It’s time for the semifinals in the 33rd Tournament of Champions! Today, tomorrow, and Thursday see players playing for a spot in the first-to-3-wins final, with the exhibition game from the quarterfinals between Scott, Paolo, and Laura airing on Friday.
As is always the case here, the Unified Prediction Model has made its predictions after 100,000 simulations, with the results posted below.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026:
|
Scott Riccardi Somerville, New Jersey  464 correct, 32 incorrect 27/28 on rebound attempts (on 72 rebound opportunities) 43.45% in first on buzzer (421/969) 23/30 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $58,000) 12/17 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $23,047 Chance to make finals: 36.962% |
|
Tom Devlin Washington, D.C.  137 correct, 14 incorrect 10/10 on rebound attempts (on 21 rebound opportunities) 45.61% in first on buzzer (130/285) 5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $15,600) 2/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $21,240 Chance to make finals: 30.905% |
|
Allegra Kuney New Brunswick, New Jersey  142 correct, 20 incorrect 5/6 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities) 40.94% in first on buzzer (140/342) 8/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $19,100) 4/6 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,100 Chance to make finals: 32.133% |
Overall Thoughts: For the entire history of the show, pairings in Jeopardy! tournaments have often been constructed in order to provide for entertaining matchups at all rounds of the event. And, as someone who has often watched 2000s-era Patriots–Colts and 2020s-era Bills–Chiefs matchups in the AFC Divisional round, I’d be hard-pressed to say there isn’t a professional sporting analogue for this. (To say nothing of the fact that this feels very much like what happened in 2011, when Joon Pahk, Mark Runsvold, and Roger Craig ended up in the same semifinal.) That being said, I have a couple of feelings: regardless of the eventual outcome, this is going to be a semifinal people will be talking about for a long time, and I suspect that whoever doesn’t win this game will very likely be seeing an Invitational Tournament invitation next year.
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have 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 2026? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 20 players, now including Jamie Ding, 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!
Wednesday, January 28, 2026:
|
Laura Faddah Memphis, Tennessee  148 correct, 30 incorrect 13/13 on rebound attempts (on 41 rebound opportunities) 29.60% in first on buzzer (148/500) 5/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,400) 3/9 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,400 Chance to make finals: 23.539% |
|
Steven Olson Princeton, Illinois  154 correct, 28 incorrect 5/9 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities) 45.13% in first on buzzer (153/339) 12/14 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $27,200) 4/6 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $17,167 Chance to make finals: 44.654% |
|
TJ Fisher San Francisco, California  172 correct, 38 incorrect 4/8 on rebound attempts (on 24 rebound opportunities) 45.11% in first on buzzer (180/399) 12/15 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $23,200) 1/7 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $17,114 Chance to make finals: 31.807% |
Overall Thoughts: A lot of people were wondering why the Unified Prediction Model was giving Steven better odds than Scott after the quarterfinals. With these pairings, Steven’s odds got even better, having drawn Laura Faddah and TJ Fisher. Steven is the clear favorite here after a dominant quarterfinal on Friday, but anything can happen on the Alex Trebek Stage.
In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in early 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.
Thursday, January 29, 2026:
|
Paolo Pasco San Diego, California  200 correct, 12 incorrect 10/10 on rebound attempts (on 30 rebound opportunities) 39.91% in first on buzzer (182/456) 10/12 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $25,600) 6/8 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $20,250 Chance to make finals: 39.301% |
|
Cameron Berry Brighton, Massachusetts  142 correct, 25 incorrect 9/13 on rebound attempts (on 31 rebound opportunities) 35.09% in first on buzzer (140/399) 4/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,400) 2/7 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,629 Chance to make finals: 33.864% |
|
Ashley Chan Lewisville, Texas  109 correct, 20 incorrect 1/3 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities) 33.04% in first on buzzer (113/342) 5/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,500) 2/6 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,267 Chance to make finals: 26.835% |
Overall Thoughts: Our third seed in Paolo Pasco has drawn Champions Wildcard winner Cameron Berry and Thursday’s winner in Ashley Chan in the last semifinal. Paolo is favored to win here, with his chances of overall victory increasing as a result of this semifinal draw.
The new TJ!F Plus section is active! In order to get the Daily Details of each episode coming soon, as well as the ability to comment on posts site-wide, make sure to register for your account! It should be noted that if you have not registered for an account since December 13, 2025, that registration for a new account is necessary.
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
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.
My picks
Game 1: This is the hardest one to choose no surprise, but I’m going with Scott still, but I wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed if any of them won
Game 2: Steven
Game 3: Paolo
My predictions
Game 1: Tom- This is going to be the ‘fireworks’ semifinal game I’m sure, and whoever wins probably won’t win via runaway. It seems like Scott did not get an easy matchup in Tom or Allegra, and either one of them are capable of pulling an upset. I’m giving the edge to Tom simply based on the quarterfinal and that he was slightly more dominant on the buzzer than Allegra, but by a very slim margin. This game could go any which way.
Game 2: Steven- Is there really anything I need to say? After his beautiful performance in his quarterfinal, I wouldn’t be surprised if he won it all. While Laura won 8 games, it just doesn’t seem like she has the statistics to beat someone like Steven, and TJ will likely need to get final right to have a chance at winning.
Game 3: Paolo- Of the three seeded semi finalists, I think Paolo got the easiest draw, but that is not to say that Cameron or Ashley can’t win the game. However, Paolo does have the best stats and he is probably the most likely to win, but anything can happen.
My predictions:
G1: Allegra – At this point I think she has the strongest SOS of these three and likely would have a much longer run to her name had she not drawn Harrison Whitaker so early. This is a QF for the ages and honestly gives more of a justification for Drew B being upset last year about his draw given they seemingly aren’t following a set formula.
G2: TJ Fisher – Sometimes people just seem to have the skill mixed with an ‘it’ factor to win on the J! stage by finding and converting important clues and I really get that feeling from TJ.
G3: Paolo – I think Cameron could really give him a run for his money here especially in the absence of a wordplay category. I don’t have numbers to back this up but it felt like Paolo was farming those categories throughout his run.
I truly don’t think I can say anything more about the matchups as a whole, and besides, I have a feeling most people who read my thoughts don’t really care about that. So!
Semifinal #1: Scott – First of all, to get what all of us are thinking out of the way, it should say plenty that a player with an average Coryat north of $21,000 is the statistical underdog in this matchup; this match could have easily been the finals composition, all three of them are so good. When this happens, I genuinely feel like I have little to go off of besides my own gut feeling, and while I dislike doing that, it’s necessary when all three players are that good. If there’s anything that Scott is really good at doing, it’s winning games of Jeopardy against very tough opponents, but it’s not gonna be easy for him whatsoever – and I have a feeling that whoever makes it through this game alive is gonna be in the driver’s seat to win the entire tournament.
Semifinal #2: Steven – Unlike the first matchup, I don’t feel as though this one is going to be nearly as unimaginably close. Laura definitely did something right to win as many times as she did, but being sandwiched against two of the strongest players on the buzzer in the field is not looking to do her any favors. I generally thought Steven had the better game of the two in the quarterfinals – and has just generally had better luck with Final Jeopardy – so I feel as though he’s most likely to win this one, but who knows? I’ve been surprised before!
Semifinal #3: Paolo – Considering just how strong of a player he was in his original run, I don’t think it should come as a surprise that I consider Paolo the favorite, and I think his chances have been helped significantly by the draw he got. His accuracy should also play a huge role in his advancement; after a very tough first game, he’s averaged just one unforced error throughout his entire run, and four of his eight games saw him give zero incorrect responses in the main game. Again, I’ve been surprised before, but I would not be surprised to see him get a rematch with Steven in the finals.
The next few days are gonna be some great Jeopardy, I can already tell 🙂