The Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades is a 5-week tournament airing throughout the 30th season to celebrate 30 years of the syndicated version. 15 contestants face off from each decade of Jeopardy! to advance to the quarterfinals. The 5 winners from each decade face off in the quarterfinals. From there the regular tournament format developed by Alex Trebek is used for the 15 quarterfinalists.
Fan Favorite Round
The first part of the tournament began on September 30, 2014. 14 people who were pre-selected to appear in each decade (1980s, 1990s, and 2000s) were announced. 5 people competed for the 15th spot in each decade over the course of 3 weeks. Voting took place on the Jeopardy! website, Facebook, and Twitter. The 5 nominees for the 1980s were:
- Andrew Westney (winner)
- Diane Siegel (2nd place, thereby becoming the alternate)
- Eugene Finerman
- Michael Rankins
- Leah Greenwald
The second week of voting took place the following week, with the nominees being kept secret until the voting began. They were:
- Shane Whitlock (winner)
- Brian Weikle (2nd place & alternate)
- Michael Daunt
- Catherine Ramen
- Melizza Zygmunt
The final week of voting for the 2000s took place the next week. The nominees were:
- Tom Nissley (winner)
- Erin McLean (alternate & 2nd place)
- Ryan Chaffee
- Kara Spak
- Joey Beachum
The results were announced on December 3rd, 2013. Andrew Westney, Shane Whitlock, and Tom Nissley claimed the 15th and final spot for each respective decade.
The other 14 contestants for the 1980s were:
- India Cooper
- Chuck Forrest
- Jim Scott
- Leslie Frates
- Leszek Pawlowicz
- Richard Cordray
- Tom Nosek
- Leslie Shannon
- Phoebe Juel
- Mark Lowenthal
- Frank Spangenberg
- Tom Cubbage
- Jerome Vered
- Bob Verini
The 1985 ToC winner, Jerry Frankel had previously passed away which resulted in him not being invited. Bob Blake, who was the 1990 ToC winner, was invited but declined due to a scheduling conflict.
The 1990s contestants were:
- Rachael Schwartz
- Babu Srinivasan
- Eddie Timanus
- Dan Melia
- Pam Mueller
- Fritz (Ryan) Holznagel
- Robin Carroll
- Bob Harris
- Dave Abbott
- Claudia Perry
- Mark Dawson
- Brad Rutter
- Jill Bunzendahl-Chimka
- Mike Dupee
The 2000s contestants were:
- Colby Burnett
- Celeste DiNucci
- Vijay Balse
- Stephanie Jass
- Roger Craig
- Larissa Kelly
- Russ Schumacher
- Tom Kavanaugh
- Vinita Kailasanath
- Keith Whitener
- Michael Falk
- Dan Pawson
- Maria Wenglinsky
- Ken Jennings
Due to David Madden's business relationship with the compliance company Jeopardy! hires to oversee fairness of the rules, he declined to participate in the 2000s Week.
1980s Week
The 1980s week taped in December and aired February 3-7 2014. The matchups by order of ranking at the end of the game were:
Chuck Forrest | Jim Scott | India Cooper |
Leszek Pawlowicz | Andrew Westney | Leslie Frates |
Tom Nosek | Richard Cordray | Leslie Shannon |
Mark Lowenthal | Frank Spangenberg | Phoebe Juel |
Tom Cubbage | Jerome Vered | Bob Verini |
The 5 winners advanced to the quarterfinals. Losing players received $5000 except Richard Cordray who due to his federal appointment turned down the money.
1990s Week
The 1990s week taped in January and aired March 3-7 2014. The matchups by rank at the end of the game were as follows:
Rachael Schwartz | Eddie Timanus | Babu Srinivasan |
Pam Mueller | Fritz Holznagel | Dan Melia |
Robin Carroll | Shane Whitlock | Bob Harris |
Mark Dawson | Claudia Perry | Dave Abbott |
Brad Rutter | Mike Dupee |
Jill Bunzendahl-Chimka |
2000s Week
The day after 1990s Week taped, 2000s week taped. These games aired March 31-April 4 of 2014. The matchups are as follows:
Colby Burnett | Celeste DiNucci | Tom Nissley |
Roger Craig | Vijay Balse | Stephanie Jass |
Russ Schumacher | Larissa Kelly | Tom Kavanaugh |
Ken Jennings | Michael Falk | Vinita Kailasanath |
Dan Pawson | Maria Wenglinsky | Keith Whitener |
Final rounds
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals taped in April 2014 and will air May 5-9. The matchups for the quarterfinals were announced 15 days after taping as part of a press release by Jeopardy! on their Tumblr blog. They are by rank:
Roger Craig | Leszek Pawlowicz | Robin Carroll |
Russ Schumacher | Pam Mueller | Tom Nosek |
Brad Rutter | Dan Pawson | Mark Lowenthal |
Ken Jennings | Tom Cubbage | Rachael Schwartz |
Colby Burnett (00s) | Mark Dawson (90s) | Chuck Forrest (80s) |
Each quarterfinal game has one winner from each of the preliminary rounds. The 5 winners will proceed to the semifinals along with 4 wildcard semifinalists. The eliminated quarterfinalists receive $10,000.