2017 Tournament of Champions – Quarterfinal Predictions

Buzzy Cohen
Los Angeles, California
206 correct, 36 incorrect
36.53% in first on buzzer (202/553)
13/18 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,600)
6/10 in Final Jeopardy!
Average Coryat: $14,100
Low-Level Clues, Net: 12.2 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 4.6 per game

Hunter Appler
Augusta, Georgia
162 correct, 16 incorrect
39.12% in first on buzzer (151/386)
6/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,700)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy!
Average Coryat: $16,543
Low-Level Clues, Net: 14.3 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.1 per game

Pranjal Vachaspati
Urbana, Illinois
165 correct, 37 incorrect
44.47% in first on buzzer (169/380)
12/14 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $34,810)
4/7 in Final Jeopardy!
Average Coryat: $17,057
Low-Level Clues, Net: 10.1 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 8.0 per game

Prediction: Pranjal will get an early buzzer advantage and do well at the bottom of the board and cruise to a spot in the semi-finals. Buzzy will do well enough rebounding Pranjal’s low-value negs (most players neg more often at the bottom of the board. Pranjal usually negs at the top of it) to have enough money to salvage a Wild Card when he doubles through Final Jeopardy.

Tim Aten
Vermilion, Ohio
141 correct, 11 incorrect
28.77% in first on buzzer (126/438)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,000)
5/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,150
Low-Level Clues, Net: 11.8 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 4.3 per game

Lilly Chin
Decatur, Georgia
88 correct, 8 incorrect
35.84% in first on buzzer (81/226)
7/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $13,200)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,600
Low-Level Clues, Net: 13.5 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.0 per game

Jason Sterlacci
Somerset, New Jersey
98 correct, 11 incorrect
40.35% in first on buzzer (92/228)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,400)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,850
Low-Level Clues, Net: 14.0 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 7.8 per game

Prediction: If there is such a thing as “staying too clam”, it might be Tim. While he averages less than 1 unforced error a game, he might struggle to pick up both the low-level clues (thanks to Jason and Lilly having a buzzer advantage), and the more-prevalent high-level clues (His average of net 4.3 per game is lowest in the field.) If there’s a strangely difficult week of Final Jeopardy! clues, Tim might see the semifinals due to attrition elsewhere. Otherwise, I think Jason takes this one with Lilly doing just enough to claim the last wild card.

Austin Rogers
New York, New York
334 correct, 43 incorrect
42.66% in first on buzzer (311/729)
22/27 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $109,500)
12/13 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,185
Low-Level Clues, Net: 15.1 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.5 per game

Alan Lin
Riverside, California
148 correct, 14 incorrect
35.37% in first on buzzer (139/393)
8/11 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $18,200)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,914
Low-Level Clues, Net: 12.1 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.6 per game

David Clemmons
Fort Worth, Texas
77 correct, 9 incorrect
32.74% in first on buzzer (74/226)
2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
4/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,900
Low-Level Clues, Net: 11.5 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 4.5 per game

Prediction: One of the biggest questions going into the Tournament of Champions: will Austin Rogers’ cavalier style of play translate well to the tougher clues often seen on Jeopardy’s biggest stage? Austin’s stellar record in Final Jeopardy should be enough to get him through even if the main game proves more difficult for the prohibitive tournament favorite. Alan, who does better at the bottom of the board than Austin does, should have enough success there to build enough of a bank to grab a wild card into the semifinals.

Seth Wilson
Nacogdoches, Texas
316 correct, 34 incorrect
41.26% in first on buzzer (295/715)
15/22 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $16,300)
9/13 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,077
Low-Level Clues, Net: 14.4 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.9 per game

Lisa Schlitt
Berwyn, Pennsylvania
151 correct, 19 incorrect
38.40% in first on buzzer (149/388)
7/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,700)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,657
Low-Level Clues, Net: 13.9 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 4.6 per game

Sam Deutsch
Calabasas, California
68 correct, 7 incorrect
29.55% in first on buzzer (65/220)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
4/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,200
Low-Level Clues, Net: 9.5 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 4.8 per game

Prediction: Against two very strong players in Seth and Lisa, I suspect that Sam is going to struggle to get much going in this quarterfinal. Seth is one of the stronger players in this field in terms of knowledge, and was certainly willing to use conservative betting tactics, which will serve him very well in this stage of the tournament. Lisa should be able to get a good score and do well enough to take one of the top two wild card spots.

Andrew Pau
Amherst, Ohio
165 correct, 11 incorrect
37.37% in first on buzzer (148/396)
9/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $23,800)
4/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,943
Low-Level Clues, Net: 13.4 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 8.4 per game

Justin Vossler
Homer, New York
117 correct, 15 incorrect
32.46% in first on buzzer (111/342)
8/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,900)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,867
Low-Level Clues, Net: 10.2 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.8 per game

Jon Eisenman
Los Angeles, California
131 correct, 18 incorrect
36.53% in first on buzzer (122/334)
6/11 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,700)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,133
Low-Level Clues, Net: 12.5 per game
High-Level Clues, Net: 6.0 per game

Prediction: I believe Andrew’s game is suited to the Tournament of Champions more than any other player. He showed an ability to completely dominate a game on the signalling device in his regular run, being the first player since Ken Jennings to run 4 categories in a single game, and his knowledge base should be able to handle tougher ToC clues without difficulty. Justin and Jon will take enough away from each other (and not pick off enough from Andrew) that both are unlikely to advance to the semifinals.