‘Jeopardy!’ Returning Champion Recalls ‘Special’ Moment With Alex Trebek

Meredith Jacobs October 2, 2023, 7:15 pm

Jeopardy! kicked off its Champions Wildcard competition on Monday, October 2, and with it came the returns of three champions from previous seasons.

“Over the weeks to come, we’re going to be reintroducing you to several of our one, two, and three-day champions from Seasons 37 and 38. These are all impressive players, they all know what it’s like to be named champion here on Jeopardy!, but they all had runs that didn’t quite last long enough to qualify them for the Tournament of Champions,” host Ken Jennings explained at the beginning of the show.

One of Monday’s players was Burt Thakur, an engineering project manager from Frisco, Texas, who previously appeared in the November 5, 2000 and November 6, 2000 games. The latter was a notable one in the show’s history.

“I believe your show that you were on was the last show that aired with Alex Trebek before the news broke of his passing, and you two shared a very emotional moment,” Jennings noted during Burt’s interview in the middle of the Jeopardy! round of the Champions Wildcard. “You thanked him for Jeopardy! helping you learn English as an immigrant family, right?”

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According to Burt, “It brought back memories of my grandfather and memories of love, and it was so special.”

At the close of the November 5, 2000 game, Trebek had asked Burt if he had family members back home cheering him on. “I learned English because of you,” Burt told the host. “And so my grandfather, who raised me — I’m gonna get tears right now — I used to sit on his lap and watch you every day. So it’s a pretty special moment for me. Thank you very much.” Watch that moment below.

Alex’s impact is immeasurable. Thank you for sharing, Burt! pic.twitter.com/XgGGwJ8GlH

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 6, 2020

The Champions Wildcard competition not only give past players the chance for an “unexpected encore,” as Jennings put it in the opening, but it also features, up for grabs, a spot in the next Tournament of Champions.

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