Coming Back From A Distant Third In A Tournament

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

Alex Trebek often mentions that a player in a distant third often comes back to win in these situations. But does it really happen that often?

Stefan Goodreau has provided a list of all of the times where the third-placed player has come back to win in one of Jeopardy’s 2-day matches (9 times in over 100 matches).

Thanks, Stefan!

1987 Tournament of Champions
Bob Verini: $3,800 + $11,000 + $1,201 = $16,001
Dave Traini: $7,600 + $4,200 + $4,200 = $16,000
Eugene Finerman: $6,800 + $2,400 + $2,400 = $11,600

1988 Tournament of Champions
Mark Lowenthal: $5,000 + $10,900 + $8,101 = $24,001
Bruce Naegeli: $12,800 + $5,600 + $399 = $18,799
Sandra Gore: $13,000 + $5,000 – $5,000 = $13,000

1992 College Championship
Billy Baxter: $9,800 + $8,300 + $8,100 = $26,200
Stephanie Leveene: $11,900 + $9,900 – $5,000 = $16,800
Nick Jungman: $10,000 + $3,400 + $3,400 = $16,800

1995 College Championship
Ben Lyon: $5,500 + $9,500 + $2,000 = $17,000
Rebekah Reeves: $6,000 + $5,500 + $2,300 = $13,800
Steve Smith: $8,000 + $2,200 + $2,000 = $12,200

1999 Tournament of Champions
Dave Abbott: $7,100 + $7,200 + $7,200 = $21,500
J.J. Todor: $9,000 + $5,800 + $5,800 = $20,600
Juliet Wiley: $7,400 + $4,100 – $4,000 = $7,500

2006 Teen Tournament
Papa Chakravarthy: $4,000 + $23,000 + $1,601 = $28,601
Andrew Kreitz: $6,500 + $4,600 + $4,599 + $15,699
Matt Klein: $11,800 + $8,400 – $8,400 = $11,800

2007-B Teen Tournament (Teen Tournament Summer Games)
Meryl Federman: $0 + $22,000 + $16,601 = $38,601
Greg Peterson: $25,000 + $6,800 + $6,800 = $38,600
Kyle Neblett: $18,000 + $9,200 + $9,200 = $36,400

2013 Teen Tournament
Leonard Cooper: $3,000 + $37,000 – $0 = $40,000
Barrett Block: $17,600 + $9,000 + $9,000 = $35,600
Nilai Sarda: $19,000 + $14,400 – $7,000 = $26,400

2013 College Championship
Jim Coury: $8,600 + $14,200 + $11,789 = $34,589
Trevor Walker: $11,000 + $8,200 – $3,601 = $15,599
Kristen Jolley: $10,000 + $8,600 – $4,199 = $14,401