the jeopardy! battle of the decades was a special tournament held during the 30th season of the american television game show "jeopardy!" it featured 45 contestants who won or competed in the tournament of champions in the past. the field of contestants were broken up into three decades (1984-1993, 1994-2003, and 2004-2013), and contestants from their respective decade competed against one another. there were five matches per decade, deciding who advances to the quarterfinal round of the tournament to compete for $1,000,000. the first decade aired in february 2014. the second one aired in march 2014. and the third aired in april 2014. the rest of the tournament (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) aired may 5-16, 2014.