Masters in ‘Jeopardy!’: Champs return in new tournament

Mention the word “jeopardy” just about anywhere in North America and chances are the 30-second thinking tune will spring straight to mind. A staple feature across all “Jeopardy!” episodes from the original series to the college championships, teachers tournaments and beyond, the theme song now has another installment to hitch its musical wagon to.

“Jeopardy! Masters” is a new spinoff series premiering in prime time Monday, May 8, on ABC. Hosted by “Jeopardy!” GOAT (greatest of all time) and current regular series host Ken Jennings, this tournament takes place over 10 episodes, pitting six former “Jeopardy!” champions against one another in classic round-robin fashion.

With the “Masters” announcement, ABC released the names of the six big winners who are featured in several seasons of the long-running regular show. Perhaps most popular among them is James Holzhauer, a professional sports gambler and trivia contestant from Naperville, Illinois. After his 32-game, $2.5-million win on “Jeopardy!” during the spring of 2019, Holzhauer went on to appear alongside other “Jeopardy!” GOATs in the American version of the British game show series “The Chase.”

Joining Holzhauer behind the podiums are two Ohio-born contestants: writer Amy Schneider and Yale PhD candidate Matt Amodio, both of whom competed in 2021.

Amodio, whose 38-game streak on “Jeopardy!” has become known as “The Amodio Rodeo,” won $1.5 million during his 39 appearances, making him the third-highest earner in regular season play to date. His is also the third-longest winning streak after Schneider and Jennings himself.

Current Oakland, California resident Schneider, however, is second only to 74-game champion Jennings when it comes to wins. Reigning over “Jeopardy’s” regular season play for a total of 40 games, Schneider took home a cool $1.6 million. Ranking as both the most successful woman and the most successful trans person ever to compete in the series, Schneider’s particular strength has been in the Final Jeopardy! Round, in which she answered 30 of 41 clues correctly.

All good things must come to an end, however, and Schneider was ousted in January 2022 by another contestant, Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma (who will not appear in the Masters tournament). Of course, Schneider knew her time on top would eventually end, as it was she who dethroned fellow Master Andrew He at the start of her run.

An MIT grad, software developer and competitive programmer, He is not only a “Jeopardy!” champion but also the 2021 winner of the Facebook Hacker Cup. Well known on the quiz show for his expert wagering tactics and narrow-margin wins (wins by just $1 or $2), He is the second youngest of the “Masters” series competitors.

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This modern remix of the iconic 1992 comedy follows the adventures of two polar-opposite Los Angeles street ballers: Jeremy (rapper Jack Harlow), a former star of the game whose injuries stalled his career; and Kamal (Sinqua Walls, “American Soul”), once a promising player who derailed his own future in the sport.

The title of “youngest champion” goes to Canadian tutor Mattea Roach. Boasting an impressive 93% accuracy with regard to her buzzed-in answers, Roach won the hearts of many with her quirky hand gestures and down-to-earth repartee. The most successful Canadian in “Jeopardy!” history, Roach’s 23-game win puts her in sixth place for earnings at just 23 years old. “Jeopardy! Masters” will put Roach back in the game with other Tournament of Champions contestants, including He, to whom she lost during the November 2022 ToC.

The most recent master is a rather familiar (some may say “celebrity”) face. Sam Buttrey, a new favourite among “Jeopardy!” fans, has caught attention for his remarkable physical likeness to comedic actor Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”). Buttrey, however, unlike Martin (so far as anyone knows), is somewhat of a trivia master, securing his place in the ToC after winning the first-ever “Jeopardy! Professors Tournament.” The Naval Postgraduate School associate professor of operations research even got the chance to play Amodio in the ToC semifinals — a previously stated dream of his — and won.

With respect to the organization of the new “Jeopardy!” series, showrunner Michael Davies told the “Inside ‘Jeopardy!’” podcast that “Masters” is “a league-based system.”

“It’s about winning games,” Davies remarked, “and we want to reward winning. There will be some bonus for finishing second, but it’s really about winning games.”

During “Jeopardy! Masters,” every contestant will get a chance to play each of the other all-time champs, which will no doubt make for a very competitive, fun and high-earning 10 episodes. At the end of it all, the top three winners will be invited to return for next year’s “Masters” tournament, while the remaining three will have to qualify again to appear.

Of course, the biggest obstacle for five of the masters this time will likely be Holzhauer, who recently labelled himself the “supervillain” of the event while drawing parallels between “Masters” and the ToC on Twitter.

Retweeting the official “Jeopardy! Masters” poster, Holzhauer (@ James_Holzhauer) wrote: “This poster screams, ‘We know you saw this tournament last year but a new supervillain has joined the cast for the sequel!’ And I am here for it.”

Either way, one thing diehard “Jeopardy!” fans can all seem to agree on is that there can never be enough “Jeopardy!”

Don’t miss the first year of “Jeopardy! Masters” when it premieres Monday, May 8, on ABC in prime time, and become a part of the action by staying up to date with news and fan comments on the official “Jeopardy!” website (Jeopardy.com) and the game show Twitter page (@Jeopardy).

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