Jeopardy! fans notice major ToC contestant missing from lineup after favorite Drew Goins snags spot because of loophole

JEOPARDY! fans have noticed a contestant eligible for the Tournament of Champions has not been included in the competition.

Tournament of Champions is set to kick off on Monday, January 27, as contestants who have won five, and at times four, episodes in a row are eligible to compete in the competition.

Fans noticed Laura Faddah was not included in a cast photo for the Tournament of Champions

The cast of Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy! revealed the next competitors of the tournament, including Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, Drew Basile, Drew Goins and more.

But a Jeopardy! fan noticed one contestant wasn’t included in the cast photo posted on Instagram.

The fan commented on the post, “Wait what about Laura?
Do we have to wait until her run is officially over or something?”

The contestant is referring to Laura Faddah from Memphis, Tennessee, who had won $87,400 over seven days.

Another commenter replied, “Laura will be in next year’s ToC.”

Laura is listed as “eligible for the next Tournament of Champions,” along with Ashley Chan, who won $67,400 over four days.

Fan favorite Drew Goins will compete thanks to a loophole

GOINS TO TOC!

Fan-favorite Drew Goins will compete in the Tournament of Champions despite losing Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard Tournament.

The tournament came to a dramatic end last week after dozens of contestants battled it out to make it to the finals.

The game is part two of the two-day finals – concluding the end of season 41 before heading into the prestigious Tournament of Champions.

Drew, a journalist from Honolulu, Hawaii, took on Will Yancey, a lecturer of history from Banquete, Texas and Mehal Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington.

Jeopardy!’s Drew Goins suffers devastating loss- but loophole allows fan-favorite to continue to Tournament of Champions
Their scores from part one carried over to Friday, as Mehal had an early lead with $27,200, Drew with $17,600 and Will with $5,600.

After adding up their combined two-day scores, Mehal was the winner with $46,200.

Drew was in second with $17,600 while Will was in third place with $5,600.

It was expected that only the sole winner from the Champions Wildcard Tournament would move on to the Tournament of Champions.

However, a loophole in the game show rules will allow Drew to continue.

In addition to the top-earning winners of the regular season and from the tournament, Jeopardy! also allows the champion of Celebrity Jeopardy! to compete in the Tournament of Champions.

The winner of the 2024 season was The Parent Trap legend and Abbott Elementary star, Lisa Ann Walter.

But due to scheduling conflicts with Lisa Ann having to film the upcoming season of Abbott Elementary, she was unable to compete on Tournament of Champions.

This left her invitation up to the second-place competitor from the Champions Wildcard.

Jeopardy! 2025 Tournament of Champions

Jeopardy!’s next Tournament of Champions will take place this winter, midway through Season 41 (exact airdate TBA) and it’s shaping up to be another showstopper. Here’s who is officially eligible so far:

Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins and $349,600 total)
Isaac Hirsch (nine wins and $215,390)
Greg Jolin (five wins and $135,002)
Survivor alum Drew Basile (seven wins and $129,601)
Alison Betts (5 wins and $121,500)
Mark Fitzpatrick (five wins and $107,201)
Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins and $100,994)
Ryan Manton (four wins and $83,179)
Grant DeYoung (four wins and $81,203)
Will Wallace (four wins and $79,998)
Amar Kakirde (four wins and $55,899)
Lisa Ann Walter (winner of Celebrity Jeopardy! 2024)

The prize for winning the ToC is $250,000 and a coveted slot in Jeopardy! Masters.

Jeopardy.com notes: “All 4-time and over winning players starting from 04/10/24 will be eligible for a future Tournament of Champions.”

“Presence on this list does NOT guarantee an invitation to compete. Other eligibility rules apply and final selection is up to the producers’ sole discretion.”