Show #9491 2026-02-02 (taped 2025-11-20) Tournament of Champions

2026 Tournament of Champions final game 1.

Contestants

TJ Fisher — a marketing specialist from San Francisco, California

Paolo Pasco — a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, California

Scott Riccardi — an engineer from Somerville, New Jersey

Scores

Player	First Commercial	End of Jeopardy!	End of Double Jeopardy!	Final	Coryat
Scott	$3,800	$5,400	$8,200	$8,200 2nd place	$7,200 16 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Paolo	$3,000	$4,800	$25,600	$25,479 Winner: 1 match point	$17,600 19 R (including 2 DDs), 0 W
TJ	$2,000	$4,600	$7,800	$7,023 3rd place	$7,800 11 R, 1 W

Jeopardy! Round

ON THE BORDER	LITERARY BIOGRAPHY	RUGS NOT DRUGS	APT ANAGRAMS	THE FIELDER METHOD	SHORT N' SWEET
$200 [28] Below sea level & with high salinity, it's found between Jordan & Israel the Dead Sea Scott	$200 [27] Juliet Barker wrote the 1,209-page "The Brontës: Wild Genius on" these areas, oft-mentioned in "Wuthering Heights" the Moors Paolo	$200 [25] Opiates derived from these flowers can be harmful, but as a motif on 17th centurycarpets from the Mughal Empire, they're just lovely poppies Scott	$200 [30] A dad joke for those with college-age kids:DIRTY ROOM dormitory Scott	$200 [20] Nicknamed "Junior", he played center field for the Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1999 Ken Griffey Jr. Scott	$200 [29] AFC is this "heavenly" dessert that's no yolk, just stiffly beaten egg whites, baked in a pan angel food cake Paolo
$400 [26] The 67-foot-high Peace Archon the border of Canada & the U.S. overlooks Blaine, Washington & Surrey in this province British Columbia TJ	$400 [18] Stephen Greenblatt's "Will in the World" takes the title character from this "small provincial town" to success in London Stratford	$400 [14] Who needs sleeping pills? Curl up & take a long nap on a fluffy wool flokati, the Greek version of this type of long-napped rug shag carpet (rug) Paolo	$400 [24] A type of exchange:VOICES RANT ON conversation TJ	$400 [23] Canadians invented the box type of this Native American-derived sport that replaced an outdoor field with an indoor floor lacrosse Paolo	$400 [13] Want these, RKTs, to be extra good? Brown the butter before adding the marshmallows Rice Krispie Treats TJ
$600 [1] The thick marshland & jungle of the Darién Gap, which separates North & South America, is on the border between these 2 nations Panama & Colombia Paolo	$800 [5] The composition of "Easter 1916" is part of "The Arch-Poet", volume 2 of R.F. Foster's life of this man Yeats Scott	$600 [15] The world's largest hand-woven carpet is in the Sheikh Zayed Grand one of these buildings where drugs are haram, or forbidden by Islam a mosque Scott	$600 [9] There's a limit to how much you can spend with one:BAD CREDIT debit card Paolo	$600 [10] The third man, fine leg & gully are fielding positions in this sport cricket Paolo	$600 [11] Products from Frosted Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts to Canada Dry tonic water use this, HFCS, to sweeten things up high-fructose corn syrup TJ
$800 [3] This Egyptian port city that lends its name to an important conduit lies in Africa right on the edge of Asia Suez Scott	$1,000 [6] Biographer James Atlas coped with the "inadvertently comic" name of this "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" author Delmore Schwartz Scott	$800 [12] There's no high like a shopping high! Browse online for a new rug made from this 5-letter agave fiber also used to make rope sisal	$800 [8] The people who do that:MOON STARERS astronomers Paolo	$800 [22] Arshad Nadeem won Pakistan's first-ever individual Olympic gold after throwing this 8.5-to-9-foot item in a field event in 2024 a javelin Scott	$800 [17] Maybe not as delightful sounding to talk about PUD cake, this retro dessert that employs canned fruit & a post-bake flip pineapple upside-down TJ
$1,000 [4] With about 2,500 staff members, CERN's particle physics research lab straddles parts of these 2 nations Switzerland & France TJ	DD $1,600 [7] Richard Lingeman subtitled his biography of Sinclair Lewis "Rebel from" this title road Main Street Scott	$1,000 [21] Skip caffeine and stay awake by making a rug; try this type, made using a certain tool to pull yarn or cloth through coarse material hooked (latch-hook)	$1,000 [2] Henry VIII shut 'em down:AMEN STORIES monasteries Scott	$1,000 [19] Born in Marseille, this midfielder head-butted Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup final Zidane TJ	$1,000 [16] Santa Cruz is Pepperidge Farm's name for these, ORCs oatmeal raisin cookies Paolo

Double Jeopardy! Round

THE 17th CENTURY	CHARACTER CREATORS	RELIGION	SCHOOLING YOU IN MASSACHUSETTS	BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR OSCAR WINNERS	WHAT A WORD!
$400 [30] Robert Boyle moved toward a theory of these basic units of matter but called them "corpuscles, whereof each element consists" atoms Scott	$400 [29] Composer Sergei Prokofiev created this character & represented him with French horns; oh no, he ate the oboe/duck the wolf Paolo	$400 [22] Marcus Garvey is considered a prophet of this religion that began in Jamaica Rastafarianism Paolo	$400 [27] This women's college may have a common name, but it boasts some very uncommon alums--Gloria Steinem, Julia Child & Betty Friedan Smith Scott	$400 [24] Marlon Brando won Best Actor for this role; 2 years later, Robert De Niro won a Supporting Oscar for playing the same character Vito Corleone Scott TJ	$400 [28] Tête-bêche, a term for a pair of items identical but with one upside down, is most commonly used of these collectibles stamps
$800 [19] France's "Great Century" began under this king known as "the Just" who reigned from 1610 to 1643 & had a more famous successor Louis XIII Scott	$800 [20] George Grossmith was the first to play Gilbert & Sullivan roles like Ko-Ko, this "Lord High" personage in "The Mikado" Executioner Scott	$800 [21] In 2025 Japan ordered the disbandment of this controversial church founded by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon the Unification Church TJ	$800 [26] Original poems & manuscripts are part of the Emily Dickinson Collection at the Jones Library of this liberal arts college Amherst Paolo	$800 [23] As Waymond Wang in this film, Ke Huy Quan became the first Vietnamese-born recipient of an acting Oscar Everything Everywhere All At Once TJ	$800 [25] Etiolated means pale & stunted & refers botanically to a plant that develops in low light & makes less of this compound chlorophyll TJ
$1,200 [6] After a midcentury struggle, the Dutch gained control of Ternate Island& its trees of this preserving & breath-sweetening spice cloves	$1,200 [2] This "King of the Comics" created Captain America with Joe Simon & the Fantastic Four with Stan Lee (Jack) Kirby Paolo	$1,200 [5] Jews who descend from those expelled from Spain & Portugal are called this, from the Hebrew word for Spain Sephardi (Sephardic) TJ	$1,200 [14] Though its name screams "the law", this U. in Waltham has no law school; to get a J.D. with this name on it, go to Louisville Brandeis	$1,200 [1] It was an actor winning for playing an actor when Martin Landauportrayed him in "Ed Wood" Lugosi Paolo	$1,200 [13] Meaning "to predict", this verb is from Latin & we prophesy you'll know the word is 5 letters longer than prophesy prognosticate
$2,000 [18] In his 60s, this French explorer made his last voyage to Quebec in 1633 & died there on Christmas Day in 1635 Champlain Scott	$1,600 [3] Shesaid she stopped recognizing herself in Carrie Bradshaw in Season 3 of "Sex and the City" Candace Bushnell	$1,600 [9] In the steps to sainthood, before beatification a person is declared this, meaning they lived a heroically virtuous life venerable	$1,600 [15] We'll give you directions to this U. in Boston; it's at 360 Huntington Avenue, but also has campuses in Nahant & Burlington Northeastern Scott	$1,600 [8] 20 on the big night, Timothy Huttonis the youngest winner of the award for his work as troubled son Conrad Jarrett in this film Ordinary People Paolo	$2,000 [17] Northerners supporting & profiting from Reconstruction were carpetbaggers; pro-Reconstruction Southerners, these scalawags
DD $4,000 [12] In this revolt of 1680, the village-dwelling Native Americans of the same name drove the Spanish out of New Mexico the Pueblo Revolt Paolo	$2,000 [7] Philip Roth's creations include Portnoy, who has a complaint, & this aging puppeteer in the novel his "Theater" (Mickey) Sabbath	$2,000 [10] It's the 5-letter word for the ritual prayer said 5 times daily as one of the 5 pillars of Islam Salah (Salat) Scott	$2,000 [16] South Hadley is home to this college, the oldest of the 7 Sisters Mount Holyoke Paolo	$2,000 [11] For putting a scare into moviegoers as this hitman in "No Country for Old Men", Javier Bardem took home the trophy in 2008 Anton Chigurh Paolo	DD $7,200 [4] Plausible but misleading argument is called this, from thinkers whom Plato depicted as devious word-jugglers sophistry Paolo

Final Jeopardy!

COMPOSERS

This composer whose most famous work shows a Spanish influence said, "My parents met in Madrid"

(Maurice) Ravel

TJ "Who is Bizet?Ravel?" — wagered $777

Scott "Who is Ravel?" — wagered $0

Paolo "Who is Rossini?" — wagered $121

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