JEOPARDY! star Ben Chan eerily foresaw the chaos that would ensue in the 2024 Tournament of Champions in a resurfaced interview.

The nine-day champ, who controversially lost on a single wrong letter in Final Jeopardy, triumphantly returns for the ToC on Tuesday.

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Ken Jennings is hosting the 2024 Tournament of Champions with shock eliminations across the boardCredit: Getty

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Ben Chan warned before it taped: ‘There are many, many people who it would not be surprising to see win’Credit: ABC
Chan faces 2023 High School Reunion Tournament winner Justin Bolsen and three-day winner Emmett Stanton.

As fans know, the 2024 ToC has been nothing short of shocking, with brief winners and actors toppling the highest seeds left and right.

Notably, no semifinalist secured more than five wins during their initial run, with only two quarterfinals remaining, including Chan’s.

What fans might not be aware of is Chan’s premonition that the tournament wouldn’t unfold as expected.

‘A LOT OF PEOPLE COULD WIN’

Chan spilled his thoughts on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast in August, urging people to brace for upsets.

He said: “People have noted that, after a couple of years of mega super-champs like Amy [Schneider] Matt [Amodio] and Mattea [Roach], Season 39 did not see as many superlong champs.

“But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that arguably this ToC field is – no offense intended – deeper than the last ToC field.

“I think the number of ToC-qualified people who had an average Coryat over $20,000 is many, many – there are many of them in this ToC field.

“There are a lot of people who it would not be surprising to see win the Tournament of Champions.”

He added, “So I think my game plan is to try and do what I did the first time around, prepare as I know how, and when I get there, try to have fun.”

TOC YA LATER

At long last, Jeopardy! fans are getting the strike-delayed 2024 Tournament of Champions, the game show’s most treasured tradition.

Now it’s finally back with an unprecedented 27 contestants (the largest playing field ever).

But as the quarterfinals have nearly concluded, the top seeds are dropping like flies.

21-day champion and golden boy Cris Pannullo lost in a blowout to three-day champ Jared Watson.

Then, eight-win trans sensation Hannah Wilson lost on an oversized Daily Double bet to four-day winner David Sibley.

Comeback queen and fan-favorite Juveria Zaheer lost to five-day champ Luigi de Guzman.

Then, the only super-champion left, the gentlemanly Canadian Ray Lalonde (13 wins), lost to none other than Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barenholtz.

Even Matt Amodio joked on X: “Losing your #Jeopardy ToC debut from the first podium was cool when I started it, but now it’s just getting old…”

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The 2024 ToC saw its top seed, 21-day winner Cris Pannullo, lose in a blowoutCredit: ABC

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Then came the defeat of eight-day champion Hannah WilsonCredit: Jeopardy!

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And perhaps most insane of all, actor Ike Barenholz – who qualified by winning Celebrity Jeopardy- beat a 13-day champCredit: Jeopardy!

WHO IS: BEN CHAN?

Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, amassed nine wins, $252,200 last season.

Ben won all nine of his games in a runaway fashion and is the first contestant ever to do so.

Ben fell ill from Covid and abruptly exited after his third runaway win- his return led to the one of the most climatic matches of Season 39, against Hannah Wilson.

When Ben returned, he was pitted against Hannah in a “co-returning champions” scenario that unfortunately led to Hannah’s losing.

Hannah however, admitted on Reddit: “I couldn’t ask for a better opponent to get utterly thrashed by!”

Fans had high hopes that Hannah would make it further into the ToC and have a rematch against Chan.

Chan’s other shock game was that controversial Benedict Final Jeopardy ruling, in which a small spelling mistake on an otherwise correct Final Jeopardy! ended his run.

“I’ve kind of put it behind me, but every time I run into someone, they want to talk about it,” Chan said on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.

“So maybe don’t bring it up when you run into me.”

Ben’s parents immigrated from Japan, and he wears his dad’s keepsake Rolex, explaining why, as fans noticed, he holds the buzzer “like it’s a baby.”

Fans have flooded social media hoping that “order is restored” and Ben will break the curse riddling the ToC as well as avenge his Final Jeopardy ruling.

One social media user wrote: “If Ben Chan wins today, congrats to him for breaking the pattern of all the fan-favorites and high seeds like Cris, Hannah, and Juveria being eliminated.

“He will be a very tough matchup given all 9 of his games were runaway victories before his losing game.”

WHAT IS: THE FORMAT?

The 2024 ToC starts with nine quarterfinal games, where one player advances.

Then there will be three semifinals and a first-to-three-wins finale.

That means the final three contestants could duke it out over three games or up to seven.

The ToC will conclude in late March, with the victor earning $250,000, a championship belt, an invite to the next Jeopardy! Masters in May, and serious bragging rights.

Meanwhile, former champ Ken Jennings is now the sole host after Mayim Bialik was fired from the syndicated series in December.

Ken spoke up about her shock departure last month saying he “understood” the decision- “TV show’s don’t have two hosts.”

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Fans have high hopes that Ben Chan will ‘restore order’ and win his ToC matchCredit: Jeopardy!

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So far, the ToC semifinals do not include a single contestant who has won more than 5 gamesCredit: Jeopardy!