Jeopardy! Seniors Tournament

The "Jeopardy!" Seniors Tournament was one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the game show "Jeopardy!" Eligible contestants consisted of people aged 50 and over.

Format

The format was similar to that of the Tournament of Champions, with a field of fifteen people appearing three at a time in each of five quarterfinal matches. The winners of those matches automatically advanced, and four wildcard spots were given to the high scorers among the nonwinners. The nine semifinalists then played three elimination matches to determine the three players who would advance to a two-game, total-point match for a top prize of at least $25,000 and a spot in the Tournament of Champions.

Prizes

*Quarterfinalists: $1,000
*Semifinalists: $5,000
*2nd runner-up: $7,500 (or the player's 2-game total, whichever was greater)
*1st runner-up: $10,000 (or the player's 2-game total, whichever was greater)
*Winner: $25,000 (or the player's 2-game total, whichever was greater), and a spot in the Tournament of Champions

List of participants

The following is a list of contestants and where they placed in the tournament. Winners and runners-up who earned more than the minimum guarantees are as indicated in parenthesis.

Retirement

The Seniors Tournament was the first (and so far the only) of the traditional tournaments to be retired. Since the last Seniors Tournament in December 1995, constants older than 50 years regularly appear on the program in the regular play games.

Trivia

*Only one time during a tournament has there been a time where there was no winner, and it happened in the second quarterfinal of the 1991 Seniors Tournament. To make room for nine semifinalists (because it happened in the quarterfinals), a fifth wild card was added to the mix.
*Two of the Seniors Tournament winners would eventually make it to the finals of the Tournament of Champions: Lou Pryor in 1991 and Marilyn Kneeland in 1993. They both finished third.
*Babs McClellan, a semifinalist in the 1991 tournament, was the winner of the 1965 Tournament of Champions.
*Eliot Schteir, the first runner-up in the summer 1995 tournament, was a finalist in the 1969 Tournament of Champions, losing to Jay Wolpert.

External links

* [http://www.jeopardy.com The official website of Jeopardy!]
* [http://www.oddchange.com/jdoc/seniors.html A description of the Seniors Tournament]