Not to be confused with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The Tournament.
The Tournament of Ten was a version of the show that premiered on Season 8 of the syndicated U.S. version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
The ten most successful contestants from that season were invited to come back to attempt a million-dollar question, risking their current winnings. Only Sam Murray took the option to have a go, answering correctly. As nobody else answered the million-dollar question, he won $1 million.
Format[]
At the end of every episode for two weeks, the ten most successful contestants from the first two months of the season were invited to come back to attempt a million-dollar question, putting what they had won so far at risk. Contestants had no lifelines. If they answered correctly, they would become the Tournament Leader until someone else answered correctly. The contestants were invited back in reverse order of how well they had performed on their original go (ties were broken according to the amount of banked time), so the strongest players in the main game had the advantage of having fewer chances to be replaced as Tournament Leader.
The clock format was used, so the contestants had a default of 45 seconds on the clock, with any banked time from throughout the game rolling over to this question. The clock started when Meredith had read the question, not after the four answers.
Million-dollar questions[]
10th: Alex Ortiz (November 9, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 2:56 time limit | |
| Which First Lady was a ninth-generation descendant of Pocahontas? | |
| ⬥ A: Helen Taft | ⬥ B: Edith Wilson |
| ⬥ C: Bess Truman | ⬥ D: Mamie Eisenhower |
| Alex says she has heard this, but doesn’t recall who. Alex decides not to risk her previous winnings. The correct answer was Edith Wilson. Total Winnings: $50,000 |
9th: Tony Westmoreland (November 10, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 3:07 time limit | |
| What great thinker's death is attributed to a chill he caught while stuffing a chicken with snow for an experiment on refrigeration? | |
| ⬥ A: Pythagoras | ⬥ B: Archimedes |
| ⬥ C: Isaac Newton | ⬥ D: Francis Bacon |
| Tony suspected D but wasn't sure enough to risk. D was the correct answer. $50,000 |
8th: Sam Murray (November 11, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 3:23 Time Limit Category: Genetics | |
| According to the Population Reference Bureau, what is the approximate number of people who have ever lived on earth? | |
| ⬥ A: 50 billion | ⬥ B: 100 billion |
| ⬥ C: 1 trillion | ⬥ D: 5 trillion |
| As he only had $50,000 in his bank, and had only $25,000, or exactly 50% of his winnings, to lose, and $950,000 to gain (as opposed to Ken Basin, who wound up losing $475,000, or 95% of his winnings, when he flunked out on his fatal $1 million question), Murray decided to go for it. He calculated the total population of Earth today to be about 6.5 billion people, and out of the four options in front of him, made an educated guess for 100 billion with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining. For the record, the correct answer was actually 106.5 billion, but it was rounded down to 100 billion for the question. Sam Murray: Tournament Leader |
7th: Robin Schwartz (November 12, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 3:35 time limit | |
| Who delivered the less famous two-hour speech that preceded Abraham Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address? | |
| ⬥ A: Wendell Phillips | ⬥ B: Daniel Webster |
| ⬥ C: Robert G. Ingersoll | ⬥ D: Edward Everett |
| Robin thought the answer was B: Daniel Webster, but decided not to risk half her winnings and walked away. Fortunately for her, the correct answer was D: Edward Everett. $50,000 |
6th: Ralph Cambeis (November 13, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 4:02 time limit Category: Composers | |
| Though today it's treated like a treasure, what famous painting was once cut into to enlarge a doorway? | |
| ⬥ A: Detroit Industry | ⬥ B: The Last Supper |
| ⬥ C: Guernica | ⬥ D: The Birth of Venusc |
| Ralph has no idea, and he wouldn't risk $25,000, so he walked away, and Sam Murray remained as the tournament leader. He would have guessed B, which is the right answer. Total Winnings: $50,000 |
5th: Tim Janus (November 16, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 3:16 time limit | |
| Who once wrote, "'Bartlett's Familiar Quotations' is an admirable work," a quotation now listed in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"? | |
| ⬥ A: Truman Capote | ⬥ B: John Lennon |
| ⬥ C: Winston Churchill | ⬥ D: Mark Twain |
| As the game progressed, he first said that he knew the answer to the question, but it was later known that he was toying with Meredith, as a response to her "tricking" contestants in the Hot Seat. He had an inkling towards Winston Churchill (which was the correct answer) but decided to walk away because he wasn't even sure and because of the money at risk. The correct answer was C: Winston Churchill. $100,000 |
4th: Matt Schultz (November 17, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 3:32 time limit | |
| The most-watched TV episode of all time, the final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired at 8:30 PM on February 28, 1983 following what sitcom? | |
| ⬥ A: Private Benjamin | ⬥ B: Square Pegs |
| ⬥ C: Alice | ⬥ D: Newhart |
| Attempting to work out the answer, Matt quipped, "I think I would like to use my Quadruple Dip" provoking laughter from the audience. He walked away but would have said C, which was the right answer. $100,000 |
3rd: Jeff Birt (November 18, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 4:07 time limit | |
| "Nephelococcygia" is the practice of doing what? | |
| ⬥ A: Finding shapes in clouds | ⬥ B: Sleeping with your eyes open |
| ⬥ C: Breaking glass with your voice | ⬥ D: Swimming in freezing water |
| Jeff had a hunch that the correct answer was A: Finding shapes in clouds. However, deciding not to risk losing $75,000, he walked away. The correct answer was indeed A: Finding shapes in clouds. $100,000 |
2nd: Keilani Goggins (November 19, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 4:07 time limit Category: Great Thinkers | |
| In a failed assassination attempt, what U.S. president was shot at twice at point-blank range, but survived because both guns misfired? | |
| ⬥ A: John Adams | ⬥ B: Andrew Jackson |
| ⬥ C: James Polk | ⬥ D: Martin van Buren |
| Keilani thought the answer was B: Andrew Jackson. However, not want to risk $75,000, she walked away. Much to her dismay, her hunch was correct; the correct answer was indeed B: Andrew Jackson. $100,000 |
1st: Jehan Shamsid-Deen (November 20, 2009)[]
| $1,000,000 (1 of 1) - 4:36 time limit | |
| A rare example of a word that rhymes with "orange," the Blorenge is a what? | |
| ⬥ A: River in Ireland | ⬥ B: Forest in Scotland |
| ⬥ C: Mountain in Wales | ⬥ D: Desert in Australia |
| Jehan was not sure, but had a feeling the correct answer was C: Mountain in Wales. Not wanting to lose $225,000, she walked away. The correct answer was indeed C: Mountain in Wales. As Sam Murray was the Tournament Leader at the end of the game, he won $1 million. Sam Murray: MILLIONAIRE |
See also[]
| Million Dollar Tournament of Ten contestants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. Alex Ortiz 9. Tony Westmoreland 8. Sam Murray 7. Robin Schwartz 6. Ralph Cambeis |
5. Tim Janus 4. Matt Schultz 3. Jeff Birt 2. Keilani Goggins 1. Jehan Shamsid-Deen | ||