2026 Tournament of Champions final game 3.
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
| Player | First Commercial | End of Jeopardy! | End of Double Jeopardy! | Final | Coryat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott | $3,200 | $5,000 | $7,400 |
$2,800
3rd place: $75,000 |
$7,200
10 R (including 1 DD), 1 W |
| Paolo | $2,000 | $4,200 | $33,200 |
$33,057
Winner: $250,000 |
$22,600
26 R (including 2 DDs), 0 W |
| TJ | $1,800 | $2,200 | $5,800 |
$4,199
2nd place: $75,000 |
$5,800
13 R, 4 W |
| INFECTION: STAFF | BREAKING IN | PREFIXES & WORD PARTS | PENINSULAS | BUSINESS IN THE FRONT | PARTY IN THE BACK |
|
$200
[27]
Katalin Karikó & Drew Weissmanwon the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2023 for helping to create mRNA vaccines for this virus
COVID-19
TJ
|
$200
[9]
Wilson's tips for breaking in this sporty item include flexing the heel pad, forming the pocket & loosening the top laces
a baseball mitt (glove)
Paolo
|
$200
[30]
Meaning "fake" or "false", it can come before -science & -intellectual
pseudo-
Paolo
TJ
|
$200
[5]
El Meco, Tulum & Uxmal are all remnants of former cities on this peninsula
the Yucatán
TJ
|
$200
[28]
For many retailers like Walmart, this period ends not on June 30 but Jan. 31, after holiday shopping & post-holiday returns
the fiscal year
TJ
|
$200
[29]
We had to wait 13 years for Season 3 of this cult favorite about aspiring actors working for a catering company
Party Down
Paolo
|
|
$400
[23]
Staff members at this Atlanta-based government agency warn citizens of measles outbreaks at home & dengue abroad
the CDC
Paolo
|
$400
[26]
Lost your keys? Snap into the door of an old car with this thin tool that shares its rhyming name with a snack
a slim jim
Paolo
|
$400
[19]
All in all it comes before-vore,-bus &-present
omni-
TJ
|
$400
[4]
One of the 4 major peninsulas of Europe, it extends 1,100 miles south from the Barents Sea
Scandinavia
|
$400
[25]
This 2-word term refers to a visual map of the roles & hierarchies within a co.; if you don't know who your boss is, you need one
an org chart
Paolo
|
$400
[7]
"Your mom busted in & said, 'What's that noise?' / Aw, mom, you're just jealous, it's" this trio c. 1986 fighting for their right to party
the Beastie Boys
Paolo
|
|
$600
[11]
The Médecins Sans Frontières team prevents outbreaks, vaccinating 750,000 in Kinshasa against this flavivirus that causes jaundice
yellow fever
|
$600
[15]
An animal part is in the name of this colorful word for someone just barely breaking in to a job
a greenhorn
Scott
|
$600
[10]
From the Greek for "secret", this prefix became part of a game-changing word in finance in 2009
crypto-
TJ
|
$600
[3]
The northernmost mainland point on the North American continent, Boothia Peninsulais part of this Canadian territory
Nunavut
Scott
TJ
|
$600
[14]
When someone says their start-up idea for a dating app for left-handed dentists has VC money, the VC is short for this
venture capital
Paolo
|
$600
[24]
Season 1 of this comedy whodunit series starred our pal, Ike Barinholtz
The Afterparty
Paolo
|
|
$800
[22]
In 2009 researchers decoded the genome of this virus that had been wreaking havoc for more than 2 decades
HIV
Scott
|
$800
[18]
Breaking into the world of sales? Go read "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by this man; "Smile" is one of his principles
(Dale) Carnegie
TJ
|
$800
[8]
Xylo-, as in xylophone & xylography, literally means this
wood
TJ
|
DD
$1,000
[2]
Rennes is the capital of this region protruding as a peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean with the English Channel to the north
Brittany
Scott
|
$800
[6]
A lawyer working for herself is a sole practitioner; if it's just you on the payroll unincorporated, it's a sole one of these
a sole proprietorship
TJ
|
$800
[12]
If you hit a dance floor in 2011, you know an iconic beat drop in LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" comes after the line "Every day I'm" this
shuffling
Paolo
|
|
$1,000
[17]
Chemist Alice Ballcame up with the only effective treatment for this, aka Hansen's disease, until the days of antibiotics
leprosy
TJ
|
$1,000
[21]
Speedy, The Monster & King of Keys were some aliases of the thieves who pulled off the largest diamond heist in this Flemish city
Antwerp
TJ
|
$1,000
[13]
If you've seen a certain TV ad, you may know that this 7-letter word part before ‑itis refers to the eyelid
blephar-
|
$1,000
[1]
The seriously pointy Cape York Peninsula extends towards New Guinea from this Australian state
Queensland
Scott
|
$1,000
[20]
The clunky acronym EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes & these 2 methods of calculating assets over time
depreciation & amortization
Scott
TJ
|
$1,000
[16]
This'90s hip-hop duo headlined their own Saturday morning cartoon show, as well as the film "House Party" & two of its sequels
Kid 'n Play
|
| WHAT A CONCEPT | OLD TIMES | ALLITERATIVE PEOPLE | GET A LOAD OF THIS PAIR | GIMME A LETTER! | UNSATISFYING LITERARY ENDINGS |
|
$400
[26]
H.L. Mencken is said to be the first to use this 2-word phrase for a religious part of the Southern United States
Bible Belt
Paolo
|
$400
[27]
Darn these people who ruled Central Italy between the 8th & 6th centuries B.C.; even Herodotus wondered where they came from
the Etruscans
TJ
|
$400
[28]
On film she's been a Prince & a Pope: Diana Prince & Jill Pope
Gal Gadot
Paolo
|
$400
[29]
W.D. Jones, who ran with this pair, said, "They knowed there was only one end for them" but would "never give up robbing"
Bonnie & Clyde
Scott
|
$400
[24]
Gimme an A! & I'll turn the days of yore, both distant & not-so-distant, into farfalle, or perhaps a nice rotini
past & pasta
Scott
|
$400
[30]
This 2007 Pulitzer-winning book: the man dies, the boy joins a family of randos & the title thoroughfare leads... no where
The Road
Paolo
|
|
$800
[21]
In 1978 consultant Marilyn Loden used this term to describe "an invisible barrier to advancement" for women
the glass ceiling
TJ
|
$800
[20]
Booted out by Vikings in 1013, English King Ethelred got this adjective permanently affixed to his name
Unready
Paolo
|
$800
[25]
Charli's older sister, she's also a TikTok sensation
Dixie D'Amelio
Paolo
|
$800
[23]
Fischbacher & Horn are the last names of these two German-born magicians
Siegfried & Roy
TJ
|
$800
[22]
Gimme an O! & I'll turn a rolling doodad from under the furniture into a flat doodad on top of the furniture
caster & coaster
Paolo
|
$800
[19]
This final story in "Dubliners": no fight, no big speech, no dramatic departure from the mortal coil; just a guy watching snow
"The Dead"
|
|
$1,600
[16]
In physics it's the movement of liquid by an object placed in it; in psychology it's yelling at your wife because your boss is a jerk
displacement
|
$1,200
[18]
The Wars of the Roses (pretty much) & Richard III's life (completely) ended at the 1485 Battle of this field
Bosworth
Paolo
|
$1,200
[7]
He executive produced TV's "Miami Vice" & wrote & directed the film version
Michael Mann
|
$1,200
[4]
Both of the names of these two Gaulish guys in a French comic end in "ix"
Asterix & Obelix
Paolo
|
$1,200
[8]
Gimme a Y! & I'll turn a nutrient-rich organ meat into a uniform for my chauffeur
liver & livery
Paolo
|
$1,200
[1]
This novel by Thomas Hardy: Execution?! Really?! As if the poor dairymaid hasn't suffered enough
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Paolo
|
|
$2,000
[15]
This rule also known as hypodescent was legally recognized by the Supreme Court after Plessy v. Ferguson
the one-drop rule
Scott
|
$1,600
[17]
Born in 1593, Arjumand Banu was later given the title Mumtaz this, meaning "chosen one of the palace"
Mahal
Paolo
|
$1,600
[6]
The 1985 champion at 17, he's still Wimbledon's youngest Men's Singles winner
(Boris) Becker
Paolo
|
$2,000
[14]
In novels by this French author, Pantagruel is the son of the giant named Gargantua
Rabelais
Paolo
|
$1,600
[2]
Gimme a P! & I'll turn where Catherine the Great died into where she was born
Russia & Prussia
Scott
|
$1,600
[3]
This T.S. Eliot poem: "Not with a bang but a whimper", clearly the less exciting choice
"The Hollow Men"
TJ
|
|
DD
$6,000
[10]
In a 1968 speech MLK said he'd "been to" this location "...& I've looked over, & I've seen the promised land"
the mountaintop
Paolo
|
$2,000
[13]
An 11th century work titled "The Tale of" this courtier provides a glimpse into the culture of Japan's Heian Period
Genji
Paolo
|
$2,000
[12]
Thislegendary guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne died in a plane crash aged just 25
Randy Rhoads
Scott
|
DD
$7,400
[9]
Lewis & Clark met during these "directional" military campaigns in the 1790s (a direction they'd later travel)
the Northwest Wars (Campaigns)
Paolo
|
$2,000
[5]
Gimme a D! & I'll turn a collab based on mutual interests into a collab based on (wink wink) "mutual interests"
alliance & dalliance
|
$2,000
[11]
This 18th century "Autobiography": the ending is a cock-&-bull story (literally); I still know nothing about the title guy's life
Tristram Shandy
|
This archipelago got its name in 1493 in honor of St. Ursula & her followers
the Virgin Islands