Nov. 18--After winning on Monday's show, North Shore "Jeopardy!" champion Julia Collins will head to the Tournament of Champions finals later this week.
Collins, 32, of Wilmette, won Monday's semifinal game, defeating contestants Jared Hall and Terry O'Shea, game show officials said.
The second-winningest overall and the top female competitor in the show's history, Collins captured her 20th win earlier this year.
Collins collected $16,500 in Monday's Tournament of Champions game, winning the first game of the semifinals. Thursday begins the two-day finals, which feature the three finalists, a group that now includes Collins. Friday is the final day, and the winner will be the player with the highest cumulative score at the end of the two days.
A former New Trier High School student and Wellesley College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumna, Collins was one of four wild-card contestants selected to compete in the final week of the tournament.
Collins, a Kenilworth native, placed second after competing in the elite tournament Nov. 12 but scored a second chance after winning a wild-card spot Friday.
While the game shows are taped weeks in advance, Collins said she can't reveal how she ultimately fares in this week's tournament.
But in a phone interview earlier this month, Collins said that after "Jeopardy!" she would like to work for an organization that empowers girls and women.
"I'd like to think that I'm not just 'good for a girl' playing 'Jeopardy!' but that I'm a good player," said Collins, a former management consultant.
Collins' previous winning streak ended in early June, when she took third place in her 21st and final episode.
Monday was Collins' second appearance in the two-week tournament, which features 13 other former champions battling for a $250,000 grand prize.
