JEOPARDY! has pitted two seriously impressive reigning champions against each other out of a rare technicality on Monday- but there was one clear-cut winner.
Three-day champ Ben Chan - who left his streak behind in April after falling ill while filming- returned and dethroned eight-day champ Hannah Wilson in a "blowout."
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Hannah, a data scientist from Chicago, Illinois, had been dominating game after game until tonight's twist episode.
She faced Ben, a philosophy professor at St. Norbert College from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Wendy Swanson, a retired teacher from Portland, Oregon.
Hannah entered with an 8-day total of $229,801 and a lot of buzz from fans- while Ben returned to the middle podium as its second undefeated player with a three-day total of $69,001.
Seeing two returning champions instead of just one may have caused Jeopardy! viewers to a Daily-Double take- that's because it very rarely happens.
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There have only been four episodes since the early 2000s in which there have been two returning champions in one game, and none saw both of the winners on such impressive multi-day streaks.
The pair even were announced by Johnny Gilbert, 94, as "returning co-champions" up top.
Host Mayim Bialik, 48, addressed the oddity as well: “As you heard Johnny Gilbert announce, we have returning co-champions in today’s game.
"Our eight-time winner from Friday Hannah Wilson and our 3-day champion from earlier this season Ben Chan.
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Ben wasn’t able to travel for our tapings in mid-April but he is back to defend against Hannah and Wendy.”
CLEARLY, HE'S BEN WAITING
Indeed, Ben lived up to the hype as he didn't just beat his fellow ongoing winner, but scored his fourth straight runaway against the understated and intimidating Hannah.
Ben put on a big grin, his classic close-to-the-vest buzzer stance, and an absolute clinic, getting 19 clues correct and all three Daily Doubles (the second for $7K and the third for $3K) by Final Jeopardy.
Hannah- who had cruised through nearly all of May until meeting her match- just couldn't catch up.
Ben entered Final Jeopardy with $41,000, Hannah had $6,800 and Wendy had $4,400.
Final Jeopardy under Publications read: "The co-founder of this magazine that began in 1967 said its name comes primarily from a song title but noted a band name as well."
All three players were correct with Rolling Stone, and Ben added a tremendous $19,000 to win $60,000 for a four-day total of $129,001.
Both Hannah and Ben who smiled each other's way will now be in the next Tournament of Champions, and it's Ben who will go for his fifth win tomorrow.
'WOW JUST WOW'
Sadly, Hannah's streak is now over and she will return for the annual winner's tournament in September.
One Reddit user simply wrote: "Wow. Just... Wow. I didn't expect Ben to wipe the floor with this game."
"He was so dominant that even if he got all 3 Daily Doubles incorrect, he'd still have a lock game!"
Another wrote: "Ben is back, and in spectacular form! I felt bad for Wendy, going up against two powerhouses with 11 games experience between them."
"It would be nice of the producers to invite Wendy to a Second Chance Tournament as a sort of consolation for pushing her into the Coliseum with a pair of gladiators like Hannah and Ben."
A third wrote: "Masterclass by Ben here. To come in and be that dominant against an 8 time champion, just wow."
A fourth penned: "Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle! Probably one of the most surprising games in Jeopardy history. Ben’s consecutive runaway streak continues!"
A fifth remarked: "FUN FACT: $60,000 is now the second-highest single-day score of this season."
Indeed, the only contestant to have a bigger one-game win this season- which was not against an 8-day winner- was 21-day winner Cris Pannullo with $71.8K in a single match.
A sixth wrote: "Hannah was amazing! She's a sweetheart, so polite and soft-spoken. I look forward to seeing her again in the ToC, and I'll be rooting her on."
A seventh wrote: "Gosh. I thought it would be much closer," and an eighth said: "Absolutely insane game. Sad to see Hannah go but if it was gonna be anybody, glad it's Ben."
One more concluded: "Ben's performance is going to be the headline here, and rightly so, but that should not overshadow what Hannah did across her run. She is a truly awesome champion and deserves a great (temporary) sendoff. Well done!"
'I'M FINE'
Ben had earnedthree runaway winsby Friday, April 11th's game.
However, was mysteriously absent from April 14th's episode despite being the reigning champion.
In a rare occurrence, three new contestants faced off instead and Ben took a leave of absence- he later clarifiedthe real reason he did not return as scheduled.
“Before yesterday’s episode taped, I had tested positive for COVID; it was a very mild case, as you can see, I’m fine.
"Most importantly, my buzzer finger is fine, so I’m excited to watch what happens over the next few weeks, see who I’ll be competing against on May 15," he said during a virtual appearance onGood Day Wisconsin.
Ben tweeted ahead of time that while he "waited to return to Jeopardy!" he wanted to "qualify for ToC so that I could hang with RAY LALONDE."
He also hinted on Twitter that he would have his game face on when his return aired.
Ben quote-tweeted a photo of WWE star The Undertaker standing behind another wrestler.
Under The Undertaker, the text read: "Ben Chan" and under the unassuming other brawler read: "May 14 Champion."
Ben reshared the fan photo and wrote: "Heel turn coming" referring to a reversal wrestling move.
WE STAN-NAH!
Hannahis a transgender woman who received her bachelor’s degree in Geography with honors from the University of Chicago.
She revealed on stage she's the 18th rankedcrossword puzzlesolver in theU.S.and second in the midwest behind a man named "Eric."
As per herLinkedInbio, she also plays piano, writes, and makes rugs - as she mentioned tonight- about astronomy.
She went 92% on clues, 12/2 on Daily Doubles, 7/2 on Final Jeopardy and enjoys long train rides with her wife.
Fans had high expectations as her streak took shape, one recently writing toFacebook: "Hannah's incredible. She's going to be around for a long time. She could be in the top echelon of Jeopardy! winners."
"It'll be interesting if Hannah survives long enough to encounterBen Chanon May 15th," wrote another.
Amy Schneideralso approvingly tweeted: Huge congratulations to Hannah Wilson!!! Welcome to the Guild of Jeopardy Champion Trans Women, one of us will be in contact shortly to explain the secret handshake and so forth."
Hannah then wrote on Reddit: "Yeah I’m trans! Amy was kind of acting as my press agent there, haha."
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Mattea Roachalso clapped back onTwitterat anyone trying to give new star Hannah a hard time. They wrote: "lots of people hating from outside the club…"
Hannah revealed she had a TV on her dinner table growing up that was “the Jeopardy! TV” and will be the only non-male contestant in the 2023 Tournament of Champions, as it currently stands, when she returns.
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