‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Ben Chan Reveals He Almost Blew Chance to Appear on Show

Martin Holmes May 30, 2023, 10:09 am

Ben Chan recently went on a nine-day winning streak on Jeopardy!, cementing his spot in this year’s Tournament of Champions in the process. But he almost didn’t end up on the show at all.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, May 28, Chan revealed how he almost blew his chance to appear on the long-running game show after he missed an email inviting him to an audition.

“I didn’t see the invite to audition for Jeopardy! until 2 months after it was sent, and my tryout date had passed,” he explained, referring to it as his “sliding door” moment. “I hate imposing & wasn’t going to ask for another shot, until friends encouraged me… & I got my shot!”

Speaking of “sliding door” (h/t @buzztronics) moments..

I didn’t see the invite to audition for Jeopardy! until 2 months after it was sent, and my tryout date had passed.

I hate imposing & wasn’t going to ask for another shot, until friends encouraged me… & I got my shot! pic.twitter.com/rb7VvPW8Tt

— Ben Chan (@JeopardyBenBen) May 28, 2023

Chan shared a screenshot of his email response, where he asked the Jeopardy! Contestant Department, “Is there any chance I’m still eligible for upcoming Game Play auditions?”

Thankfully, Chan received his invite and made it onto the show, where he proved to be one of the most dominant champions in recent memory. Across his ten games, Chan won nine, all of them runaways, giving him the longest consecutive runaways from a debut game, a first from any contestant in the show’s history.

Across his nine victories, Chan earned $252,600 (plus $2,000 for his second-place finish in the 10th game).

Here's All of Ben Chan's Record-Breaking Stats on 'Jeopardy!'

Chan’s loss came with some controversy, as a spelling mistake led to his downfall. The Final Jeopardy clue read, “Both of these two lovers in a Shakespeare play come from Latin words for ‘blessed.'” Chan answered with “Beatrice and Benedict,” which was almost correct, except for the misspelling of “Benedick.”

The answer was deemed incorrect, and Chan’s impressive winning streak came to an unfortunate end, though many viewers felt that the ruling was harsh.

“Soooo… if we could go back in time, maybe the judges could have okayed “Benedict” as a historically acceptable alternative form of the name. But they wouldn’t have to because I’d just write the indisputably correct response: “Benedick,” Chan tweeted after the episode aired.

Soooo… if we could go back in time, maybe the judges could have okayed “Benedict” as a historically acceptable alternative form of the name. But they wouldn’t have to because I’d just write the indisputably correct response: “Benedick” pic.twitter.com/DwyEYV0gyo

— Ben Chan (@JeopardyBenBen) May 24, 2023