‘Community’ Actor Gets ‘Jeopardy!’ Second Chance as Tournaments Begin

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, December 15, episode of Jeopardy!]

If you were expecting to go into the December 15 episode of Jeopardy! seeing Trey Hart play his second game, you are going to be waiting a while. The 2025 post-season has officially begun. Hart will be back next year when the regular season picks back up.

The first Second Chance Tournament round was against Community actor Erik Nielsen, from Hollywood, California, Erin Li, from New York, New York, and Eugene Huang, from Paramus, New Jersey.

Nielsen played on September 25, placing second. Li left with $0 on April 7 after wagering it all in Final Jeopardy. Huang ended in second place on March 25. Now, they all get another chance to try to win.

Nielsen, a voice actor, answered the first clue correctly for $1,000. He then found the Daily Double on clue two. He made it a true Daily Double in “Poetry Time.” The clue read, “His ‘Four Quartets’ begins, ‘Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future’; I like the ones about cats.” He moved to $2,000 when he correctly answered “Who is T.S. Elliot?”

Nielsen kept the lead after the first 15 clues with $5,000. His opponents had $1,000 (Huang) and $1,200 (Li).

During the interviews, Li, a psychiatrist, was pregnant with her first child. The baby shares a birthday with host Ken Jennings — May 23.

By the end of the round, Nielsen led with $7,600. Li had $4,400. Huang, a teacher, was in third place with $3,400.

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In Double Jeopardy, Huang moved to second place, only $2,000 behind Nielsen, when he found the first DD. He had $9,400 and wagered $3,000. In “Science Non-Fiction,” the clue was “Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake is about this kingdom; Mr. Sheldrake says much of the world is stitched together by its mycelium.”

“What is fungus?” he answered correctly, giving him $12,400 and the lead.

Huang found the last DD a few clues later. With the lead of $16,000, he wagered $2,000, which would put him at a tie with Nielsen if he got it wrong. In “The World is Changing,” the clue read, “As a result of this 1815 meeting, the duchy of Parma & Piacenza was given to Marie-Louise, 2nd wife of the deposed Napoleon.”

“What is the Treaty of Waterloo?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was the Congress of Vienna, so he dropped down to $14,000.

The rest of the round was a battle for first place between Nielsen and Huang. Nielsen finished in first with $18,800. Huang had $16,000. Li was in third place with $8,000.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Higher Education.” With a teacher among the game show contestants, anything could happen. The clue was “Merrimack College is one of 2 Augustinian institutions of higher learning in the U.S.; in the news in 2025, this is the other.”

The final question was a Triple Stumper. The correct response was Villanova University.

Neither Li nor Nielsen answered. Li wagered $4,201, leaving her $3,799. Nielsen wagered $13,201, giving him $5,599. Huang’s response was, “What is St. Thomas Aquinas?” He wagered $7,999, giving him $8,001.

Huang will return for the Second Chance Finals on Thursday. Find out who else will join him by tuning in tomorrow.