17, 1990. The starting value of the jackpot was reduced to $25,000, a rule which would take effect once the initial jackpot was claimed. For each day it went unclaimed, $1,000 was added to the jackpot. The Ultimate Challenge kept this format from the September 3, 1990 premiere until November 20, 1990. During this time, four champions managed to complete it successfully. The first of these wins was recorded by Larry Caplan on September 24, 1990 as he won the initial jackpot, which had reached $60,000. The second of these wins came in October 1990, when Russell Giles won a $42,000 jackpot. On November 2, 1990, Scott Peterson won a $36,000 jackpot, and Stan Newman won the final Ultimate Challenge under its original format eighteen days later for $31,000. His victory made him the highest winning contestant in the history of The Challengers and the only one to top $100,000 in total winnings. Format #2 Beginning on November 21, 1990, the Ultimate Challenge was reconfigured as a daily bonus round with $10,000 cash at stake. Initially, as before, the champion was presented with a choice of categories before the round began. Later the choice was dropped and the champion was told the category at the outset of the round. Instead of needing to answer three questions correctly to win the Ultimate Challenge, the champion only had to answer one. However, the question could and often did contain multiple answers and all parts had to be answered correctly in order for the champion to win the $10,000. The Ultimate Challenge was eventually done away with; while an exact date has yet to be determined, the round was retired sometime after the February 15, 1991 episode. Tournaments Tournament of Champions For the first two months that The Challengers was on the air, contestants were not only competing to win money but were also trying to earn spots in the show's Tournament of Champions. The tournament was conducted the week of November 12, 1990, and its structure was similar to the one employed by Jeopardy! during its own tournaments. Nine players faced off on the first three days of the tournament, with the three winners playing a two-day cumulative score final. All three players kept whatever they earned in the two games, with the tournament winner earning an additional $25,000. After the match played on the November 9 episode, the field was set.