New Paltz man returns to ‘Jeopardy!’ next week
Francois Barcomb, the New Paltz resident who won the “Jeopardy!” Teachers Tournament that aired in May 2019, is one of 15 contestants in the game show’s annual Tournament of Champions, which airs starting Monday, Nov. 4.
The winner of the twoweek tournament gets $250,000. The secondand third-place prizes are $100,000 and $50,000, respectively.
The tournament opens with five quarterfinal games. Barcomb will be in the last of the five, airing Friday, Nov. 8 (7 p.m. on WABC-TV 7 in New York City, 7:30 p.m. on WTENTV 10 in Albany), according to the game’s senior publicity manager.
The five quarterfinal winners and the four high scorers among the nonwinners will compete in three semifinal games, scheduled for Nov. 11, 12 and 13. The three semifinal winners then face off in a two-day championship match, Nov. 14 and 15.
Barcomb, a physics teacher at Hendrick Hudson High School in Westchester County, will play his quarterfinal game against Ryan Fenster, a grad student from SeaTac, Wash., who won seven games last season; and Steven Grade, a sports industry analyst from Atlanta who won five games.
James Holzhauer, the professional sports gambler from Lav Vegas who won a whopping 32 games last season, earning nearly $2.5 million in the process, will be in the third quarterfinal game, airing Nov. 6.
Barcomb won the twoday championship round of the $100,000 Teachers Tournament in commanding fashion, amassing a large enough lead in the first game that catching him became almost impossible. In the end, he racked up a two-day total of $41,600 to his opponents’ $32,000 and $19,600.
“I had no idea going in I would be able to do something like that,” he said after the last game was broadcast.
“Jeopardy!” episodes are recorded in advance, but players are forbidden from sharing the results before they air.
“Jeopardy!” is hosted by Alex Trebek.