| Host | |
| Buzzy Cohen | |
| Contestants | |
| see below | |
| Announcer | |
| Johnny Gilbert | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packager | |
| Sony Pictures Television | |
The 2021 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions was the 29th edition of the Tournament of Champions in the syndicated era of Jeopardy! This tournament was guest-hosted by Tournament of Champions winner Buzzy Cohen after Alex Trebek passed away in November 2020. This was also the first edition in the post-Trebek era.
Contestants[]
| Rank | Season | Name | Wins | TW | Results | WC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 36 | Ben Henri | A | $100,000 | ||
| T | Nibir Sarma | ★ | 
| |||
| 1 | 35/36 | Jason Zuffranieri ($ S36) | 19 | $534,496 | ||
| 2 | 36 | Jennifer Quail | 8 | $230,800 | ★ | |
| 3 | MacKenzie Jones | $206,808 | ||||
| 4 | Karen Farrell | $160,603 | ★ | |||
| 5 | 35 | Sam Kavanaugh | 5 | $157,202 | ★ | |
| 6 | 37 | Kevin Walsh | $113,301 | ★ | ||
| 7 | 36 | Paul Trifiletti | $107,801 | |||
| 8 | 35 | Ryan Bilger | 4 | $109,049 | ★ | |
| 9 | 37 | Ryan Hemmel | $105,526 |
| ||
| 10 | Andy Wood | $93,999 | ||||
| 11 | 36 | Sarah Jett Rayburn | $90,300 | |||
| 12 | Veronica Vichit-Vadakan | $90,001 | ★ |
| ||
| 13 | Steve Moulds[1] | 3 | $86,603 |
Game Summary[]
| Game | Air Date | Name | Score | Name | Score | Name | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QF #1 | May 17, 2021 | Jason Zuffranieri | $18,800 | Ryan Bilger | $32,405 | Sarah Jett Rayburn | $0 ($9,800) |
# |
| QF #2 | May 18, 2021 | Karen Farrell | $16,200 | Nibir Sarma | $12,199 | Steve Moulds | $4,800 | # |
| QF #3 | May 19, 2021 | Jennifer Quail | $20,650 | Paul Trifiletti | $100 ($5,800) |
Ryan Hemmel | $11,600 | # |
| QF #4 | May 20, 2021 | MacKenzie Jones | $9,000 | Kevin Walsh | $16,000 | Ben Henri | $0 ($2,800) |
# |
| QF #5 | May 21, 2021 | Sam Kavanaugh | $22,801 | Andy Wood | $100 ($7,400) |
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan | $22,460 | # |
| SF #1 | May 24, 2021 | Sam Kavanaugh | $28,600 | Karen Farrell | $12,519 | Ryan Hemmel | $3,907 | # |
| SF #2 | May 25, 2021 | Ryan Bilger | $16,002 | Veronica Vichit-Vadakan | $31,400 | Kevin Walsh | $0 | # |
| SF #3 | May 26, 2021 | Jennifer Quail | $29,999 | Jason Zuffranieri | $20,400 | Nibir Sarma | $1 | # |
| Final | May 27, 2021 | Veronica Vichit-Vadakan | $6,400 | Jennifer Quail | $14,500 | Sam Kavanaugh | $38,000 | # |
| May 28, 2021 | $9,200 | $27,500 | $20,388 | # | ||||
| Total | $15,600 | $42,000 | $58,388 |
Notes[]
Contest Related[]
- Eligibility lasted from June 7, 2019 (the day after the last qualifying champ for the 2019 ToC, Emma Boettcher, lost in regular play) to January 5, 2021 (Brayden Smith's loss).
- This is the last competition to use the subtitles for the winner (Semi)finalist.
- This is the last tournament with the 2008-2021 music.
- This is the first tournament to be held in the post Trebek era.
- This is the only tournament with Mike Richards as the executive producer.
- First ToC in the post-Trebek era, 2017 ToC champion Buzzy Cohen guest hosted for the 2021 ToC.
- It was held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- As the format of the next ToC was changed, it became the last ToC with 15 people competing and the last TOC confirmed to have wildcards and a 2-day final total point affair.
- For only second time since 1993, two female champions advanced to ToC final (in terms of all tournaments, it is the first time since 2018 Teen Tournament: all-female).
- Veronica Vichit-Vadakan is the last finalist from WC[2].
- With two female finalists this season, it was thought there would be a female ToC winner after Celeste DiNucci in 2007, but it was pushed back to the next opportunity.
- In addition, the jinx continued that the participant who won the 10 consecutive championships before the final did not win the championship. Instead, the jinx that the person who advanced to the ToC after winning the 4th consecutive champion does not win is broken[3].
- The winner's amount goes to the charity, Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission Trebek Center for Homeless (now known as Hope the Mission Trebek Center).
Contestant Related[]
- 5-time champion Brayden Smith suddenly and shockingly passed away on February 5, 2021. Steve Moulds, the next eligible player, took his place. Additionally, a short video commemorating him was aired after the quarterfinal 5-game Jeopardy round ended.
- [Vichit-Vadakan is the best female entrant in the semifinals with WC like S29 Kristin Morgan and S31 Julia Collins since S24 ToC winner Celeste DiNucci.
- Runner-up Jennifer Quail became the 7th player in history to set the record for FJ! consecutive correct answers more than 10 times (From 3rd game to the entire ToC final).
- Zach Newkirk, who originally planned to participate in this ToC, became the third person to not return as reigning champion in regular-play due to travel restrictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned as a co-champion on January 28, 2021, and his reign ended after the eligibility closed for this ToC. Newkirk won four games in this ToC qualification period, and Season 36 ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic with only 190 episodes, resulting Newkirk being carried over to the next ToC.
- MacKenzie Jones is the first female champion with six or more wins to not reach the semifinals.
- Sam Kavanaugh's victory became the third time in history a champion of the same season has won the ToC.
- Kavanaugh, Jones, Quail and Jason Zuffranieri returned in 2024 for the inaugural Invitational Tournament. Quail and Kavanaugh reached the semifinals.
Evaluation[]
Overall, this competition was similar to S22. The tournament was held in May, and the 19th straight champion (David Madden) unexpectedly failed to advance to the semifinals. It is also the same that the unexpected dark horse won instead of the champion who defeated the super champion. S22 ToC winner Michael Falk and S37 Toc winner Sam Kavanaugh received relatively little attention prior to the competition. At S22, David Madden got the spotlight, and at S37, Jason Zuffranieri and Jennifer Quail got their attention.
However, when opened the results, in S22, all finalists were filled with cast members with less than 5 wins in a row, following S11, as the long-term winners were eliminated, and in S37, Vichit-Vadakan, who received a low seed, took 3rd place, and Kavanaugh won the championship. caused an uproar. In particular, he was able to win because he earned a lot of points in DD like the previous ToC winner, James Holzhauer. Even in the final against Quail, he was able to win with his bold DD strategy. In this tournament, Vichit-Vadakan beat Ryan Bilger, who beat Jason Zuffranieri, and Quail also beat Zuffranieri, who came up to WC, And Sam even beat them and won. As there is a saying in the World Cup, 'the ball is round', this ToC also became one of the tournaments where it is difficult to predict the winner, and it was an episode to see how Jeopardy ToC continues to gain popularity.
In addition, Buzzy Cohen, the temporary moderator of S34 ToC, also received favorable reviews. When he appeared on ToC, he once expressed his desire to work as Alex’s successor, and that dream came true.
References[]
- ↑ Replacement for 5-time champion Brayden Smith, who passed away before he could compete in the Tournament.
- ↑ Austin Rogers from the S34 last as a man, and Celeste DiNucci from the S24 last (as a man Michael Falk from the S22).
- ↑ Later, Cris Pannullo broke the jinx that a champion who won a four-game winning streak couldn't be more than a six-game winning streak.
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