Ben Chan Sets ‘Jeopardy!’ Record With 6th Consecutive Runaway Game

Kelli Boyle May 17, 2023, 8:15 pm

Ben Chan in the May 17, 2023 episode of 'Jeopardy!' — Jeopardy, Inc.

With his five consecutive wins, Ben Chan snagged himself a spot in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. And in the May 17 episode, he marked another milestone when winning his sixth consecutive runaway game. With this victory, Ben became the first Jeopardy! player to win their first six games by runaways.

In Jeopardy!, a runaway game is when a player’s winnings are so large, no wager from the second or third place players could help them catch up. Ben won four runaway games before he had to exit the gameshow due to COVID-19 in April.

On May 16, he became the first player to win their first five games by runaways since Rick Knutsen in 2001. On May 17, he upped the ante with a sixth consecutive runaway.

Ben was playing against Brittani Seagren and David Lu in the episode. Ben frequently answered correctly after David made minor mistakes in his responses, but finding multiple Daily Doubles also helped Ben maintain the lead (even when he only wagered $5 for one of them).

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By the end of the first round, Ben was in the lead with $8,200, Brittani in second with $3,200, and David in third with $2,000.

By the end of the second, Ben had already secured his runaway victory. He led with $24,205, David trailed in second with $1,200, and Brittani was in third with $400. Ben ended the night with $25,000, bringing his six-day winnings to $182,000.

There were some embarrassing snafus in the game despite Ben’s exciting win. No one could identify Saturday Night Live‘s Bowen Yang in a Las Culturistas podcast-themed clue featuring Matt Rogers. And all of them fared very poorly in the pop music category. Confusing a picture of SZA for Brandy? Oof. Another frustrating moment for fans came when host Mayim Bialik cut David off after an incorrect response, even though he still had time on the board to correct himself.

Check out some of the fan reactions to Ben’s win (and the clue snafus) below. Can he pull off another runaway game on May 18? You’ll have to tune in on Thursday to find out!

I am losing my mind at these @Jeopardy contestants & their lack of knowledge of recent pop music!

1 person thought SZA was Brandy, & guessed “Riding Dirty” for a clue about a Drake song – the answer was In My Feelings pic.twitter.com/P88WGxjaq7

— Your Favorite Poodle’s Favorite Poodle (@Jubilance1922) May 17, 2023

Lol at the utter disdain this jeopardy champ has for the Podcasts category pic.twitter.com/48wgmYpviR

— Dan Hopper (@DanHopp) May 17, 2023

The Ben Chan train?

Oh the Ben Chan train is ROLLIN’ down the TRACK!#Jeopardy !

— D (@DeeDee223) May 17, 2023

Yikes! A tough decision by Mayam on David – she pauses long enough to let him correct himself then rules against him. #Jeopardy

— Franny Di (@FrannyDiP) May 17, 2023

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