Scott Riccardi is takingJeopardy!by storm as the reigning champion. In his first appearance on the series, the tech guru from New Jersey defeated Jason Singer on July 3, earning a one-day total of $17,600. The 25-year-old engineer has since continued his hot streak, with an impressive record-breaking run of episodes. He is the first player to win more than $50,000 in an episode since Ben Chan in 2023, and Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings pointed out on July 17 that the competitor’s 10-day total made him the first contestant to earn official “double-digit Super Champion status” since Season 40.
With his win on July 21, Riccardi’s streak has brought his earnings total to $362,901. His string of wins has been the most exciting, and the most lucrative, in Season 41. Though it may be Riccardi’s run that is the talk of the season, one of his competitors from the game played on July 17 is gaining notice for speaking out online about the experience of playing against the reigning champion.
Chad Biele Has Entered the ‘Jeopardy!’ Chat
In the r/Jeopardy subreddit on the popular discussion forum, an account with the username “hucksley” posted on July 17: “Excited for my Jeopardy debut tonight! A lifelong dream come true, and to go up against a Super Champion no less!” From the comments posted, it was clear that it was one of the contestants from that evening’s episode who had entered the chat. Another user confirmed that it was contestant Chad Biele who had joined the forum to discuss his time playing against the current reigning champion.
The account posted about Biele’s experience of being eliminated from the Final Jeopardy! portion of the episode, as he ended the Double Jeopardy! round in the red, and was therefore not able to continue in the game. But, it seems from the discussion online that Biele is taking his elimination in stride, and even posted what his Final Jeopardy! guess would have been if he had been able to continue, based on the clue that was revealed. He posted: “I obviously didn’t make FJ, but I would have guessed a Tom Wolfe novel based on context, probably Bonfire of the Vanities.” When another Reddit account pointed out they were impressed that Biele was present in the comments, the contestant replied that he didn’t get the result he wanted, saying he “got unlucky” with both his fellow competitors and the categories. But, Biele was ultimately a good sport about the whole experience, summarizing his time on Jeopardy! with the comment “but that’s show business baby!”
Other Behind-the-Scenes ‘Jeopardy!’ Insight From Chad Biele
But there was more insight from the online exchange with the defeated contestant than good sportsmanship. He also provided clues to how the series is filmed. When one account expressed disbelief that the live audience had lackluster responses to Riccardi running two categories during the match, the “hucksley” account clarified that their episode had been “the fourth game filmed that day,” and that filming directly after the lunch break might have also led to the audience’s low energy. It isn’t every day a contestant hops into the online forums to provide insight into their experience on a game show, especially after having competed against the reigning Super Champion.
Jeopardy! airs weeknights, check local listings for times.
