31st Tournament of Champions: Semi-Final Preview

After some of the wildest quarterfinals ever seen on the Alex Trebek Stage, we are now down to 9 players in the Tournament of Champions. As with the quarterfinals, I’ve included odds (in American odds format) of each remaining player’s chances of winning the entire tournament.

Here is my preview of Thursday’s, Friday’s, and Monday’s games:

Thursday, March 7

Jared Watson (26) +610 Greenville, Texas 123 correct, 16 incorrect 8/11 on rebound attempts (on 33 rebound opportunities) 38.73% in first on buzzer (110/284) 8/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,200) 3/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $19,080

Ben Chan (3) +490 Green Bay, Wisconsin 316 correct, 28 incorrect 12/16 on rebound attempts (on 44 rebound opportunities) 46.40% in first on buzzer (290/625) 20/27 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $37,405) 8/11 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $23,182

Ike Barinholtz (10) +1400 Chicago, Illinois 150 correct, 6 incorrect 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities) 45.31% in first on buzzer (140/309) 8/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $47,600) 4/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $20,225

Overall Thoughts: The two players who orchestrated two of the biggest upsets in Tournament of Champions History (Jared Watson and Ike Barinholtz) now face off against the highest remaining seed in Ben Chan. Ben certainly had a strong quarterfinal, but if he gets shut out on the Daily Doubles then this could be a much more interesting matchup!

Chances of Winning This Game: Ben 38.787% (+140), Jared 35.340% (+160), Ike 25.873% (+260).

---

My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.

Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.

Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!

Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!

You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!

You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!

Friday, March 8

David Sibley (19) +1800 Walla Walla, Washington 132 correct, 23 incorrect 11/12 on rebound attempts (on 28 rebound opportunities) 37.94% in first on buzzer (129/340) 8/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,100) 3/6 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,433

Yogesh Raut (20) +650 Vancouver, Washington 133 correct, 10 incorrect 12/13 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities) 42.11% in first on buzzer (120/285) 5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $20,200) 3/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $22,760

Emily Sands (13) +940 Chanhassen, Minnesota 206 correct, 32 incorrect 9/14 on rebound attempts (on 35 rebound opportunities) 39.10% in first on buzzer (199/509) 13/16 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $45,400) 6/9 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,400

Overall Thoughts: You might call this a Rose Bowl semifinal, with a matchup between Minnesota (Emily Sands) and Washington (David Sibley and Yogesh Raut) on Friday. Yogesh does come in favored, but he’s going to need to find a Daily Double soon in order to have the best chance of advancing. If he gets shut out again, both David and Emily are more than capable of making it to the final.

Chances of Winning This Game: Yogesh 39.475% (+140), Emily 34.161% (+170), David 26.364% (+260).

---

We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:

Monday, March 11

Luigi de Guzman (8) +560 Arlington, Virginia 183 correct, 28 incorrect 10/13 on rebound attempts (on 29 rebound opportunities) 45.06% in first on buzzer (178/395) 11/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $39,000) 6/7 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $19,771

Troy Meyer (6) +400 Tampa, Florida 228 correct, 17 incorrect 14/16 on rebound attempts (on 28 rebound opportunities) 46.27% in first on buzzer (211/456) 10/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $44,800) 6/8 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $23,850

Brian Henegar (24) +1800 La Follette, Tennessee 137 correct, 26 incorrect 6/8 on rebound attempts (on 21 rebound opportunities) 50.18% in first on buzzer (142/283) 5/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000) 1/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $19,400

Overall Thoughts: This is going to be a fireworks semifinal. Luigi and Troy are both immensely strong players with very deep knowledge bases. The prediction model favors Troy ever so slightly in this one, but I could absolutely see either of those players winning—with Brian probably needing variance to break in his direction in order to advance.

Chances of Winning This Game: Troy 41.270% (+130) Luigi 36.082% (+160), Brian 22.648% (+320). 

---

Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!

---

Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com

When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.

If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.

---

Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.

---