‘Jeopardy!’: Harrison Whitaker Talks Shocking Defeat, Strange Superstition & More
Jeopardy! fans may now have the answer as to why Harrison Whitaker talked fast during his games — he drank a can of Coca-Cola before every episode. And he had to keep doing it before every game because he thought the superstition brought him luck.
In the Winner’s Circle video with executive producer Sarah Whitcomb-Foss, she asked about his caffeine intake throughout his 15 games. “I just don’t really drink caffeine ever,” Whitaker revealed. “But, I wasn’t going to leave anything when it came to this.”
“I had a Coca-Cola before my first game. I was completely wired, and I’m afraid to get rid of it now,” he said.
Despite all of the caffeine intake, Whitaker shared that he is “absolutely exhausted.”
Jeopardy! fans pointed out that Whitaker talks really fast and mumbles some of his responses. The extra caffeine that he consumed might be their answer as to why.
However, the game show contestant said that he was “grateful to win one game” and winning 14 is “completely crazy.”
About reaching Super-Champ status, Whitaker said, “It’s incredible to know that my name is alongside some of the absolute greats and people I’ve admired for most of my life, really.”
He racked up $373,999 after 15 games and made it to number 14 on the All-Time Winnings, Regular-Play Only, according to The Jeoaprdy! Fan. Whitaker also earned an additional $2,000 for coming in second during his last game, giving him $375,999.
Whitaker also opened up about Daily Doubles. “I’m so bad at Daily Doubles. It’s almost a relief not to have them,” he said. “Something about the extra time and thinking, it just makes me second-guess myself and come up with answers that I never would have said if it were a normal question.” While Whitaker excelled at 14 games, he was not great at DDs, making sure to wager low once he realized they weren’t his strong suit.
Whitaker has lived in England for the past few years for college, so watching the episodes was a bit harder for him. But, he kept up with the episodes on YouTube, especially World of Jeopardy!, and looked at the clues on J! Archive. He would watch the episodes at 2x speed because in a high-pressure situation, it’s going to feel like it’s going that quickly.
“So, when you’re preparing, you have to prepare in more difficult conditions than you actually face,” he shared.
The super-champ was defeated by Libby Jones on December 1 after 14 wins.
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