‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Harrison Whitaker Aims to Give Fans Thanksgiving Treat

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, November 26, episode of Jeopardy!]

Harrison Whitaker aimed to give Jeopardy! fans a Thanksgiving treat ahead of the holiday. His 11-day winnings totaled $309,000, and placed him in the top 15 of All-Time Winnings, Regular Play Only just below Adriana Harmeyer, according to The Jeopardy Fan.

Ray Lalonde is two spots above Whitaker on the leaderboard with $386,400. If Whitaker continues on his winning streak, he may play Lalonde’s identical twin brother, Ron, who is set to appear on the show on December 3.

On Wednesday’s episode (November 26), the researcher from Terre Haute, Indiana, played against Shannon Mastick, from Granger, Indiana, and Krish Patel, from Plano, Texas. Whitaker took the lead right away and had seven correct responses by the first commercial break. He then moved up to 15 with two incorrect responses for the first round, giving him $7,000. He still kept the lead despite Patel, an undergraduate student, finding the Daily Double.

Patel had $3,600 by the end of the round. Mastick, a patent attorney, was in third place with $1,800.

In Double Jeopardy, Whitaker found both of the Daily Doubles. He took a huge risk by wagering big on the second one and getting it wrong. At the end of the round, he had 29 correct responses and only three incorrect.

This left him with a significant lead of $17,200. It was a battle for second place between Patel and Mastick. Patel had $5,600 while Mastick had $5,400.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Famous Declarations.” The clue read, “After an escape under darkness, a U.S. general told an Adelaide newspaper these 3 famous words on March 20, 1942.”

Only one of the contestants got it right. Mastick responded with “What is I got out?” She wagered all of her money and ended with $0. Patel’s response was “What is ? Hi Mark + Evan.” He wagered $5,201 and ended with $399. Whitaker had the correct response with “What is I shall return?” He wagered $3,800, giving him a final total of $21,000.

This made his 12-day total $330,000. Harmeyer has $349,600, so he is not far from surpassing her. Will he win game number 13 on Thanksgiving? Tune in on Thursday to find out.

“I love this guy!! Very intelligent. Amazing!” a fan in Jeopardy Fan Group wrote.

“I think he’s very likable and he always acknowledges his fellow players,” another said.

“I like him! I hope he’s on for a long time. He talks fast. He’s very gracious to the other contestants,” a third added.