‘Jeopardy!’: Andrew He Stuns Fans With Long Hair as He Competes in JIT

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, February 10, episode of Jeopardy!]

What is new hairdo? Fan-favorite Jeopardy! contestant Andrew He returned for the Invitational Tournament with long hair, and fans couldn’t get enough. Did he advance to the semifinals?

He, a stay-at-home dad from Concord, California, played against Jen Giles, a teacher from Longmont, Colorado, and Mehal Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington, on February 10. He won five consecutive games in November 2021, accumulating $159,365. The contestant was the first runner-up in the 2022 Tournament of Champions and came in fourth place in Jeopardy! Masters. Giles won the 2015 Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament. She lost her quarterfinal game in the TOC and lost the All-Star game. Shah won two games in 2024, winning $48,062. He won the 2025 Champions Wildcard and lost his TOC quarterfinal game.

The JIT is an invitation-only tournament. Players are typically pulled from previous years’ Masters, TOCs, and other long-running champions. The winner of the JIT takes home $150,000 and advances to this year’s Jeopardy! Masters, which has not yet set a date.

After six quarterfinal games, the winners and three Wildcard players face off in the semifinals, and then eventually the finals, where the first player to reach two wins is the new champion.

He usually had short or shoulder-length hair, but this time he returned with long, straight black hair that went past his shoulders. Fans reacted to his hair on Reddit.

“Next time we see Andrew He, he’s gonna have cornrows,” one fan wrote.

“I see Andrew has entered his Portlandia phase,” another commented.

“I can’t wait for long-haired Andrew He’s interview segment later. Surely they’re not gonna leave that unanswered lol,” a third wrote.

He had $800 when he found the Daily Double on clue three. He wagered the allotted $1,000. In “At Ferncliff Cemetery,” the clue read, ” After his 1965 death at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan, he was interred at Ferncliff Cemetery.”

“Who is Rockefeller?” he answered. The correct response was Malcolm X, so He dropped down to -$200.

Although He got back on the board by the first 15 clues, it was Giles who had the lead with $2,800.

He ended the round with $2,200. Shah had $2,800. Giles was in the lead with $3,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Shah found the first DD on clue seven. He wagered $5 out of his $5,600. In “Biographies & Memoirs,” the clue was “This poet & author wrote a 6-volume bio of Abe Lincoln made up of The Prairie Years & the Pulitzer-winning The War Years.”

“Who is Goodwin?” Shah answered incorrectly. He dropped down to $5,995 since the correct response was Carl Sandburg.

He didn’t have much luck on the second DD when he found it on clue 11. He made it a true Daily Double with $7,400 in his bank. The clue in “Awards & Honors” was, “The IEEE established an award in 1976 to honor the centennial of an invention by this man & named the award for him.”

“Uh, who is Morse?” He answered.

“No, it’s Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone,” host Ken Jennings said. He dropped down to $0.

Despite the mess up on the DD, He managed to answer seven clues correctly and end the round with $6,000. Giles was right behind him with $5,400. Shah had $4,395.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “The Calendar.” The clue read, “Black History Month was first celebrated around the birth dates of Abraham Lincoln & this contemporary who died in 1895.” All three game show contestants had the correct response of “Who is Frederick Douglass?” However, Mehal and Giles spelled it with only one “S.” Because it didn’t change the pronunciation of it, their responses were marked correct.

Mehal wagered $1,606, ending with $6,001. Giles wagered $3,000, making her final total $8,400. He’s wager was $4,801, giving him $10,801.

He joins Matt Amodio, Roger Craig, and Drew Goins in the semifinals. Three new contestants compete tomorrow for a spot in the semifinals.