Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
Thu Dec 30, 2004 4:40 am
Jeopardy!'s going to have a super-tournament starting in February and going on until May with almost 150 of the best players from the last 20 years. The finals will be 3 games, with 2 players in the tournament who made it that far, and Ken Jennings. First place gets $2 million, runner-up is guaranteed $500,000 and 3rd place is guaranteed $250,000. Here's the press release, taken from the official J! site:
“JEOPARDY!” ANNOUNCES
ULTIMATE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!
Top Players From JEOPARDY!, Past and Present,
To Compete For Title, “Best JEOPARDY! Player Ever”
(Culver City, December 29, 2004) In November, JEOPARDY! phenomenon Ken Jennings entered the record books as the biggest money-winner in game show history, prompting the question, “Is he the best player ever?”. Now, producers of the hit television quiz show are preparing to answer that question, announcing that in early 2005, JEOPARDY! will conduct a 15-week-long invitational “Super Tournament” culminating in a $2 Million cash prize for the winner.
Invited to compete in the Tournament will be all previous winners of JEOPARDY!’s annual Tournament of Champions, College Championship, Teen Tournament, and over 100 of the top scoring undefeated five-time champions in the show’s 21 year history. Nearly 150 players will compete in a series of games which will narrow the field to two players, who will compete against Jennings in the finals, to air in May 2005.
JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek says “Ever since Ken started his amazing run, people have been speculating on how some of the past JEOPARDY! players would do against him. By scheduling this Tournament, we’re answering that question. I’m calling this competition ‘The Quest for Ken’”.
Jennings, a long-time JEOPARDY! fan, states “I’ve been a fan of the show for a very long time, and I well remember some of the big players, especially people like Chuck Forrest and Frank Spangenberg. I would love the opportunity to meet them on the JEOPARDY! field of battle! I can’t wait to see who I’ll be up against in the finals”.
JEOPARDY! Executive Producer Harry Friedman comments, “The 2003 rule change, which allows JEOPARDY! players to keep playing until they’re defeated, raised the question about how other five-time champions might have played under this rule. This Tournament is an opportunity to give those past champions another chance to shine.”
All participating players will be guaranteed prize money at each level of the competition, with the finalists receiving: $250,000 for Third place; $500,000 for Second place; and a $2 Million cash prize going to the winner.
JEOPARDY!, a winner of 24 Emmy awards since its debut in 1984, is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, and is distributed domestically by King World Productions, Inc. The series is distributed internationally by CBS Paramount International Television.
Thu Dec 30, 2004 4:56 am
Lol, Ken Jennings chance to crush his heros XD
Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:19 am
Sweet. But is Ken humiliated if he gets crushed?
Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:51 am
Now ken will have 4mil...
Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:09 pm
Atamand wrote:Sweet. But is Ken humiliated if he gets crushed?
1. He wouldnt be that humiliated, he's been defeated once before... (About time!
)
2. I really... really... REALLY doubt that Ken will be crushed. I.e. last, or losing to someone by 5k or something...
Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:22 pm
You have to remember though, he's going up against the 2 other best J! players. A lot of these people could've started runs like Ken's, but it wasn't until last season that people were actually allowed to come back as long as they kept winning. Before, if you won five games, you got your money, you got a prize (A box of Rice-a-Roni in the early seasons, 2 Camaros in Seasons 14-18, and a Jaguar in Seasons 18 & 19), and you went home. People like Frank Spangenberg and Leszek Pawlowicz could definitely have won at least 20 games if they had been allowed to.
Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:03 pm
Haha, I was watching VH1 and they were talking about Ken Jennings. This guy said, "I believe Ken is really asian, because no white person could be that smart!"
Lol that made me laugh.
Lol that made me laugh.
Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:15 pm
FaerieGirl wrote:Haha, I was watching VH1 and they were talking about Ken Jennings. This guy said, "I believe Ken is really asian, because no white person could be that smart!"
Lol that made me laugh.
lol.
Ah man, I definitely have to watch this! Sounds awesome. Plus, I have to root Ken on ^_^. Although I doubt he'll need it, he'll easily make it to the finals
Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:11 pm
fzun wrote:FaerieGirl wrote:Haha, I was watching VH1 and they were talking about Ken Jennings. This guy said, "I believe Ken is really asian, because no white person could be that smart!"
Lol that made me laugh.
lol.
Ah man, I definitely have to watch this! Sounds awesome. Plus, I have to root Ken on ^_^. Although I doubt he'll need it, he'll easily make it to the finals
He's automatically in the finals. Two other people will make it to the finals and face him there, so he's guaranteed at least $250,000.
Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:17 pm
go ken, besides if he wins he'll make even more money
Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:32 pm
Ken Jennings amuses me endlessly, because he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd know a bunch of useless garbage. He kind of looks like the guy two cubicles down from you at work with a nervous disorder.
Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:09 am
Fiddelysquat wrote:Ken Jennings amuses me endlessly, because he doesn't look like the kind of guy who'd know a bunch of useless garbage. He kind of looks like the guy two cubicles down from you at work with a nervous disorder.
That's what I think also. He practicly screams GEEK!
Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:49 am
Ken is gonna win!