"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 September 2022 dollars.
ToC | Season | Start/end dates | Winner | Length | Winnings | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | SF | QF | 6+ | 5 | 4 | 3 | Auto | Men | Women | Non-binary | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 2 | 1985-11-11 1985-11-22 |
Jerry Frankel | 195 | $618,791 ($1,684,974) |
$100,000 | 2-day total | 2-day total | $5,000 | $1,000 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | |||||||
2nd | 3 | 1986-11-10 1986-11-21 |
Chuck Forrest | 185 | $562,108 ($1,511,215) |
$100,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |||||||
3rd | 4 | 1987-11-09 1987-11-20 |
Bob Verini | 200 | $628,964 ($1,617,691) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | |||||||
4th | 5 | 1988-11-07 1988-11-18 |
Mark Lowenthal | 200 | $738,702 ($1,822,549) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | |||||||
5th | 6 | 1989-11-06 1989-11-17 |
Tom Cubbage | 190 | $623,627 ($1,470,194) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
6th | 7 | 1990-11-05 1990-11-16 |
Bob Blake | 190 | $768,405 ($1,704,550) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | |||||||
7th | 8 | 1991-11-04 1991-11-15 |
Jim Scott | 190 | $819,651 ($1,765,450) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
8th | 9 | 1992-11-09 1992-11-20 |
Leszek Pawlowicz | 190 | $902,609 ($1,886,631) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | |||||||
9th | 10 | 1993-11-15 1993-11-26 |
Tom Nosek | 185 | $748,729 ($1,524,203) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | |||||||
10th | 11 | 1994-11-14 1994-11-25 |
Rachael Schwartz | 225 | $813,390 ($1,612,697) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | |||||||
11th | 12 | 1995-11-13 1995-11-24 |
Ryan "Fritz" Holznagel | 185 | $737,109 ($1,424,348) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 | |||||||
12th | 13 | 1996-11-18 1996-11-29 |
Michael Dupée | 186 | $770,893 ($1,442,668) |
$100,000 | $10,000 | $7,500 | $5,000 | $1,000 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
13th | 14 | 1998-02-02 1998-02-13 |
Dan Melia | 229 | $743,614 ($1,363,253) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
14th | 15 | 1999-02-08 1999-02-19 |
Dave Abbott | 191 | $695,076 ($1,254,128) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
15th | 16 | 2000-05-08 2000-05-19 |
Robin Carroll | 226 | $678,297 ($1,173,901) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 6 | |||||||
16th | 18 | 2001-10-22 2001-11-02 |
Brad Rutter | 265 | $877,104 ($1,465,006) |
$100,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $2,500 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | |||||||
17th | 19 | 2003-05-05 2003-05-16 |
Mark Dawson | 289 | $1,134,041 ($1,834,291) |
$250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||||
18th | 21 | 2004-09-20 2004-10-01 |
Russ Schumacher | 202 | $1,484,095 ($2,319,596) |
$250,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
19th | 22 | 2006-05-08 2006-05-19 |
Michael Falk | 228 | $1,659,207 ($2,431,930) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
20th | 24 | 2007-11-05 2007-11-16 |
Celeste DiNucci | 270 | $1,482,012 ($2,092,869) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
21st | 25 | 2009-03-11 2009-03-24 |
Dan Pawson | 276 | $1,679,466 ($2,343,478) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | ||||||
22nd | 26 | 2010-05-10 2010-05-21 |
Vijay Balse | 209 | $1,567,076 ($2,131,840) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
23rd | 28 | 2011-11-02 2011-11-15 |
Roger Craig | 269 | $1,965,082 ($2,578,138) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
24th | 29 | 2013-02-13 2013-02-26 |
Colby Burnett | 235 | $1,564,325 ($1,999,880) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | ||||||
25th | 31 | 2014-11-10 2014-11-21 |
Ben Ingram | 273 | $2,274,442 ($2,858,648) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 6 | ||||||
26th | 32 | 2015-11-09 2015-11-20 |
Alex Jacob | 240 | $2,005,421 ($2,507,942) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
27th | 34 | 2017-11-06 2017-11-17 |
Buzzy Cohen | 395 | $2,277,599 ($2,740,554) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 2 | ||||||
28th | 36 | 2019-11-04 2019-11-15 |
James Holzhauer | 324 | $4,066,343 ($4,692,401) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 4 | ||||||
29th | 37 | 2021-05-17 2021-05-28 |
Sam Kavanaugh | 258 | $2,267,489 ($2,500,079) |
$250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | ||||||
30th | 39 | 2022-10-31 2022-11-21 |
Amy Schneider | 368 | $5,750,089 | $250,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 1 |
Finish | Regular | College | Teachers | Professors | Second Chance | Teen | Senior | Men | Women | Non-binary | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |||
Second | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | |||
Third | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 7 | |||
Semifinalist | 156 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 136 | 44 | |||
Quarterfinalist | 151 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 136 | 49 | 1 | ||
Weighted avg. | $34,614 | $19,355 | $37,778 | $50,000 | $5,000 | ($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. (In the 30th (2022) ToC, with its first-to-three-wins format, the values are fixed.) 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; this will be once again the case from 2023 onward. From 1994 to 2022, the qualifying period was generally the period between ToCs, subject to modifications as TPTB saw fit; the producers generally did not disclose the cutoff dates. Instances of deviations:
Three wins had traditionally been the minimum for regular play contestants to be eligible to participate in the Tournament of Champions. (As of the 30th ToC, 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: