‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Sets New Record With Stunning Win

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, November 17, episode of Jeopardy!]

A Jeopardy! contestant set a new record for Season 42 with their stunning win. Did Harrison Whitaker win his fifth game, or did a new champion emerge?

Whitaker, from Terre Haute, Indiana, returned for his fifth game with a four-day total of $116,600. On November 17, he played against Lawrence Suba, from Verona, Wisconsin, and Rachel Bernstein, from Los Angeles, California.

According to host Ken Jennings at the beginning of the episode, if Whitaker wins his fifth game today, he will qualify for the 2027 Tournament of Champions, since the qualification period for the postseason ended on November 14.

Whitaker had $7,400 by the first commercial break, with his opponents in the negatives and $1,000s. When Bernstein, a teacher, got into the positives with $200, she found the Daily Double. She wagered the allotted $1,000 in “That’s Bull!” The clue read, “From a 1521 papal bull excommunicating Martin Luther: ‘He has been declared a’ this, something you never want the pope to call you.” “What is a heretic?” Bernstein answered correctly, giving her $1,200.

By the end of the round, Whitaker had a whopping $11,200. Bernstein was in second place with $2,200. Suba, a technical software trainer, had $1,800.

In Double Jeopardy, after correctly answering the first three clues, Whitaker found the first DD on clue four. He had $15,200 and wagered $4,800. In “Weirdly Named Conflicts,” the clue was “Part of this numerical clash, the 1760s Fantastic War had no major battles — just troop movements when Spain invaded Portugal.” “What is the Seven Years’ War?” he answered correctly, giving him $20,000.

Whitaker found the other Daily Double with $28,800 in his bank. He wagered $1,200 in “The South Pacific.” The clue read, “James Cook’s dad was a migrant from Scotland, so it’s little surprise he named an island ‘New’ this, for dad’s homeland.” ” What is Caledonia?” Whitaker answered right away, taking him to $30,000.

By the end of the round, he had $35,200. Bernstein had $13,000. Suba was in third place with $600.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Poetic Objects.” The clue read, “In a British poem, this is ‘raddled with Napoleon’s paint, nose eaten by a less clear conqueror.’” The correct response was Sphinx, and all three contestants got it right.

Suba wagered $500, giving him a total of $1,100. Bernstein’s wager was $11,799, making her final total $24,799. Whitaker wagered $9,199, making his final total $44,399.

“Wow. This is our biggest payout of Season 42,” Ken Jennings said. Whitaker had a five-day total of $160,999 and secured a spot in the 2027 Tournment of Champions.