Jeopardy! Power Rankings Post-Masters (Part 1)
Now that Jeopardy! Masters has finished airing, I created a power rankings list for all of the best and most memorable players.
Introduction
For every time a major tournament finishes airing, I plan to make a power rankings list using seven different tiers. The top tier is reserved for The Goats, tier 2 is for The Masters, tier 3 is for The Ultimate, tier 4 is for The All-Stars, tier 5 is for The Elite, tier 6 is for The Rising, and tier 7 is for The Sacred. Everyone listed in these power rankings will also be named in future power rankings.
I will not be listing total winnings or all-time leaderboard rankings for these players, for this is being measured differently with a few factors: player potential, tournament performances, original runs, personality/memorability, recency, among some other benefactors. I’m also going to be a lot more loose in my writing structure, since this is a rankings list more than it’s an actual article.
Short descriptors will be provided for each tier, citing their best performances, as well as explanations for a good amount of the players. I will be starting from the lowest tier and going up to tier 5. The top 4 tiers will be reserved for the second part of the article, which will be for paid subscribers. It will contain a lot more details and analysis on individual players, given that it’ll be the best of the best.
So now that the foundations of my power rankings are laid out, let’s get on with the tiers.
Tier 7 (The Sacred)
Of all the number rankings to go through in these tiers, this is the only one where players won’t be ranked. Over the years, it’ll also become a lot more packed with players as more top players are established and as more legacy players either fall out of their prime or retire completely. That’s what this tier is reserved for. Here are the players who currently make up members of The Sacred:
Jerry Frankel (R.I.P.) - Best performance: 1985 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000; first TOC winner of the syndicated era, passed away in 1987.
Larry Martin (R.I.P.) - Best performance: 2018 Teachers Tournament winner - $100,000; passed away before he could compete in 2019 TOC.
Tom Nosek (R.I.P.) - Best performance: 1993 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000; final appearance was 2014 Battle of the Decades where he earned $10,000 for winning his preliminary match.
India Cooper (R.I.P.) - Best performance: 1991 5-time champion - $68,400 ($136,800 in current values). Appeared in several special tournaments, final appearance being in 2014 Battle of the Decades, where she lost in the preliminaries to Chuck Forrest.
Bruce Seymour - Best performance: 1990 Super Jeopardy! winner - $250,000; highest-earning Jeopardy! winner until 2002. Has not competed since his SJ! win.
John Cuthbertson - Best performance: 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 3 winner - $97,900.
Bob Harris - Best performance: 1997 5-time champion - $58,000 ($116,000 in current values). Appeared in several special tournaments.
Jim Scott - Best performance: 1991 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000.
Mark Lowenthal - Best performance: 1989 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000. Also won preliminary game for 2014 Battle of the Decades.
Sean Ryan - Best performance: 2003 6-time champion - $123,797; first player to win six games.
Bob Blake - Best performance: 1990 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000; held the 5-day record of $82,501 for a few months before it was broken by Frank Spangenberg a few months later.
Rachael Schwartz - Best performance: 1994 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000; first woman to win the Tournament of Champions.
Eddie Timanus - Best performance: 2000 5-time champion - $64,700 ($139,400 in current values). First blind contestant to compete and win 5 games.
Steve Chernicoff - Best performance: 1994 5-time champion - $83,902 ($167,804 in current values). Won $24,700 ($49,400) in one game, made it to third round in 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
Michael Daunt - Best performance: 1996 5-time champion - $64,198 ($128,396 in current values). Also made the 1996 Tournament of Champions finals and won the 1997 International Tournament.
Dave Abbott - Best performance: 1999 Tournament of Champions winner - $100,000.
Arthur Gandolfi - Best performance: 2004 4-time champion - $137,300. Finished third in the 2004 Tournament of Champions but hasn’t competed since.
Leonard Cooper - Best performance: 2013 Teen Tournament winner - $75,000. Competed for Team Austin in the 2019 All-Star Games and won $25,000.
Vik Vaz - Best performance: 2006 Tournament of Champions 1st runner-up - $100,000.
Doug Hicton - Best performance: 2007 Tournament of Champions 1st runner-up - $100,000.
Aaron Schroeder - Best performance: 2008 5-time champion - $127,902. Finished third in the 2009 Tournament of Champions.
Stefan Goodreau - Best performance: 2009 5-time champion - $84,870. Finished third in the 2010 Tournament of Champions.
Jason Zollinger - Best performance: 2010 6-time champion - $148,404. Finished second in the 2010 Tournament of Champions.
Jason Keller - Best performance: 2011 9-time champion - $213,900. Finished in the semifinals of 2013 Tournament of Champions. Has not competed since.
Kerry Greene - Best performance: 2015 6-time champion - $146,598. Finished third in the 2015 Tournament of Champions, has not competed since.
Michael Falk - Winner of the 2006 Tournament of Champions ($250,000) and the first and only 3-time champion to win one. Also competed in the 2014 Battle of the Decades but lost to Ken Jennings in the first round.
Jared Hall - 6-time champion with $181,001, eliminated in the 2014 Tournament of Champions semifinals.
Jackie Kelly - 4-time champion with $115,100, eliminated in the 2022 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals.
Tyler Rhode - 5-time champion with $105,901, eliminated in the 2022 Tournament of Champions semifinals.
Tier 6 (The Rising)
This tier is more typically reserved for players who are newer and on the rise, hence the name. Occasionally this will apply to slightly older players who are high on the leaderboard but slightly underperformed in recent tournament play, but often a lot of players in this tier have opportunities to improve their placement or get bumped to a higher tier. This will be number-ranked beginning with our first entry…
75.) John Focht - 4-time champion with $103,800, eliminated in the 2022 Tournament of Champions semifinals.
74.) Pranjal Vachaspati - 6-time champion with $137,088, eliminated in the 2017 Tournament of Champions semifinals.
73.) Brian Chang - 7-time champion with $163,904, eliminated in the 2022 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals.
72.) Kyle Jones - 7-time champion with $145,403, eliminated in the 2019 Tournament of Champions semifinals.
71.) Zach Newkirk - 6-time champion with $124,871, defeated Brian Chang in regular play when brought back after COVID-19 shut down production. Eliminated in 2022 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals.
70.) Ryan Fenster - 7-time champion with $156,497, eliminated in 2019 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals. Came back strong and memorably in his third and seventh wins after being in a distant third throughout the games to take the lead and win big both times. If he were to guess significantly less, he would probably be able to thrive against stronger competition better.
69.) Veronica Vichit-Vadakan - 4-time champion with $89,001, finished third in the 2021 Tournament of Champions. Very strong performances in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds against Sam Kavanaugh and Ryan Bilger, definitely has room to grow as a player.
68.) Josh Hill - 7-time champion with $163,721, eliminated in 2019 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals. Got an incredibly tough draw against Eric R. Backes and Emma Boettcher in the quarterfinals, I believe he could have gone further and still has the ability.
67.) Stephen Webb - 8-time champion with $184,881. Hasn’t played his TOC yet, but his run was remarkable enough to put him here for now.
66.) Luigi de Guzman - 5-time champion with $140,700. Also in the 2023 Tournament of Champions field, which has yet to tape. Gathers 40-50 buzzer attempts on average, which bodes well for his knowledge base. Lost to a strong 3-time champion.
65.) Karen Farrell - 8-time champion with $159,603. Performed strongly in the 2019 Tournament of Champions but was eliminated in the semifinals. Would like to see her return at some point.
64.) Ryan Long - 16-time champion with $299,400. Probably going to attract some pitchforks with this one, but he underperformed in the 2022 Tournament of Champions against some lower-seeded players and was out before the semis. Out of all players who have won at least ten games as well, according to my spreadsheet filled with them, he ranks low in most of the categories compared to the others. He could easily still rise though with potential future appearances.
63.) Jaskaran Singh - 2022 National College Championship winner with $250,000. Despite him also being eliminated in the quarterfinals in the Tournament of Champions, I feel slightly more confident in him based on his performance against Eric Ahasic and Jackie Kelly, two high-caliber players. He’s also still young and has plenty of room for improvement, couple with having tons of quizzing experience.
62.) Francois Barcomb - 2019 Teachers Tournament winner, Tournament of Champions 2nd runner-up, $150,000 altogether. Strong quarterfinal and semifinal games in TOC, but was a non-factor against Emma Boettcher and James Holzhauer in the TOC finals. Despite this, clearly the third-best player in the tournament.
61.) Monica Thieu - 2013 College Championship winner, 2019 All-Star Games 1st runner-up (Team Ken), $100,000 each. Monica has only gotten better as a contestant over time, especially under the training of Ken Jennings. I would definitely like to see her on again, maybe she could become the next Pam Mueller.
60.) MacKenzie Jones - 2020 8-time champion with $204,808. Ousted in the 2021 Tournament of Champions quarterfinals by Kevin Walsh, but I think MacKenzie is a player who can strike back in a big way should she be given the chance. Good at taking risks and capitalizing on them.
59.) Andrew Pau - 2016 6-time champion with $170,202. Eliminated in the 2017 Tournament of Champions semifinals by Austin Rogers, original run ended by eventual winner of that tournament Buzzy Cohen. I think Andrew is a lot better than his results suggest.
58.) Ryan Bilger - 2019 4-time champion with $107,049. Eliminated in the 2021 Tournament of Champions semifinals by Veronica Vichit-Vadakan. Another player who I think is a lot better than his results suggest, he lost in his original run to eventual TOC winner Sam Kavanaugh. Young with a lot of quiz bowl history and quick on the buzzer, I thought he would win the whole tournament at one point. Hopefully he gets another chance one day.
57.) Seth Wilson - 2017 12-time champion with $265,002. Another champion fantastic in regular play, despite having a few close calls. In both tournaments he appeared in, however, he was eliminated in the first round (2017 Tournament of Champions, 2019 All-Star Games [Team Julia]). Future tournament play could affect his position.
56.) Keith Whitener - 2012 7-time champion with $147,597 and finished second in the 2013 Tournament of Champions. While his last appearance in the Battle of the Decades was pretty lackluster, it definitely sticks out as an outlier compared to the rest of his gameplay history. He also played one of the most impressive Double Jeopardy! rounds I’d ever seen in the 2013 TOC, gaining $32,000 for the round. Not sure how long this position will stick or if he will appear again.
Tier 5 (The Elite)
This tier combines some of the newer blood players with some of the classic and more established players. Some players were more exceptional in their original runs recently and earned a spot here, while some players have more longevity than the average decades-long spanning career. These positions they’re in are bound to change based on future tournament performances or elongated absence.
55.) Joon Pahk - 2011 7-time champion with $199,000, last to qualify for the 2011 Tournament of Champions, where he finished in the semifinals. I honestly think he is one of the most overlooked players of this era. He was really quick and aggressive in gameplay, and it took two people being even more aggressive and fast than him in Mark Runsvold and Roger Craig to take him out. I’m curious how he’d do if they brought him back.
54.) Fritz Holznagel - 1995 Tournament of Champions winner and 4-time champion. Also appearing in the 1996 Olympic Games, Ultimate Tournament of Champions where he made it to the second round, and the Battle of the Decades, Fritz has maintained a solid track record and amount of earnings despite not making it super far in these tournaments.
53.) Vijay Balse - 2010 Tournament of Champions winner and 4-time champion. Appeared in Battle of the Decades but lost to Roger Craig and he hasn’t appeared since then.
52.) Mark Dawson - 2003 Tournament of Champions winner. He was very lucky to win when Brian Weikle didn’t quite do the correct math to cover Mark’s final score, by $199. Was strongly competitive in Battle of the Decades.
51.) Cindy Stowell (R.I.P.) - A 6-time champion back in 2016, she was in Stage IV colon cancer during her entire run and passed away before her runs could even air. With the amount of pain and mental anguish that must have been going on in her run, you can only imagine how well she would have played in fuller health or in the 2017 TOC.
50.) Chris Miller - His initial run of 5 wins and $123,597 was impressive and his losing game was ironically one of his most well-played games. After finishing in the 2004 Tournament of Champions eliminated in the semifinals, he made it all the way to the 4th round in the Ultimate TOC and won $93,844 from it overall, losing to John Cuthbertson and eventual winner Brad Rutter.
49.) Tom Cubbage - The first ever College Championship winner, he went on to be the first and still the only college champion to win a Tournament of Champions, doing so in 1989. He also made it to the semifinals in the Battle of the Decades, a very impressive feat 25 years into his career.
48.) Eric Newhouse - Beginning as a Teen Tournament winner, he went on to make the semifinals of the 1989 Tournament of Champions and Super Jeopardy! as well before winning the 1998 Teen Reunion tournament and finishing second in the 2002 Million Dollar Masters, losing to Brad Rutter. His last appearance was in the Ultimate TOC, where he won $25,000 after losing in round 2.
47.) Mike Dupée - Winner of the 1996 Tournament of Champions and round 1 winner of the Ultimate TOC, I feel as though he’s pretty underrated because of finishing in the preliminaries of the Battle of the Decades. He was one question away from defeating Brad Rutter in the second round, but since Brad beat him to the buzzer, Brad ran away with the game.
46.) Hannah Wilson - A very recent champion, won 8 games in a row before losing to Ben Chan on his return. She’s quite fast and knowledgeable, winning $27,825 per game, and it’ll be interesting to see how well prepared she is in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
45.) Dan Melia - Infamously decisive winner of the 1998 Tournament of Champions and a round 3 player of the Ultimate TOC, Dan is a well-established veteran player. His Battle of the Decades appearance demonstrated that he isn’t as primed as he was before, but his legacy has definitely stood the test of time as he is also 44th place in all-time winnings.
44.) Robin Carroll - Once the winningest woman in Jeopardy! history, she won $64,100 in 5 games, the 2000 Tournament of Champions, the 2001 International Championship, and even her preliminary game in the 2014 Battle of the Decades against Bob Harris and Shane Whitlock. It’d be criminal to put her in the lower tiers given the precedent she set.
43.) Celeste DiNucci - After winning 5 games in 2006, Celeste went on to win the 2007 Tournament of Champions and become the highest-earning woman in Jeopardy! history, surpassing Robin Carroll. Larissa Kelly came close to surpassing her in 2009, but lost to Dan Pawson in that year’s TOC. Celeste held the record until 2014, when Julia Collins surpassed her. She was eliminated in a hard-fought Battle of the Decades match against Tom Nissley and winner Colby Burnett and hasn’t appeared since.
42.) Ray Lalonde - Another recent player with lots of potential, winning 13 games in a row with an 86% correct response rate in Final Jeopardy! A setback is that his runaway rate is the lowest out of anyone who’s won at least ten games, which may suggest a slightly challenging time with tougher competition. However, his achievements can’t be understated for now, not until he plays in the Tournament of Champions.
41.) Brayden Smith (R.I.P.) - The final 5-time champion under Alex Trebek’s hosting at 24 years old, he was a top favorite challenger to win the 2021 Tournament of Champions following the passing of Trebek. Unexpectedly though, he passed away in February of that year before he could compete, leaving an empty space in what was a really strong run, correctly answering 9/9 Daily Doubles in his first three games and accumulating $115,000 over 5 days. At such a young age, we can only imagine how far he could have gone after that. Alas, he takes the highest spot in the 5th tier.
(to be continued…)