‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Celebrate as Final Round of Champions Wildcard Begins

Martin Holmes November 30, 2023, 10:20 am

Jeopardy! contestants on Champions Wildcard — Jeopardy, Inc!

Jeopardy‘s Champions Wildcard tournament is finally nearing its conclusion as the final round (the field of Hearts) kicked off on Wednesday (November 29) night, and some fans are ecstatic that the months-long competition is coming to a close.

The Champions Wildcard tournament launched on October 2, with 105 brief champions from Seasons 37 and 38 (plus the three winners of the recent Second Chance tournament) returning to earn a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. The contestants were split into four fields: Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades.

Those already qualified for the TOC include traffic engineer Josh Saak (who finished first in the Spades group), project manager Emily Sands (who finished first in Diamonds), and orthopedic physician assistant Nick Cascone (who finished first in Clubs).

“I actually raised both hands in the air and yelled ‘yes’ when Ken [Jennings] said it’s the last wildcard tournament,” one fan wrote on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum after last night’s episode.

Others agreed with the sentiment, with one commenter writing, “Yeah, I’m getting really tired of this seemingly endless tournament. I can’t listen to any more stories about what people thought about getting the call to go back on the show.”

One fan who had already tuned out was surprised to learn the Wildcard was still in progress. “The tournament is still going on?!?” they commented.

“Does anyone know when #Jeopardy is doing their Tournament of Champions or when Regular Jeopardy returns? It’s nice to watch the games, but I’m getting bored of the Champions Wildcard,” asked another viewer on X (formerly Twitter).

Does anyone know when #Jeopardy is doing their Tournament of Champions or when Regular Jeopardy returns? It’s nice to watch the games, but I’m getting bored of the Champions Wildcard.

— Steve Davis (@SteveRockyDavis) November 30, 2023

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait until at least April before regular non-tournament Jeopardy! returns. While the current Champions Wildcard is set to wrap up on December 18, the tournaments are only just getting started.

As previously explained by showrunner Michael Davies, following the conclusion of Wildcard, Jeopardy! will move into its originally scheduled post-season tournaments, including another Second Chance tournament, this time for Season 39 non-winners, and a Champions Wildcard for brief Season 39 winners.

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This will be followed by the 2023 Tournament of Champions, featuring multi-day champs from Season 39 and the eight winners of the two Wildcard tournaments. Plus, there is the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, which will see exceptional players from the show’s past competing to earn a spot in the next Jeopardy! Masters tournament.

While some fans are frustrated by the constant tournaments, there is a good reason as to why they’re happening: The show had to come up with a plan while the WGA strike was ongoing, which meant bringing back past contestants and recycling clues.

“The show had to come up with a backup plan in case the WGA Strike dragged on,” wrote one fan on a previous Reddit post. “Even though the strike is over, they’re finishing what they’ve started. Meanwhile, the writers are working on refilling the ‘clue vault.’”

Wednesday’s first game in the Hearts field saw software engineer Henry Baer earn his spot in the semi-finals after beating product support specialist Rhone Talsma and museum educator Nell Klugman in a closely fought game.

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check local listings