The upcoming Tournament of Champions will very likely have 27 players in it.
According to a clip posted by local affiliate WJLA earlier today, 3-time champion Kevin Belle was surprised with the news that he would be participating in the upcoming Tournament of Champions.
The news was delivered to Belle via host Ken Jennings.
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This would appear to finalize our Season 39 postseason schedule, as Kevin Belle would be ranked 27th, including the remaining Champions Wildcard Tournament participants. This also means that other three-time champions Yogesh Raut, Sean McShane, Emmett Stanton, Jake DeArruda, Brian Henegar, Melissa Klapper, and Jared Watson will likely be receiving invitations to the Tournament of Champions as well. Reports are that Raut, DeArruda, Klapper, Watson, Henegar, Stanton, and McShane have all now been informed of their qualification.
It is my belief that the tournament will very likely be taping in early February and should begin later that month. The tournament will feature superchampions Cris Pannullo and Ray Lalonde as its top seeds, as well as fan favorites Ben Chan, Hannah Wilson, and Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barinholtz.
The Tournament of Champions will be following four weeks of Second Chance play, featuring 36 players, currently likely to air between December 19 and January 15, and two Champions Wildcard events that will likely air between January 16 and February 22.
This story will continue to be updated as more information is known.
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Raut, DeArruda, and Klapper are confirmed to have also received invites (via KATU, WPRI, and WPVI respectively).
You can add Jared Watson to the confirmation list, as he got the news while being interviewed live this afternoon on KTVT in Fort Worth.
Wow, great news! 🙂 Thank you Andy!
Further confirmations for Emmett Stanton and Brian Henegar (from WBFF and WBIR, respectively).
That leaves only Sean McShane; I just checked WBZ, which I think would be the correct affiliate, but I haven’t seen anything there.
I just saw the interview/invitation for Sean McShane on WBZ. So happy for him I’m actually tearing up!
That’s great Peg! The first time I went and saw Jeopardy taped are the days he won his 3 games. He was great to watch. 🙂
Would it be 27 players, or 25? The tracker here currently lists 24 players between tournament qualifiers and 3+ game winners, with the Hearts Champions Wildcard winner TBD. 25 works out if Cris Pannullo gets a bye into the semifinals, like last year’s 20+ game winners, with the other 24 competing in 8 quarterfinal games. With no wildcards, you get 9 contestants for the semifinals.
It is absolutely 27; there are going to be two brackets of Champions Wildcard with Season 39 contestants.
This was super cool, Andy. Thanks for sharing with your readers (of which I am one, almost every day). Can’t believe I get this opportunity!
Well what are they going to do with the following TOC? Delay it? At any rate, this upcomiong TOC will be most interesting to watch. Perhaps I’ll attend a taping of the tournament.
Great News!! 27 entries means a lot more diversity by including the lesser scoring winners I wonder if this will be continued going forward or just a one time deal due to the strike?