Michael Falk is a junior high school math teacher from West Allis, Wisconsin.
Jeopardy! Run[]
Preparations[]
When he was on Jeopardy in 2006, he was a meteorologist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now he's a junior high school math teacher from West Allis, Wisconsin.
Regular-Season Play[]
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 4, 2006 | $17,401 | $17,401 | Alex delivers clues from the Sesame Street gang. Michael's only come-from-behind win in regular-season play. |
| 2 | April 5, 2006 | $19,201 | $36,602 | |
| 3 | April 6, 2006 | $22,801 | $59,403 | |
| 4 | April 7, 2006 | $399 | $60,403 | Lost to William Lee (in a runaway game), who went on a 2-game winning streak. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the fourth quarterfinal game, he faced off against David Madden and Bob Mesko. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/18 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He was the only player who got Final incorrect, but after losing to David, he and Bob receive wildcards as their scores, $14,000 and $14,400 were enough to advance.
In the third semifinal game, he faced off against Jason Richards and Maria Wenglinsky. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/19 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Maria got Final correct. Michael advanced to the finals. Jason and Maria took home $10,000.
In the finals, he faced off against Vik Vaz and Bill MacDonald. Throughout the finals, he came up with 43/46 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). He was the only player who Final correct in both games, came from behind to win $250,000.
Battle of the Decades[]
In the fourth game of the 2000s week, he faced off against Ken Jennings and Vinita Kailasanath. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 14/18 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). Nobody got Final Jeopardy correct, but after losing to Ken (in a runaway game), he and Vinita received $5,000.
Aftermath[]
- Won the second ToC held under the unlimited winning streak system.
- After that, he appeared in BotD but got defeated by Ken Jennings in the 2000s week.
Common with Other Champions[]
Emma Boettcher[]
- Both are three-time champions and finished in third place.
- Both were assigned to Group 4 in ToC and took first and second place, respectively. The difference is that Michael came up as a WC and Emma came up on her own.
- In the ToC semifinals, They defeated the champion who worked as a teacher (Michael: Maria Wenglinsky, Emma: Kyle Jones), and Emma also defeated the Teacher Tournament winner in the finals.
- The two people who competed in Regular in the ToC they appeared in advanced to the finals. The difference is that Michael won by beating these two (Vik Vaz and Bill MacDonald), and Emma won the ToC in Regular game. (James Holzhauer).
Vijay Balse[]
- Champion with less than 4 consecutive wins and has won less than $100,000 in regular games.
- Both men have faced opponents in their rematches. As mentioned above, Michael met the contestants who competed in the Regular game, and Vijay had a rematch with the two contestants who competed in the Quarterfinal.
- Both came out in the season in which ToC was held and won the ToC.
Sam Kavanaugh[]
- Both lost the last Regular Game to the Lock Game.
- The two-person ToC was held in May, and the 19th consecutive champion participated.
- They met the champion (Bill MacDonald) who defeated the 19-game winning streak champion in the finals.
- A rematch took place in their own ToC. In Michael's case, he beat two of his regular game rematches (the other being Vik Vaz), and Sam reunited with his ToC Quarterfinal competitor.
- A contestant from the same season as the season the two entered won the ToC. The difference is, Michael is after his victory (Celeste DiNucci), Sam is before his victory (James Holzhauer).
Yogesh Raut[]
- Both are ToC three-time consecutive champions.
- The ToC in which these two appeared is the ToC with the most three-game winning streak champions.
- Both were placed in Group 4, and one Superchamp was completely defeated by the 3rd and 4th consecutive champion.
- Both were upset winners, and the contestants had appeared twice in other tournaments before ToC.
Neilesh Vinjamuri[]
- Both are ToC three-time consecutive champions.
- The ToC in which these two appeared is the ToC with the most three-game winning streak champions.
- Both won between $50,000-$60,000 in their original run.
- Both lost by a 2-time champion.
Trivia[]
- He is the first 3-time champion to win the ToC. Eighteen years later, Yogesh Raut became the second 3-time champion to win the ToC, and then a year later, Neilesh Vinjamuri became the third to win.
- Among all ToC winners, he is the recipient of the smallest Regular Game prize money (unjusted, $59,403). Of course, that doesn't mean his skills are worse than other champions. Considering that even super champions who have won 10 or more games in a row fail in the semifinals or quarterfinals, let alone the finals, just winning the ToC can be said to be a great achievement. Moreover, if it is a three-game winning streak, it can be said to be a record.
- Following Robin Carroll, he is the second champion to win the ToC open season.
- William Lee, who beat him, won twice in a row and received more prize money ($62,500) than he and Aaron Thompson ($57,899), who advanced to ToC. William also defeated 2013 ToC winner Colby Burnett on ABC's 500 Questions on May 28, 2016.
- He is the second champion to win the ToC for that season after appearing in that season after Robin Carroll in S16, and later the same season champion Celeste DiNucci won the S24 ToC, making it the first ever to produce two ToC winners in the same season, The season has come. They are also the last contestants in their respective genders to win via WC.