‘Jeopardy!’ Bosses Give Contestant Another Chance After Admitting Mistake

Jeopardy! contestant Stella Trout is getting another chance to compete after the bosses realized they made a mistake. As a result of the error, Trout will return to compete in the 2027 Tournament of Champions.

During the January 19 Inside Jeopardy! episode, executive producers Sarah Whitcomb-Foss and Michael Davies shared that Trout found out about her second chance during the Jeopardy! Honors on January 18, where she won the Bounceback Award.

In the finals of Champions Wildcard, Trout, a resident of Houston, Texas, went into game two against Cameron Berry and Jonathan Hugendubler with a lead after winning game one.

During game two, she had the lead of $11,200 when she found the second Daily Double in Double Jeopardy and bet all of her money. The clue in “Making Conservation” was “Within the Department of the Interior, this is the country’s oldest conservation agency.” Trout answered, “What is the National Park Service?” which the game show dubbed as wrong. They said the correct response was the Fish and Wildlife Service. This caused Trout to drop down to $0 and eventually lose the game. Berry went on to win.

“We had a very interesting conversation with Stella during Jeopardy! Honors. I think we took her completely by surprise, in which we informed her that we are always looking at our material in the research room,” Davies said.

“She gave us a response during that last Daily Double that made us think. We went back and looked at it, and we have decided that we ruled incorrectly. So, Stella, who was the alternate for this year’s Tournament of Champions, is going to be the first competitor in Tournament of Champions 2027,” he continued.

However, the current season super champion, Harrison Whitaker, has already earned a spot in the 2027 ToC after he qualified one game too late in the 2026 season. Trout will join him.

“She was delighted to hear,” Davies said.

The National Park Service was established in 1916. The Fish and Wildlife Service was established in 1882, but has changed its name many times over the years. The NPS is the oldest agency with the same name.

“The contestant gave a response that is closer in accuracy than the one on the script,” Davies said. “So, we look at these things all the time and most of the time we are right, but to be a strong television program, to be a place where we can all agree about facts, we have to hold ourselves to a high standard.”

The 2026 Tournament of Champions kicks off on Monday, January 19, but Trout won’t compete until next year.