[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the June 24 episode of Jeopardy!]
It’s in the course of the break within the first spherical of Jeopardy! that host Ken Jennings has the contestants share one thing about themselves, and for brand new participant Graham Hicks, a lighting designer from Ottawa, Ontario, within the June 24 episode, it was his historical past with the sport present’s late host, Alex Trebek.
“I had the chance just a few years in the past to gentle a charity fundraiser for the College of Ottawa, and one of many extra well-known alumni from College of Ottawa is a person named Alex Trebek. When Alex Trebek walked into the room, it was like you possibly can hear a pin drop. Everyone simply [went], ‘Oh, hey. It’s him,’” Hicks recalled.
“That’s an entire different degree,” Jennings agreed.
“Only a actually charming man. Actually pleasant, actually charismatic. It was a very nice occasion,” shared Hicks.
Jennings then remembered his personal expertise with Trebek. “I keep in mind the primary time I noticed him stroll out on the prime of my first present, I used to be like, ‘I can’t consider it. He’s actual. That’s Alex Trebek.’ Very thrilling,” he shared. Jennings’ first present was June 2, 2004. Watch the intro and Trebek strolling out under:
Hicks confronted off in opposition to returning champion Drew Basile, a graduate scholar from Birmingham, Michigan with a three-day whole of $53,282, and Erin Buker, a stay-at-home mother from San Pedro, California. Buker had a unfavourable rating (the second lowest within the present’s historical past) on the finish of Double Jeopardy! and subsequently didn’t proceed, leaving Basile and Hicks to face off within the ultimate spherical. With $26,400, it was a runaway recreation for Basile at that time. Each gamers bought Closing Jeopardy! fallacious, nonetheless. (In Names within the Heavens, the clue learn, “When this physique was found in 1978, Persephone was urged as its identify,” and the proper reply was “What’s Charon?”)
Following the episode, Hicks posted about his expertise on the present on the Reddit thread for the sport. “Thanks for the type phrases, people. This was an unimaginable expertise for me, and if I needed to get beat, I’m glad it was by a giant-slayer with ToC written throughout him. He’s frighteningly fast on the buzzer, and clearly well-prepared, and I sit up for seeing how far he can go!” he wrote.
“Large respect to Erin, that’s a tricky scenario to be in and lots of people would have let it knock them down. As a substitute she dug in and saved swinging like a tricky competitor ought to,” he continued. “Final, an enormous due to John Barra and the entire studio workforce, they take unimaginable care of their contestants in a very nerve-racking scenario. I’ve labored within the broadcast world for a very long time, and that workforce is on the highest of their recreation. I’m totally glad I bought the chance to play a real Day by day Double, not to mention get one proper!”
One fan complimented Hicks’ gameplay however famous, “he erred strategically in not looking Day by day Doubles throughout his uncommon alternatives to take action, for instance in deciding on Presidential Nicknames, a class Drew clearly knew properly, as a substitute of taking a stab at different classes within the prime DD values. In the meanwhile Graham solely had 9,000, however had he discovered the DD and doubled it, he may need minimize into Drew’s unstoppable tear.”
In response, Hicks admitted, “I’d like to let you know I used to be operating a technique there… I needed to re-learn my buzzer timing throughout morning rehearsal, and I felt like I used to be barely maintaining with the selection of subsequent questions once I bought them. Watching the sport, there are complete classes I don’t even keep in mind seeing, not to mention answering appropriately! Simply goes to indicate – the flexibility to step again and see the entire board is among the issues that makes a champion, and Drew positively has it!”
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