In round one, there are 135 players competing in 45 games. The winners of those games will take on nine seeded opponents. The 18 winners then face off for six slots. The two winners of those semifinal games have a date with destiny in the form of one Ken Jennings for a three-day final. The winner of those games wins $2 million. Second place is guaranteed $500,000, while third place is guaranteed $250,000.

No wild cards, no second chances. It's (my favorite words when it comes to Jeopardy! tourneys) win or go home.

LAN DJANG Health policy analyst Toronto 2001 5-time Champion	ANDREW HUTCHINGS Grad student, Cornell Ithaca, NY 1998 '98 College Champion	DAVE WILLIS Business manager Ventura, CA 1992 5-time Champion

Jeopardy! categories: First Ladies' Terms of Service, Classic Song's First Lines, Going Buggy, Rope-pourri, Sweet Virginia, Tree-Letter Words

Daily Double: $800 Rope-pourri. Lan ($2400 to Andrew's $3800 and Dave's $1600) fronts $2000. The clue: in the 19th C. this plant first cultivated in China had become so widely used that its name came to mean "rope". Lan's guess: "What is hemp?" Correct for $4400 and the lead.

End of Round:
Lan - $5400
Andrew - $6600
Dave - $3200

Double Jeopardy! categories: Second-Largest Cities, You Sleigh Me, Theatre, Crossword Clues "F", I Remember..., I Forget

Daily Double #1: $2000 Second-Largest Cities. Lan (on the verge of a run, $9400 over Andrew's $6600 and Dave's $3200) goes for $2500. Clue: Surabaya, 3 million. Lan's guess: "What is Indonesia?" Correct for $11,900 and the sweep.

Daily Double #2: $800 Theatre. Lan ($21,500 over Andrew's $12,600 and Dave's $6000) fronts $1500. Clue: this popular play by AR Gurney traces Andrew & Melissa's lifelong correspondence. Lan's guess: "What is 'Postcards from the Edge'?" Correct response: What is "Love Letters"? Lan goes to $20,000.

End of Round:
Lan - $21,200
Andrew - $13,400
Dave - $6000

Remember, runners-up will take home $5000, while the winner is guaranteed at least $15,000.

Final Jeopardy! Category: Historic Places. Answer: the towns of Vierville-sur-Mer & Colleville-sur-Mer entered history with this 2-word area named for a US city. Correct response: What is Omaha Beach?

Dave's question: What is Omaha? (WRONG) Wager: $6000. Final score: $0.
Andrew's question: What is Peter Nero? (WRONG) Wager: $11,400. Final score: $2000.
Lan's question: What is Omaha Beach? (RIGHT) Wager: $5650. Final score: $26,850.

Lan completed the trifecta, and the Final was the exclamation point, as he scores $26,850 for his next appearance alongside Eric Terzuolo, Michael Rankins, Arthur Phillips, David Traini, Bob Harris, Vinita Kailasanath, Bev Schwartzberg, Dan Melia, Mark Eckard, Michael Dupee, Jeff Richmond, John Beck, Tad Carithers, Jerome Vered, Bruce Borchardt, Fred Ramen, Ed Schiffer, Grace Veach, Ryan Holznagel, Mark Dawson, Michael Rooney, Pam Mueller, Steve Newman, Chris Miller, Leah Greenwald, Jonathan Groff, Brian Moore, Robert Slaven, Shane Whitlock, Michael Daunt, Steve Berman, Eugene Finerman, John Cuthberson, India Cooper, Kyle Hale, Rick Knutsen, Bruce Naegeli, Matt Zielenski, and April McManus in the next round.

We're down to five games left, with Paul Gutowski, Dave Abbott, and Mark Born competing in the next one.