Banned? Blacklisted? Why Is ‘Jeopardy!’ Juggernaut Harrison Whitaker Secretly Missing From The Highly Anticipated 2026 Tournament of Champions Lineup?
‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions 2026: Why Harrison Whitaker Isn’t Competing
Sony/Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! has announced the postseason players and schedules. Executive producers Sarah Whitcomb-Foss and Michael Davies shared the news on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast on Monday, November 17.
Harrison Whitaker will not be in the 2026 Tournament of Champions as his run came too late into the season to qualify for it. However, he is the first seed in the 2027 ToC. Whitaker took home a total of $375,999 after 15 games and 14 wins with his final one on December 1.
Although the EPs announced the premiere date for Celebrity Jeopardy!: All-Stars — February 27 — they told fans to “stay tuned” and “use their imaginations” for the cast, which can’t be announced just yet.
Pop Culture Jeopardy! Season 2 is still auditioning, and Davies shared that celebrities as well as Jeopardy! champions and former contestants are interested.
Find out who will be in the postseason tournaments below as Ken Jennings returns to host.
Second Chance Tournament — played for three weeks starting December 15, the winners in each week will advance to the Champions Wildcard for a chance to play in the 2026 Tournament of Champions
Evan Argyle, a data scientist from Salt Lake City, Utah
Abigail Arnold, an academic administrator from Waltham, Massachusetts
Guy Branum, a writer and comedian from West Hollywood, California
Bob Callen, a retired librarian from Lexington, Kentucky
Ricky Chandak, a financial assurance senior from Boston, Massachusets
Dondi DeMarco, an operations executive from New York, N.Y.
Rachael Gray, a graduate student from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Mustafa Hameed, an attorney from Los Angeles, California
Jenna Hayes, an attorney from New York, N.Y.
Aaron Himmel, a stay-at-home dad originally from Long Island, N.Y.
Melanie Hirsch, an attorney from Silver Spring, Maryland
Eugene Huang, a teacher from Paramus, New Jersey
Emily Johnson, a dogwalker from Honolulu, Hawaii
Pete Johnston, a filmmaker and educator originally from Alma, Michigan
Erin Li, a psychiatrist from New York, N.Y.
Ivanna Lopez, a librarian originally from Tampa, Florida
Molly Murray, an English professor from New York, N.Y.
Erik Nielsen, a voice actor from Hollywood, California
Keegan Olson, a consultant from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Dan Puma, a salesperson from Chicago, Illinois
Ryan Sharpe, a recent graduate from Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Michelle Tsai, a tutor originally from Honolulu, Hawaii
Chris Turner-Neal, a writer from New Orleans, La.
Andrew Wang, a medical student from Winnetka, Illinois
Dave Widmayer, a trivia host from Portland, Oregon
Allison Willard, a paralegal from Weddington, North Carolina
Jasmine Zhou, an ASIC engineer from Woodland, California
Champions Wildcard — starting January 5 for two weeks, the winner of this tournament secures a berth in the ToC. The roster features one and two-day champions. Plus, the three-day champions who didn’t make it to the ToC and those who advanced from Second Chance.
Geoff Barnes, an analyst from Washington, D.C.
Cameron Berry, a data analyst and college administrator from Brighton, Massachusetts
Dave Bond, an art student from Rochester, N.Y.
James Corson, a nuclear engineer from Frederick, Maryland
Jonathan Hugendubler, an adjunct professor and trivia host from Baltimore, Maryland
Bill McKinney, a VP of restaurants and bars from San Diego, California
Ian Morrison, an airline ramp agent originally from Aurora, Colorado
Harvey Silikovitz, an attorney and worldwide karaoke singer originally from West Orange, New Jersey
Jason Singer, a real estate agent from Portland, Maine
Vickie Talvola, a quantitative trader from Jersey City, New Jersey
Stella Trout, a software engineer originally from Houston, Texas
Dargan Ware, an attorney and writer from Bessemer, Alabama
Second Chance Week 1 Winner TBD
Second Chance Week 2 Winner TBD
Second Chance Week 3 Winner TBD
Tournament of Champions — kicking off January 19, the ToC is the marquee event of the Jeopardy! season. The ToC features the players who won the most games during the eligibility period, plus the winner of Champions Wildcard, and Celebrity Jep! champions.
Scott Riccardi, a 16-game super-champion from Somerville, N.J.
Laura Faddah, an eight-game champion from Memphis, Tenn.
Paolo Pasco, a seven-game champion originally from San Diego, Calif.
Andrew Hayes, a six-game champion originally from Tupelo, Miss.
Liam Starnes, a six-game champion from Columbus, Ohio
Josh Weikert, a six-game champion from Collegeville, Pa.
Ben Ganger, a five-game champion from Goshen, Ind.
TJ Fisher, a five-game champion from San Francisco, Calif.
Alex DeFrank, a four-game champion from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Allegra Kuney, a four-game champion from New Brunswick, N.J.
Steven Olson, a four-game champion from Princeton, Ill.
Bryce Wargin, four-game champion from Kansas City, Mo.
Ashley Chan, a four-game champion from Lewisville, Texas
Matt Massie, a three-game champion originally from South Charleston, W.Va.
Tom Devlin, a three-game champion from Washington, D.C.
Brendan Liaw, a three-game champion from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Mike Dawson, a three-game champion from Portland, Ore.
Aaron Levine, a three-game champion from Seattle, Wash.
Lisa Ann Walter, Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 2 champion originally from Washington, D.C.
W. Kamau Bell, Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3 champion from Oakland, Calif.
Champions Wildcard Winner TBD
Which contestants are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.
Second Chance Tournament, starting December 15, check local listings
Champions Wild Card, starting January 5, check local listings
Tournament of Champions, starting January 19, check local listings
Pop Culture Jeopardy!, TBD 2026, Netflix
Celebrity Jeopardy!: All-Stars, Fridays, starting February 27, ABC
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