Just when we thought Portland Month on “Jeopardy!” was over, Tuesday’s episode brings the return of a Portland-area champion. Avi Gupta, who won the 2019 “Jeopardy!” Teen Tournament, is back for the “Jeopardy!” High School Reunion Tournament.
Gupta, who graduated from Catlin Gabel school in Southwest Portland, earned $100,000 as the winner of the 2019 Teen Tournament. Now a senior at Stanford University, Gupta will play in the second episode of the “Jeopardy!” High School Reunion Tournament on Tuesday.
Gupta’s fellow players in the episode that airs Tuesday, Feb. 21, are Jack Izzo, a senior at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and Alison Purcell, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas.
The competitors in the High School Reunion Tournament are veterans of two Teen Tournaments that “Jeopardy!” hosted four seasons ago. As an announcement says, “those bright young minds are older, wiser, and ready to return to the stage for a first-of-its kind twist on the traditional College Championship format. 27 former teen contestants will reunite to face off in a 14-day special event with a $100,000 grand prize and a spot in the Tournament of Champions on the line. The format consists of nine quarterfinal games, three semifinals, and a two-day, total point affair final.”
Here’s the schedule for the High School Reunion Tournament: Monday, Feb. 20 – Friday, Feb. 24: Quarterfinal Games 1-5; Monday, Feb. 27 – Friday, March 3: Quarterfinal Games 6-9; Semifinal Game 1; Monday, March 6 – Thursday, March 9: Semifinal Games 2-3; Finals Games 1-2.
When Gupta competed in the 2019 Teen Tournament, beloved “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek was still on the show. Gupta donated $314 from his winnings to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, to go toward pancreatic cancer research. The donation, Gupta said, was made in honor of Trebek, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and who died of the disease in November 2020.
Gupta’s appearance on “Jeopardy!” comes shortly after other Portland-area contestants had been featured on the show. In February, software developer Matthew Marcus won four games. Podcast writer Mira Hayward won two games. And writer and communications consultant Blaine Smith played in the episode that aired Feb. 14, though he didn’t win.
“Jeopardy!” airs locally at 7 p.m. weeknights, on KATU-TV in Portland.
— Kristi Turnquist
503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist
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