"Length" is the number of regular-play games during which champions qualified into that particular ToC. "Winnings" is the aggregate total of what that ToC's fifteen competitiors won in their regular games and the tournaments they won. These sums exclude cash prizes for runners-up since May 2002, as well as money won in Super Jeopardy! for the Season 2-7 ToCs. They are also "uncorrected" - that is, they are not adjusted for differences in clue values and payouts to tournament winners. Below each total in italics, however, is that total inflation-adjusted to May 2022 dollars.
| Season | Start/end dates | Winner | Length | Winnings | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | SF | QF | 6+ | 5 | 4 | 3 | Auto | M | W | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1985-11-11 1985-11-22 |
Jerry Frankel | 195 | $618,791 ($1,659,359) |
$100,000 | 2-day total | 2-day total | $5,000 | $1,000 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
| 3 | 1986-11-10 1986-11-21 |
Chuck Forrest | 185 | $562,108 ($1,488,242) |
$100,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||||||
| 4 | 1987-11-09 1987-11-20 |
Bob Verini | 200 | $628,964 ($1,593,099) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | 1988-11-07 1988-11-18 |
Mark Lowenthal | 200 | $738,702 ($1,794,843) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | ||||||
| 6 | 1989-11-06 1989-11-17 |
Tom Cubbage | 190 | $623,627 ($1,447,845) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 7 | 1990-11-05 1990-11-16 |
Bob Blake | 190 | $768,405 ($1,678,638) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
| 8 | 1991-11-04 1991-11-15 |
Jim Scott | 190 | $819,651 ($1,738,612) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 9 | 1992-11-09 1992-11-20 |
Leszek Pawlowicz | 190 | $902,609 ($1,857,951) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
| 10 | 1993-11-15 1993-11-26 |
Tom Nosek | 185 | $748,729 ($1,501,032) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | ||||||
| 11 | 1994-11-14 1994-11-25 |
Rachael Schwartz | 225 | $813,390 ($1,588,181) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
| 12 | 1995-11-13 1995-11-24 |
Ryan "Fritz" Holznagel | 185 | $737,109 ($1,402,695) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 | ||||||
| 13 | 1996-11-18 1996-11-29 |
Michael Dupée | 186 | $770,893 ($1,420,737) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 14 | 1998-02-02 1998-02-13 |
Dan Melia | 229 | $743,614 ($1,342,529) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 15 | 1999-02-08 1999-02-19 |
Dave Abbott | 191 | $695,076 ($1,235,063) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 2000-05-08 2000-05-19 |
Robin Carroll | 226 | $678,297 ($1,156,055) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 6 | ||||||
| 18 | 2001-10-22 2001-11-02 |
Brad Rutter | 265 | $877,104 ($1,442,735) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
| 19 | 2003-05-05 2003-05-16 |
Mark Dawson | 289 | $1,134,041 ($1,806,407) |
$250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 21 | 2004-09-20 2004-10-01 |
Russ Schumacher | 202 | $1,484,095 ($2,284,334) |
$250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 3 | |||||
| 22 | 2006-05-08 2006-05-19 |
Michael Falk | 228 | $1,659,207 ($2,394,961) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 2 | |||||
| 24 | 2007-11-05 2007-11-16 |
Celeste DiNucci | 270 | $1,482,012 ($2,061,054) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||
| 25 | 2009-03-11 2009-03-24 |
Dan Pawson | 276 | $1,679,466 ($2,307,853) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | |||||
| 26 | 2010-05-10 2010-05-21 |
Vijay Balse | 209 | $1,567,076 ($2,099,433) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | |||||
| 28 | 2011-11-02 2011-11-15 |
Roger Craig | 269 | $1,965,082 ($2,538,945) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 2 | |||||
| 29 | 2013-02-13 2013-02-26 |
Colby Burnett | 235 | $1,564,325 ($1,969,478) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | |||||
| 31 | 2014-11-10 2014-11-21 |
Ben Ingram | 273 | $2,274,442 ($2,815,192) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 6 | |||||
| 32 | 2015-11-09 2015-11-20 |
Alex Jacob | 240 | $2,005,421 ($2,469,817) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||
| 34 | 2017-11-06 2017-11-17 |
Buzzy Cohen | 395 | $2,277,599 ($2,698,892) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 2 | |||||
| 36 | 2019-11-04 2019-11-15 |
James Holzhauer | 324 | $4,066,343 ($4,621,069) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 4 | |||||
| 37 | 2021-05-17 2021-05-28 |
Sam Kavanaugh | 258 | $2,267,489 ($2,462,074) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| Finish | Regular | College | Teachers | Teen | Senior | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 | ||
| Second | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 4 | ||
| Third | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 7 | ||
| Semifinalist | 150 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 132 | 42 | ||
| Quarterfinalist | 142 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 131 | 43 | ||
| Weighted avg. | $34,973 | $19,833 | $37,778 | ($7,857) | ($15,500) |
Notes:
Qualification of tournament winners into the Tournament of Champions:
The listed values for the first and second runners-up are minimum guarantees; players finishing in those two places receive their score in the two-day final if it exceeds the listed value. Per J! Archive:
The prize minimum for finalists was instituted after 1986 Tournament of Champions 2nd runner-up Marvin Shinkman petitioned TPTB. Both he and 1st runner-up Paul Rouffa ended with 2-day cumulative scores less than $5,000 against tournament champion Chuck Forrest. (The previous year, the two nonwinning finalists both ended with more than $5,000 scores.)
The minimum guarantees have not been exceeded since they were set at their current values in 2006; the last player to receive his two-day final score was 2003 first runner-up Brian Weikle.
From 1985 through 1993, the qualifying period for the ToC was the prior season. Starting in 1994, the qualifying period was modified to the time between ToCs, subject to modifications as TPTB see fit; the producers generally do not disclose the cutoff dates. Catherine Hardee's appearance in the 2015 ToC is an example of the exercise of this prerogative, as she first appeared before the 2014 ToC. In determining the end of qualification for the latter, I've applied Occam's razor; the most logical date is July 18, 2014, the last regular game of Season 30.
For the Season 37 ToC, the show did explicitly state that the cutoff was January 5, 2021, the date of Brayden Smith's loss in regular play.
Qualification for the Season 36 ToC is deemed to have ended on June 6, 2019, the day Emma Boettcher lost. Boettcher, who defeated 32-game, $2.46 million winner James Holzhauer, was invited to the ToC, even though her winnings (3 wins, $97,002) would ordinarily have been insufficient. (Seven four-game winners above her in the standings did not make this ToC.) Additionally, a possibility posited by Andy Saunders: "…the producers have used their discretion to give the spot for the deceased Larry Martin to Emma Boettcher…" Boettcher reached the final of the 2019 ToC — but as noted above, Holzhauer prevailed.
The qualification period for the Season 21 ToC is considered to have ended on June 1, 2004 (the day before Ken Jennings's first appearance), and the Season 22 ToC qualifying period commenced on November 30, 2004 (the day Ken lost in regular play). Since Jennings did not appear in a standard format Tournament of Champions, his seventy-four wins are not considered part of either qualifying cycle. Jennings instead was seeded into the final of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, against two finalists emerging from a field of past Jeopardy! greats. The seeding and prize structure of the UToC guaranteed Jennings no less than a ToC winner's paycheck ($250,000 for third place; he actually earned twice that for finishing in second).
Between the Season 16 (2000) and Season 18 (2001) Tournaments of Champions, sixteen players retired as undefeated five-time champions. The field for the latter was filled on July 3, 2001, when Kevin Keach became the 14th such player. Alan Bailey and Mark Dawson each became five-time champions between that date and the 2001 ToC, and were thus held over to the next ToC in May 2003. Notwithstanding this, the qualification period for the 2001 ToC ran all the way to October 19, 2001, the game before it commenced. This is based on Ramsey Campbell's non-invitation to the 2003 ToC. Campbell won four games and $49,201; doubling that total to give it parity with those who played after clue values were doubled would have qualified him.
Three wins had traditionally been the minimum for regular play contestants to be eligible to participate in the Tournament of Champions. (As of the ToC to be played in 2022 or later, that minimum for eligibility increases to four.) Through the end of Season 19, when champions retired undefeated after five wins, that achievement came with automatic qualification to the next ToC; since "sky's the limit" came into effect in September 2003, it remains a de facto guarantee of entry. (As of Season 38, that is now a de jure guarantee, as Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings have both mentioned it repeatedly.) No player with at least five wins in regular play has ever failed to qualify for a standard format Tournament of Champions; as I'm using it, "failed to qualify" means "did not appear solely on account of not having won enough games and/or money." Depending on how you consider one instance, four or five players with at least five wins didn't play in a ToC for other reasons:
Additionally, the 2019 Tournament of Champions had, for the first time, an automatic bid winner who did not appear in the ToC:
