Way back in 1997, a fellow named Scott Chupack took it upon himself to create what would become the inspiration for the current tournament. During the fervor of NCAA's March Madness, Scott decided it might be interesting to find out which show would come out victorious if 64 game shows were pitted against each other like a tournament. The rest, as they say, is history.

Not a whole lot of people took part (Scott's attendance record was 24 voters), but I was among the group of judges. In fact, Reg Grundy has me alone to thank for Scrabble upsetting both HS and PYL. (I'd still give those both back to have been a judge in the championship match, though)

After doing quite a bit of rummaging through DejaNews, I managed to find nearly the entire coverage paid during the tournament. Alas, I was unable to get the exact results for the first part of the first round, but I did manage to infer the winners. Below are the results of the 1997 tournament, which lasted from March 6 to April 3. Enjoy!

And now, the final brackets!

EAST region (Winner played against SOUTHEAST region)

1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Regional Championships
(1) THE PRICE IS RIGHT	(1) THE PRICE IS RIGHT -2-	(1) THE PRICE IS RIGHT -2-	(1) THE PRICE IS RIGHT -1-
(16) CAESAR'S CHALLENGE
(8) AMERICAN GLADIATORS	(9) NOW YOU SEE IT -1-
(9) NOW YOU SEE IT
(5) TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES	(12) HOT POTATO -3-	(12) HOT POTATO -1-
(12) HOT POTATO
(4) $ALE OF THE CENTURY	(13) DEBT -0-
(13) DEBT
(3) LET'S MAKE A DEAL -3-	(3) LET'S MAKE A DEAL -2-	(3) LET'S MAKE A DEAL -0-	(2) MATCH GAME -2-
(14) PITFALL -0-
(6) HIGH ROLLERS -2-	(6) HIGH ROLLERS -1-
(11) WHEW! -1-
(7) DOUBLE DARE (NICK) -1-	(10) YOU DON'T SAY! -0-	(2) MATCH GAME -3-
(10) YOU DON'T SAY! -2-
(2) MATCH GAME -2-	(2) MATCH GAME -3-
(15) JACKPOT! -1-

MIDWEST region (Winner played against WEST region)

1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Regional Championships
(1) JEOPARDY! -3-	(1) JEOPARDY! -2-	(1) JEOPARDY! -3-	(1) JEOPARDY! -2-
(16) MONOPOLY -0-
(8) I'VE GOT A SECRET -1-	(9) REMOTE CONTROL -1-
(9) REMOTE CONTROL -2-
(5) NEWLYWED GAME -3-	(5) NEWLYWED GAME -0-	(4) CONCENTRATION -0-
(12) SINGLED OUT-0-
(4) CONCENTRATION -3-	(4) CONCENTRATION -3-
(13) IDIOT SAVANTS -0-
(3) TWENTY-ONE -1-	(14) THE CHALLENGERS -0-	(6) PRESS YOUR LUCK -0-	(7) SCRABBLE -1-
(14) THE CHALLENGERS -2-
(6) PRESS YOUR LUCK -3-	(6) PRESS YOUR LUCK -3-
(11) THE BIG SHOWDOWN -0-
(7) SCRABBLE -2-	(7) SCRABBLE -2-	(7) SCRABBLE -3-
(10) BREAK THE BANK -1-
(2) HOLLYWOOD SQUARES -3-	(2) HOLLYWOOD SQUARES -1-
(15) FUN HOUSE -0-

WEST region (Winner played against MIDWEST region)

1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Regional Championships
(1) WHEEL OF FORTUNE -2-	(1) WHEEL OF FORTUNE -2-*	(1) WHEEL OF FORTUNE -1-	(5) TO TELL THE TRUTH -1-
(16) HOT STREAK -1-
(8) WHERE... CARMEN S'DIEGO? -1-	(9) GO -0-*
(9) GO -2-
(5) TO TELL THE TRUTH -2-	(5) TO TELL THE TRUTH -3-	(5) TO TELL THE TRUTH -2-
(12) TREASURE HUNT -1-
(4) $64K QUESTION -2-	(4) $64K QUESTION -0-
(13) $1M CHANCE/LIFETIME -1-
(3) THE JOKER'S WILD -3-	(3) THE JOKER'S WILD -2-	(3) THE JOKER'S WILD -1-	(2) FAMILY FEUD -2-
(14) MASTERMIND (British) -0-
(6) NAME THAT TUNE -2-*	(6) NAME THAT TUNE -1-
(11) WIPEOUT -0-*
(7) BLOCKBUSTERS -2-	(7) BLOCKBUSTERS -0-	(2) FAMILY FEUD -2-
(10) MAG. MARBLE MACHINE -1-
(2) FAMILY FEUD -2-	(2) FAMILY FEUD -3-
(15) KRYPTON FACTOR -1-

* - One judge didn't vote for either show, and unlike me Scott did not replace judges.

SOUTHEAST region (Winner played against EAST region)

1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Regional Championships
(1) PYRAMID -3-	(1) PYRAMID -3-	(1) PYRAMID -3-	(1) PYRAMID -2-
(16) SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP -0-
(8) DATING GAME -1-	(9) TALKABOUT -0-
(9) TALKABOUT -2-
(5) TIC TAC DOUGH -2-	(5) TIC TAC DOUGH -1-	(4) CARD SHARKS -0-
(12) CHAIN REACTION -1-
(4) CARD SHARKS -2-	(4) CARD SHARKS -2-
(13) STARCADE -1-
(3) WHAT'S MY LINE? -2-	(3) WHAT'S MY LINE? -2-	(3) WHAT'S MY LINE? -0-	(2) PASSWORD -1-
(14) SUPERMARKET SWEEP -1-
(6) GONG SHOW -2-	(6) GONG SHOW -1-
(11) TATTLETALES -1-
(7) BULLSEYE -2-	(7) BULLSEYE -0-	(2) PASSWORD -3-
(10) WIN, LOSE, OR DRAW -1-
(2) PASSWORD -3-	(2) PASSWORD -3-
(15) LIAR'S CLUB -0-

FINAL FOUR

Final Four	Championships	CHAMPION
(E2) MATCH GAME -2-	(S1) PYRAMID -8-	JEOPARDY!
(S1) PYRAMID -3-
(M1) JEOPARDY! -4-	(M1) JEOPARDY! -9-
(W2) FAMILY FEUD -0-