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‘Jeopardy!’ Invitational Tournament 2026 — Everything We Know

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Jan 20, 2026 6:51 PM ET

The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT) is one of the last tournaments held in the postseason. It is played immediately after the Tournament of Champions ends.

Ken Jennings will host the tournament, as he does all of the other ones, but this competition is solely based on invitations by the game show‘s executive producers, Sarah Whitcomb-Foss and Michael Davies. Whitcomb-Foss and Davies announced the contestants on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast on January 19 and shared who declined.

Some of those contestants include three participants from the previous Masters series, the two runners-up from the TOC, and other champions, but even they can decline if they simply can’t participate. The pool is smaller this year.

That year’s TOC winner and JIT winner advance to Jeopardy! Masters, along with three contestants who were seeded in the last Masters. The winner of the JIT takes home $150,000.

Here is everything we know about the 2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament from contestants who were asked and didn’t accept to when to watch it, and more.

Who is competing in the 2026 JIT?

Only 18 players will compete this season instead of the usual 27.

Jeopardy! Masters contestants
- Adriana Harmeyer
- Isaac Hirsch
- Roger Craig
- Matt Amodio
- Andrew He (2024 JIT runner-up)
Season 41 post-season players
- Mehal Shah (Season 41 Champions Wildcard winner)
- Drew Goins (Second Chance Winner)
- Will Yancey (Champions Wildcard runner-up)
- Drew Basile (defeated Adriana Harmeyer)
- Alison Betts (5-game champion)
Post-Season Players
- Eric Ahasic (6-game champion, Season 38)
- Long Nguyen (Season 40 Second Chance player)
- Liz Feltner (2022 JNCC finalist)
- Karen Farrell (Season 38, 8-game champion, ToC runner-up)
- Veronica Vichit-Vadakan (Season 36, 4-game champion, 2021 Toc runner-up)
- Josh Hill (Season 34, 7-game champion, quarterfinalist in T0C)
- Jennifer Giles (Teachers Tournament Winner, All-Star game, third-place team)
- Tom Cubbage (1989 College Champion Winner, TOC Winner, Super Jeopardy! 1990, Ultimate TOC, and Battle of the Decades)

Who is not competing?

Contestants can turn down an invitation to the J!IT, hence the name Invitational Tournament. Here’s who turned down an invitation for this year’s tournament. They can be invited back for future tournaments.

Neilesh Vinjamuri
Brad Rutter
Mattea Roach (Whitcomb-Foss spoke to Roach, and they said they are “starting to get hungry again, so maybe they will appear in a future JIT)
Julia Collins (hopes to make a comeback, but declined because her husband, Roger, is competing and she has to look after their two young children)
Cris Pannullo (traveling, so unable to join)

When does the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournmant begin?

The JIT starts immediately after the Tournament of Champions ends. But the exact date is unknown because for the TOC, the first player to win three games wins the whole tournament, but that could happen in three games or seven games.

The EPs warned that depending on how late the TOC goes, the JIT could start airing when the Olympics air (February 6 to 22).

Where can you watch the JIT?

Just like the syndicated version of Jeopardy!, the JIT will air on the same channel and time. The episodes can also be streamed the next day on Hulu and Peacock.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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