‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Wins by Capitalizing on Others’ Bad Luck

A Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner has come forward to discuss his experience on the game show. Yogesh Raut claims that his win was partly due to the bad luck of his fellow competitors. As the Tournament of Champions (ToC) re-airs on television, many viewers can see why he’d say that. Keep reading to learn more about what the former champ had to say.

Jeopardy! is currently on hiatus and airing re-runs of previous episodes, including last year’s Tournament of Champions. Yogesh Raut, who took home the $250,000 grand prize, attributed much of his success to the “bad luck” of the other contestants.

Fans may remember a series of upsets during the opening round of the ToC, which eventually boiled down to a battle among Yogesh, Ben Chan, and Troy Meyer.

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Yogesh acknowledged that skill played a role in his victory but emphasized the impact of his competitors’ misfortunes. “Like with any other kind of achievement, it feels good,” he told the publication. “I didn’t come in with any kind of expectation. I played many practice games. I knew it was a game based on both skill and luck.”

“When I succeeded, it was a combination of skill and other people’s bad luck.” He added that the final game could have “gone so many different ways.”

Yogesh singled out a mistake Ben Chan made, which led to his own victory. “If Ben had turned his head slightly during his last Daily Double and seen the category he was in, he would have almost certainly won the tournament,” he said.

Both Ben and Yogesh were just one win away from the ToC title. However, Ben misread the category for the game’s Daily Double, costing him the tournament.

Last year’s Tournament of Champions was one of the largest yet, starting with 27 returning Jeopardy! champs. In the opening games, players with the longest winning streaks were eliminated quickly. Frontrunners like Cris Pannullo, a 21-day champ, and Ray Lalonde, a 13-day champ, were surprisingly knocked out early.

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings described it as “the most dramatic first round in history.”

Yogesh Raut shared insights about the mood on set during the ToC games. He revealed that all contestants were asked to watch each game together in a green room and that they were just as shocked as the viewers at home about the outcomes.

“We were taken aback by the same things that took people aback: Cris’ upset, Ray’s upset, Ike almost making the final,” he said. “It helped us remember it was a game and anything can happen.”

Yogesh’s Jeopardy! ToC win clearly exemplifies that notion.

Source: The U.S. Sun