Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions - Format

Format

With the expansion of the field to 15 players in the Alex Trebek era, the Tournament of Champions now lasts two weeks (10 shows) with the following format, devised by Trebek himself in 1985 to suit the 15 five-time champions from the previous year. The same format applies to the Teen Tournament, College Championship, and Teachers Tournament; it previously applied to the Seniors Tournament and the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament:

• Shows 1–5: The quarterfinals, with three new contestants participating each day. The five winners advance to the semifinals. Four "wild card" spots are available to those with the highest score among non-winners; ties are broken by the highest score after "Double Jeopardy!" Any game ending with a triple-zero tie eliminates all three players, and a fifth wild card spot is added.
• Shows 6–8: The semifinals, with only the three winners advancing to finals. In case of a tie (other than a triple-zero), a toss-up Final Jeopardy!-style answer is played between the tied players; the player who rings in and gives the correct question advances, as a player cannot win by default and must give a correct question. In case of a triple-zero tie, all three players are eliminated, and the higher-scoring second-place player from the other semifinals advances.
• Shows 9–10: The two-day finals. Both games begin with zero scores, and the contestants' final scores from both games are totaled to determine their final score. If a contestant has a zero or negative score at the end of Double Jeopardy!, his/her score for that day is recorded as zero. The contestant with the highest cumulative score wins the grand prize. The runners-up receive either a guaranteed cash prize or the amount of their two-day total, whichever is higher.