Round Rock Resident To Compete In Jeopardy! Champs' Tournament

ROUND ROCK, TX — Fifteen of the most successful winners from the past two seasons of Jeopardy! — including Eric R. Backes of Round Rock — will compete this fall during the 2019 Tournament of Champions, the show announced in a video Wednesday.

Eric R. Backes of Round Rock is among the elite group of brainiacs who walked away with big cash winnings, coming in the 7th ranking among the other champions. Backes' 4-game winnings totaled $105,602.

As TVLine reported, the one to beat will be professional sports gambler James Holzhauer of Las Vegas, who took home an astounding $2.4 million during his stunning 32-game winning streak. Tournament of Champions competitors will vie for a $250,000.

Holzhauer rubbed some fans of the show the wrong way for some reason (perhaps his confidence was confused with cockiness?) only to win many over after he donated a portion of his winnings to a Chicago-area pancreatic cancer walk in honor of host Alex Trebek, who revealed his diagnosis (for which he's now in near remission) to viewers in March.

The 10-day event is scheduled to air from Nov. 4-15. Check your local listings for show times.

Aside from Backes and Holzhauer, as TVLine detailed, the other competitors are:

• Josh Hill of North Little Rock, Arkansas, whose 7-game winnings totaled $163,721.
• Ryan Fenster (Seatac, Washington), with 7-game winnings totaling $156,497.
• Kyle Jones (Aurora, Colorado), 7-game winnings of $145,403.
• Rob Worman (Edina, Minnesota), 6-game winnings of $133,900.
• Alan Dunn (Johns Creek, Georgia), 5-game winnings of $120,802.
• Steven Grade (Atlanta, Georgia, 5-game winnings of $115,501.
• Anneke Garcia (Salt Lake City, Utah), 4-game winnings of $104,497.
• Lindsey Shultz (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 4-game winnings of $101,002.
• Emma Boettcher (Chicago, Illinois, 3-game winnings of $97,002.
• Gilbert Collins (Princeton, New Jersey, 5-game winnings of $84,201.
• Rachel Lindgren (Bend, Oregon, 5-game winnings of $75,999.
• Dhruv Gaur (Gainesville, Georgia), Season 34 College Champion.
• Francis Barcomb (New Paltz, New York), Season 35 Teachers Champion.