'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions schedule, when Schneider, Amodio and Roach will battle

Do a little dance to the "Jeopardy!" Think Music: Some of the quiz show's greatest players are back!

The Tournament of Champions returns Monday, bringing the best of the (recent) best together to see whose cleverness can translate to even more cash. (The games will air during the daily syndicated "Jeopardy!" episodes; check local listings.)

In all, 21 "Jeopardy!" winners – including Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach – will enter the brainy battle hosted by Ken Jennings for a chance at taking home the $250,000 grand prize.

Here's what to know about the rules of the tournament, the longest yet:

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The quarterfinals, kicking off Monday, consist of 18 players facing off in six games.

The pool of participants includes those who have won at least four games since 2020's Tournament of Champions, and winners of the National College Championship, the Professors Tournament, and the game show's first Second Chance face-off, which concluded Friday.

The victor from each quarterfinal match-up progresses to the semifinals, a series of three games each featuring a recent "Jeopardy" legend: Schneider (40 games, $1,382,800); Amodio (38 games, $1,518,601) and Roach (23 games, $560,983). In a first, all three have first-round byes. The semifinal winners advance to the finals, where the first to win three games is crowned the winner.

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'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions schedule

Quarterfinals

Monday: Ryan Long (16 games won), Megan Wachspress (6), Maureen O'Neil (4)

Tuesday: Jonathan Fisher (11), Andrew He (5), Christine Whelchel (4)

Wednesday: Brian Chang (7), Tyler Rhode (5), Margaret Shelton (4)

Thursday: Courtney Shah (7), Rowan Ward (Second Chance winner), John Focht (4)

Friday: Eric Ahasic (6), Jaskaran Singh (winner of the National College Championship), Jackie Kelly (4)

Nov. 7: Zach Newkirk (6), Jessica Stephens (Second Chance winner), Sam Buttrey (Professors Tournament winner)

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Semifinals

Nov. 9: Schneider vs. two quarterfinal winners

Nov. 10: Amodio vs. two quarterfinal winners

Nov. 11 Roach vs. two quarterfinal winners

Finals

The finals begin Nov. 14 and continue until Nov. 22, if necessary.

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A special game on Nov. 8

On Election Day, "Jeopardy!" icons Schneider, Amodio and Roach will brush up on their buzzer skills in a just-for-fun exhibition game.

Executive producer Michael Davies said he was concerned the impressive champions might not meet each other in the tournament, and that the Nov. 8 show could be preempted on Election Day, in a video shared to the "Jeopardy!" YouTube channel on Oct. 24. Thus the no-stakes game.

"It really is and was and will always be one of the most fun half-hours of 'Jeopardy!' ever," said Davies.

The show, which will air on the second anniversary of Alex Trebek's death, will pay tribute to the longtime host with a special category dedicated to him.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions 2022: Start date and schedule