15 players are down to 9 in Champions Wildcard as one of these players will earn the 21st and final spot in the 33rd Tournament of Champions. As is usual here at The Jeopardy! Fan, the Unified Prediction Model has been run to predict the week’s outcomes.
Here are your semifinalists:
Monday, January 12, 2026:
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Ryan Sharpe Oakville, Ontario, Canada  119 correct, 10 incorrect 9/9 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities) 37.54% in first on buzzer (107/285) 7/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $37,326) 4/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,880 37.491% to advance to final |
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Vickie Talvola Jersey City, New Jersey  65 correct, 6 incorrect 6/8 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities) 32.75% in first on buzzer (56/171) 4/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,400) 3/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,067 32.576% to advance to final |
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Cameron Berry Brighton, Massachusetts  64 correct, 14 incorrect 6/9 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities) 36.84% in first on buzzer (63/171) 3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,400) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,400 29.933% to advance to final |
Overall Thoughts: Ryan is definitely still the favorite to advance to next week overall, but I will say that this draw did not do him any favors whatsoever. I like to use the term “fireworks game” to describe a game that I think is between three strong players, and Monday’s game definitely fits that bill. I certainly hope that the West Coast gets to see it! (Thanks, football!)
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Tuesday, January 13, 2026:
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Jonathan Hugendubler Baltimore, Maryland  71 correct, 13 incorrect 6/6 on rebound attempts (on 20 rebound opportunities) 29.82% in first on buzzer (68/228) 5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $23,600) 3/4 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,250 37.511% to advance to final |
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Michelle Tsai Honolulu, Hawaiʻi  117 correct, 15 incorrect 10/12 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities) 37.19% in first on buzzer (106/285) 5/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,600) 2/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,920 35.278% to advance to final |
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Bill McKinney San Diego, California  89 correct, 19 incorrect 11/15 on rebound attempts (on 35 rebound opportunities) 29.33% in first on buzzer (83/283) 4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,000) 1/5 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,680 27.211% to advance to final |
Overall Thoughts: Tuesday’s semifinal features Jonathan Hugendubler, Michelle Tsai, and Bill McKinney. At this point, this semifinal has the most number of combined wins, with 10 combined between our three players. The prediction model does give a slight edge to Jonathan, but all three players have demonstrated what it takes to win on the Alex Trebek Stage.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2026:
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Stella Trout Houston, Texas  61 correct, 8 incorrect 5/5 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities) 31.55% in first on buzzer (53/168) 7/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $18,000) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $17,067 35.831% to advance to final |
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Ian Morrison Aurora, Colorado  59 correct, 11 incorrect 5/5 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities) 35.09% in first on buzzer (60/171) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000) 2/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,133 28.564% to advance to final |
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Harvey Silikovitz West Orange, New Jersey  66 correct, 8 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities) 38.60% in first on buzzer (66/171) 2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,000) 1/3 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $17,667 35.605% to advance to final |
Overall Thoughts: Our last semifinal looks to be a toss-up per the prediction model. If we see the H-Bomb that destroyed everyone in his first-ever game, this semifinal isn’t going to be close. If not, though, absolutely anything can happen and I think this game might be too close to call.
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Andy! Thanks for this Preview. It will enhance my enjoyment of this phase of the Tournament.
Don’t know what it says about me that I prioritized making these predictions over, y’know, doing things that normal humans do upon waking up… but I digress!
Semifinal #1: Ryan – I’m going to agree with you that this is the fireworks semifinal; no matter who wins, I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best games of the entire postseason so far, if not just straight up THE best. Ryan definitely picked up right where he left off dominating Second Chance by dominating his quarterfinal here as well, but while he’s the favorite for this match, he hasn’t been given an easy draw by any means – and now that Vickie and Cameron have had a match to shake off the rust, this has potential to be a fantastic battle.
Semifinal #2: Jonathan – Even though Jonathan and Michelle are two of my favorite players in the entire postseason and I really wish both of them could advance, any possibility of that has been thrown out after the 2013 Teen Tournament, so I (unfortunately) have to pick just one of them. This is basically a toss-up, but I’m giving the edge to Jonathan mainly because he already has plenty of experience fending off strong players… and he just somehow always finds ways to win. I think he’s the favorite to win and would do very well in a finals setting, but I would not be at all shocked – and would also be very happy – if Michelle were to advance.
Semifinal #3: Harvey – Aside from the fact that Ian just can’t catch a break when it comes to opponents, this definitely also has potential to be a great battle. Now that wildcards are no longer in play and the games are strictly “win or go home”, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see H-Bomb come out guns blazing and do whatever he needs to do to win. His recovery after missing DD3 in his quarterfinal also showed me that he has a lot of very deep knowledge; if he can get the buzzer timing to take advantage of that deep knowledge, Stella and Ian are going to have a much harder time keeping pace!
Now time for breakfast 🙂 This week is gonna be great!
MasterDoge! Thanks for your analysis. It will increase my enjoyment of these matches.