Justin Bolsen ’26 placed second in his appearance on “Jeopardy!” this Tuesday night with a final score of $9,958. Bolsen walked away from the show with a $5,000 prize.
Bolsen’s appearance was part of the larger Tournament of Champions, where contestants who have won multiple games of “Jeopardy!” are brought together in a bracket-style competition. Today’s game was one of the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Today’s appearance marked his third on the show after winning the High School Reunion Tournament last year, The Herald previously reported. This year, Bolsen set “Jeopardy!” history, becoming the youngest contestant to appear in the tournament.
Bolsen was up against other contestants who had also won multiple games. “These guys are the top 10 finishers in the national quizzing championships,” Bolsen said of the other contestants.
He placed second to Ben Chan, a nine-time “Jeopardy!” game-winner. Chan was able to uncover two of the daily doubles, making the game unwinnable for Bolsen and the other contestant, three-game winner Emmett Stanton, as they headed into Final Jeopardy.
Chan made a wager of $0 on the final question, ending with a score of $29,800. Stanton finished out with less than $0.
As part of his preparation, Bolsen turned to ChatGPT, Sporcle quizzes, fellow High School Tournament competitors and past episodes to study for potential questions.
“I was really happy to be there,” Bolsen said, despite describing feeling less anxious in his most recent appearance.
Bolsen partnered with programmers of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center to host a live stream of his episode. Prior to the watch party, Bolsen hosted a live “Jeopardy!” game with attendees in an effort to share his passion for trivia with others.
“I love trivia so much,” Bolsen previously told The Herald. “Every time I get to share that with people, it makes me happy.”
Owen Dahlkamp is a Section Editor overseeing coverage for University News and Science & Research. Hailing from San Diego, CA, he is concentrating in political science and cognitive neuroscience with an interest in data analytics. In his free time, you can find him making spreadsheets at Dave’s Coffee.
