2026 Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard

Host

Ken Jennings

Contestants

see below

Announcer

Johnny Gilbert

Broadcast

January 12, 2026 – January 23, 2026

Packager

Sony Pictures Television

The 2026 Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard is a tournament for wildcard players who will compete for a berth at the Tournament of Champions. The champions from 1 to 3 wins, along with the Second Chance winners of the season will face off, and the winner will be given the right to participate in the ToC, which will be played in the post season.

Contestants

Rank	Season	Name	Wins	TW	Results	WC
SC	41/42		A	$35,000
1	41	Mike Dawson	3	$59,000
2		Bill McKinney		$48,800
3		James Corson	2	$73,800
4		Dave Bond		$54,400
5		Jack Goldfisher	1	$34,401
6		Steven Hoying		$32,403
7		Erin Morin		$31,600
8		Cameron Berry		$26,600
9		Harvey Silikovitz		$25,600
10		Ben Ganger		$24,999
11		Eric Weldon-Schilling		$23,000
12
13

Game Summary

Game	Air Date	Name	Score	Name	Score	Name	Score	Detail
QF #1	January 12, 2026
QF #2	January 13, 2026
QF #3	January 14, 2026
QF #4	January 15, 2026
QF #5	January 16, 2026
SF #1	January 19, 2026
SF #2	January 20, 2026
SF #3	January 21, 2026
Final	January 22, 2026
	January 23, 2026
	Total

Trivia

• 5 of the participants have competed with ToC entrants before in their original appearance:
  • Ashley Chan – Eric
  • Laura Faddah – Eric and Harvey
  • Alex DeFrank – Jack and Cameron
  • Josh Weikert – Cameron
  • Bryce Wargin – Andrew

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Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard
2023	2024	2025	2026