16Nov2011
Roger Craig Wins 2011 “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions
Roger Craig, the largest single-day winner in Jeopardy! history, has proven he’s the best of the best this year. Newark, Delaware, resident Craig has won the 2011 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, winning the $250,000 top prize. Craig beat 14 other Jeopardy! champions to take the title. “It feels incredibly special to win the Tournament of Champions, especially since it’s a marquee event for ‘Jeopardy!’” Craig said. “It’s amazing to win $250,000. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’d play the game for free!” His competitors, Tom Nissley (2nd place) and Buddy Wright (3rd place), receive $100,000 and $50,000; respectively. Congratulations to Roger.
Here’s a look at Roger’s big win, in case you missed it yesterday.
First, it’s “Newark” Delaware, not “Newmark”. Spelled the same as the NJ city, but pronounced different. Even Johnny Gilbert didn’t get it quite right, but close. I live just a few miles south of that city. It’s where the University of Delaware is.
Second, Roger is truly an amazing player. So happy he won.
Was there really any doubt from the beginning of the tournament that Roger Craig was going to win?
It’s easy to say that after the fact, but when I first saw the lineup, I figured Joon Pahk might have a shot at beating Roger Craig, even though Pahk would still be the underdog in that matchup. I’d imagine Pahk could win vs. Craig if, say, he got lucky and found both Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy!, since both of them have an impressive track record on the DDs.
Roger’s win on this show is similar to Watson’s win, the way I see it. He designed a program that allowed him to train in the most efficient way possible, and it worked. Truly the most impressive player on the show.
He’s one of the best Jeopardy players I seen, he brake a one-day record last year & he pick two Daily Doubles in a row & bet it all, something that never happen before. I like to see him take on Ken Jennings or Watson.