he appears to be very strong with the more difficult material that comes in Double Jeopardy. I wouldn’t call him the favorite to win the whole bracket, mainly because of who’s showing up in Quarterfinal #5, but I really like his chances of at least making the finals.
Match 4: Julia – The contestant coordinators are really interested in making as many tight three-way-matches as possible, huh? I picked Julia because it seems as though she’s at least good at (almost) every skill needed for this game. As long as she keeps the negs under control, this match is hers to lose. (I think she’ll also be the fan favorite, but that won’t exactly help, will it?)
Match 5 – Andrew and Matt are both machines. And when you put two machines up against each other, something’s gotta give out. Matt’s advantage is that he’s slightly better on the buzzer, and Andrew’s is that he’s much better at minimizing chances for his opponents to beat him via incorrect responses. I genuinely have no idea what will happen. All I know is that, a) it’s gonna be a complete slugfest, and b) Laura probably has the worst luck of any player in this bracket. (I’m not sure how I like the idea of putting two super-strong players against each other in round 1, but it is what it is, I guess.) I wouldn’t be shocked whatsoever if the winner of this one proceeds to cruise to a ToC spot.
Match 6: Patrick – As much as my heart is cheering for Kate, I can’t deny that it’s gonna be a bit difficult for her to advance playing against these two. I think Patrick is the strongest of these three players, but given how Ed was an alternate for a notoriously difficult tournament, that might mean Ed could put up a real fight. Either way, though, I think Patrick is the most likely to advance.
Match 7: Yungsheng – Yungsheng doesn’t really have a specific data point that makes me like his chances as much as I do; rather, he’s just generally a very balanced player. By that I mean, he’s strong in every facet of the game. I think the most likely outcome of this is Yungsheng leading going into Final, but after that, who knows?
Match 8: Jon – This is a very interesting match. Some might consider Carmela the favorite because of her initial run, but I think Gary and Jon are each much stronger players than their initial run might suggest, and both have the potential to go on a very deep run into the event. (Even though I think the stats point to Jon, I’ll say this – if there’s one tournament contestant from this time period that I wanted to see come back, it’s absolutely Gary, so I’m very happy he gets another shot!)
Match 9: Emma – This is another case where Emma is a stronger player than her win total or dollar total might suggest. Other than Final conversion rate being a little bit sketchy, I think she’s absolutely got potential in this event. This seems to me like another tight three-way match.
Hopefully this bracket lives up to the insane games the Clubs bracket saw; looking forward to watching it!
Hearts:
Game 1 – Henry Baer
Game 2 – Tyler Vandenberg
Game 3 – Bryce Hwang
Game 4 – Finn Corrigan
Game 5 – Matt Mierswa
Game 6 – Patrick Hume
Game 7 – Yungsheng Wang
Game 8 – Carmela Chan
Game 9 – Emma Saltzberg