NEW YORK (WABC) — Starting this week, the best contestants from “Jeopardy!”‘ will return to the Alex Trebek stage for “Jeopardy! Masters,” a nine-week, tournament-style competition.

The winner will receive a $500,000 prize, along with the satisfaction of knowing they beat the trivia show’s cream of the crop to get it.

In order to win, though, these “Jeopardy!” legends will need to answer some of the show’s toughest questions ever.

“I look at these clues, and I think, ‘This is too hard,'” said ‘Jeopardy!’ host and record-winning player Ken Jennings. “We have to crank it up pretty hard to try to stump these nine.”

Jennings took over hosting duties after the late Alex Trebek’s many years on the show, and after making a name for himself as a contestant in 2004.

“I still kinda picture Alex there, kind of, in the building, somehow,” Jennings said. “The person who puts on my makeup is the same woman who made me up 20 years ago. The guy who puts on my mic, same sound guy. It’s a real family environment, because not a lot of shows are on for decades like that.”

Jennings keeps Trebek’s legacy in mind when hosting the show, and tournaments prove no different.

“He would always make the same joke – he would point out someone who had won a lot of money, and been like, ”Jeopardy!” is not just a game show for this guy, it’s an annuity,'” Jennings said. “So, every time I come out and say hi to the contestants, I remember Alex doing the same thing, and I get a little misty.”

“Jeopardy! Masters” premieres Wednesday on ABC at 9 p.m. EST.