Coming This Week: A Big Jeopardy! First

Glance around the Jeopardy! set during rehearsals for its first-ever team championship and it's easy to be intimidated by the assembled brain power. There's Brad Rutter, whose overall Jeopardy! haul, $4.3 million, is the most won on any game show. And Ken Jennings, a 74-game winner who won $2.5 million. And Buzzy Cohen, the reigning Tournament of Champions winner. They're among the six captains who will join their teams in competing for a top $1 million prize in a series of 10 episodes that begin airing Wednesday and conclude March 5, the AP reports. The other three captains: Julia Collins, No. 2 in overall winnings on the show; Colby Burnett, a Teachers Tournament and Tournament of Champions victor, and Austin Rogers, No. 5 in games and money won.

"It's like the Mount Rushmore of Jeopardy!" observed Jimmy McGuire, part of the traveling "clue crew" that poses video answers from distant spots. The 18 contestants were chosen primarily on the basis of their previous success, with an edge going to fan favorites as determined by social media. The captains, who will also play, built their three-person teams from among the remaining 12 contestants. The full teams won't play directly against each other, with one person from each team designated to compete in a game's first round, another to play double Jeopardy!, and the third to play the final round. The winning teammates will get equal shares of the top prize, about $330,000 each. The second- and third-place prizes to be split are $300,000 and $100,000.

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