The third time wasn’t the allure. Claire Sattler competed on Jeopardy!‘s Invitational Event on Wednesday, February 26, in opposition to Ben Chan and Shane Whitlock. She didn’t advance to the semi-finals, and Sattler blames her “small arms “for it. It additionally didn’t assist that Chan and Whitlock are very quick on the buzzer.
“Shane and Ben have a number of the quickest fingers!” she advised Information Press. “They are surely two of one of the best buzzers in quizzing.”
Sattler, a comic and analysis scientist, advised the outlet that she knew loads of the solutions throughout her time within the event however couldn’t buzz in quick sufficient. She even practiced for the competitors through the use of a similarly-sized bathroom paper holder. The sport present contestant discovered that trick from 2017 Jeopardy! Faculty Championship winner Lilly Chin.
“These buzzers are actually huge,” she mentioned. “And I’ve little, tiny child arms. And I all the time have a tough time getting my thumb up on the button itself.”
When she wasn’t near successful, solely having $800 after the primary spherical, she knew she needed to change up her methodology in Double Jeopardy!. Sattler went from buzzing along with her thumb to buzzing along with her index finger.
“I used to be like, ‘I simply need to get again up there,’” she mentioned.
She didn’t get again up there although. By the top of the sport, she wound up with $0. Closing Jeopardy! wound up being received by Whitlock, advancing him to the semi-finals.
“It was so overwhelming as a result of it was a extremely robust recreation,” Sattler advised the outlet. She and Chan walked away with $5,000 every, although they didn’t win. This was the third time that she performed. The primary was in 2018 for the Teen Event, which she received. Sattler got here again in 2023 for the Excessive Faculty Reunion Event. She received $18,411 however didn’t advance to the semi-finals.
Regardless of it being disturbing, the Jeopardy! participant mentioned that she had a lot enjoyable coming again to play.
“It was a lot enjoyable. It’s simply been an honor and a privilege,” she mentioned.
One in all her favourite components of approaching the sport present is making new pals. She is pals with many former contestants, a lot of whom have slept on her sofa in New York Metropolis, the place she at present lives. Former champion Matt Amodio even attended her Jeopardy! watch social gathering when her episode aired.
“I made this group of pals as a young person, and I’m nonetheless very near loads of them,” Sattler mentioned. “It was actually nice to type of get to increase my Jeopardy! social circle and make pals with all these different phenomenal gamers.”
The semi-finals of the JIT continues on Monday, March 3.
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