Jeopardy! to Bring Back Ken Jennings

By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Thursday December 30, 2004 08:00 AM EST

Ken Jennings Photo by: Sony-Jeopardy / AP

Expect to see Ken Jennings back on Jeopardy! in 2005, as nearly 150 past winners from the game show's 21-year history will be invited to go head to head in a "Super Tournament."

Host Alex Trebek called the tournament the "quest for Ken," adding in a statement: "Ever since Ken started his amazing run, people have been speculating on how some of the past Jeopardy! players would do against him. We're answering that question."

Jennings, a Salt Lake City software engineer who won $2,520,700 during an unprecedented 74-game winning streak that ended Nov. 30, says: "I can't wait to see who I'll be up against in the finals."

The decision to bring back Jennings makes perfect sense. Ratings for the show temporarily jumped during his record winning streak. The new matches will begin airing in February or March, and the finals will air in May, Jeopardy! publicist Jeff Ritter tells the Associated Press.

The third-place winner will receive $250,000 and the second-place winner, $500,000. And the grand prize: $2 million.