JEOPARDY! fans have named their favorite player this season and outlined a strategy for them going into Tournament of Champions.
Ahead of the Season 40 finale, fans of the popular game show have named Adriana Harmeyer “the player of the season,” but note some changes to her playing style that they say are necessary.
6
Jeopardy! fans on Reddit put Adriana up against other past champs, including Isaac Hirsch, Drew Basile, Amy Hummel, and Allison Betts, in a poll, with Adriana taking the top spot.
In the thread attached to the poll, commenters weighed in on ways she can up her game heading into Tournament of Champs in 2025.
“It’s Adriana by default since she’s won the most games, but I’d say Isaac is probably the favorite to win ToC,” wrote one commenter.
A second chimed in with, “I hope Adriana can improve some of her strategy and manage to win.”
“I want to say Isaac but Adriana was a killer,” commented a third Jeopardy! viewer.
“Adriana’s dominance without using the Forrest bounce puts her on top for me. That being said, she’ll need to play &wager more aggressively to hang in the TOC,” suggested a fourth fan.
“For me, there is no question: it’s Adriana. She was relentless,” another commenter wrote.
“I wonder if Adriana would have gone father if she’d gotten the more customary break after clearing two tape days instead of heading back for a third straight tape day. … Five of Adriana’s first seven games were runaways too, which may be more indicative of her ability. No excuses, yet fatigue, which all of the champions this season have mentioned as a factor in their runs, must have been intense for Adriana.”
Most read in Entertainment
6
ISAAC’S BACK
Another player fans are eager to see again on ToC is Isaac Hirsch.
Isaac’s run on Jeopardy! was cut short on June 16 when a math mistake on his part sent him packing.
While he did qualify for ToC and many are looking ahead to that appearance, some are still dwelling on his painful loss.
Isaac appeared on Inside Jeopardy! where he chatted a little about the moment he realized he messed up in Final Jeopardy during his last game.
The podcast shared audio from the moment, which broke listeners’ hearts.
Host Ken Jennings was heard speaking to Isaac in the closing moments of the episode.
Jeopardy! Universe
Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, many spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:
Jeopardy! – (syndicated) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7 pm ET.
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Second Chance Tournament – 2022 to present features hand-selected non-winners from the season prior, where the prize is entry into Champions Wildcard.
Champions Wildcard – 2023 to present, features all one, two and three-day champions from the season prior worth entry into the Tournament of Champions.
Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (syndication) – 2023 to present, features past greats invited by producers to vie for a slot in Masters.
Jeopardy! Masters (primetime) – 2023 to present, features the six highest-ranked Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Celebrity Jeopardy! (primetime) – 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Pop Culture Jeopardy (streaming) – 2024 to present, will feature teams of three tasked with pop culture trivia on Amazon Prime, host and airdate TBD
Jeopardy! has done away with specialized tournaments like its College Tournaments, Kids Week, and Professor’s Tournament to gear towards a more sports-like model, with Masters being the top of the Jeopardy pyramid.
Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years as well, like Sports Jeopardy!.
“Isaac, you’re looking at your math right now,” he noted.
“I did it wrong,” Isaac replied, seemingly upset.
“I did my math wrong.”
Ken, 50, responded, “So you were aware of the situation where everybody gets it wrong and you were trying to wager for the win in that situation?”
“That is correct, yes. Ouch,” Isaac said.
He then tried to laugh off the situation, joking, “This was, I mean, certainly one of the worst ways to lose but also one of the most fitting for me because I am bad at math so this pretty much fits with who I am.”
Isaac’s time on Jeopardy! ended before he could win his tenth game, and fans are eager to seem him compete on ToC.
Many believe he could win the whole competition.
IT’S OVER
Jeopardy’s 40th season is coming to a close this Friday, July 26.
The season finale snuck up on many viewers.
The last new episode of Jeopardy! Season 40 will air on Friday.
Reruns will begin airing on Monday, July 29.
Season 40 was full of challenges, wild wins and losses, a handful of mistakes, some unexpected changes, and more.
The WGA strike held up production on the show, co-host Mayim Bialik unexpectedly left, making it an unusual time to be an avid Jeopardy! viewer.
Regular episodes of the game show aired episodes with new contestants from April 2024 to the upcoming finale – far shorter than in previous seasons.
Typically, the show gathers its top winners from the previous season for its annual $250,000 Tournament of Champions.
Disruptions this season mean only eight qualifiers are in the running for ToC.
This had some fans worried that there wouldn’t be enough people to play.
“With 8 Games left before Season 40 Ends, Could Jay Fisher be the next player to make it to the TOC?” the fan asked on Reddit.
Another replied, “We shall see… Good player, yes, but not as good as other winners. Wish him luck but let’s see.”
A third guessed, “I’d like to think he will. He seems most pleasant and well-spoken. Would be nice though. Probably not.”
Viewers will just have to wait and see what happens as ToC draws nearer.
6
6
6