‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Praise Contestant’s Fast Buzzer Skills On Runaway Win

Brittany Sims March 13, 2026, 7:30 pm

'Jeopardy!' contestants (from left) Jamie Ding, Luke Henson, and Robin Richardson, on March 13, 2026 — Jeopardy.com

Quick with it! A Jeopardy! contestant had a runaway win and was fast on the buzzer, which caught the attention of fans.

Luke Henson, from East Moline, Illinois, returned for his second game on Friday, March 13. He defeated four-time champion James Denison on Thursday and racked up a one-day total of $8,401.

This time, he played against Jamie Ding, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Robin Richardson, from Memphis, Tennessee. Did Henson win his second game? Warning: This post contains spoilers for the March 13 episode of Jeopardy!.

Host Ken Jennings shared that Henson, a grocer, had an emotional win on Thursday after he was the only one to correctly answer the final question about Caitlin Clark. The contestant shared after the show that he recently lost a friend who used to compare his mental skills to Caitlin Clark’s skills on the court.

Richardson, a city planner, had the lead of $1,600 when she found the Daily Double on clue six. She made it a true Daily Double in “Restaurants.” The clue read, “In the 1950s, the carhop restaurant Top Hat chose this new name to reflect its slogan ‘service with the speed of sound.'” Quickly, Richardson answered, “What is Sonic?” She doubled up to $3,200.

She kept the lead through the first 15 clues. Reigning champion Henson was in the negatives.

Ding, a law student and bureaucrat, wound up taking the lead by the end of the round with $7,200. Richardson was not far behind with $6,600. Henson was in third place with $800.

In Double Jeopardy, Ding had the lead of $12,800 when he found the first DD on clue 10. He wagered $3,600 in “A Little Literature.” The clue read, “Appropriately, this 1953 Raymond Chandler novel runs 53 chapters and ends with Philip Marlowe saying a farewell.”

“What is The Big Sleep?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was The Long Goodbye. He dropped down to $9,200, but was still in the lead since Richardson had $8,200.

Ding then found the next DD on clue 11. He went small and wagered $1,800. If he got it wrong, Ding would move to second place.

In “You’re So Possessive,” the clue was “It’s the principle that ‘plurality should not be posited without necessity’: in other words, keep it simple, stupid.” “What is Occam’s razor?” he responded correctly, giving him $11,000.

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Ding was fast on the buzzer for the rest of the round, ending with $22,600. Richardson had $10,600 after correctly answering the last handful of clues. Henson caught up with his opponents and ended with $8,000.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Politicians.” The clue read, “In a 1984 speech, he said, ‘our flag is red, white & blue’ but America has ‘many colors … held together by a common thread.'” Only one of the game show contestants had the right response.

Henson’s response was “Who is Almir Beganovic?” He was wrong and wagered $1,689, ending with $6,311. Richardson answered, “Who is Jimmy Carter?” She was also incorrect and dropped down to $5,000 after wagering $5,600. Ding had the correct response of “Who is Jesse Jackson?” He wagered $33, making his final total $22,633.

Ding will return on Monday, March 16, for his second game against two new opponents. Reddit users thought he was a beast on the buzzer.

“Jamie was amazingly fast with his buzzer! Great game to end the week,” one fan wrote.

“Jamie came up with Attorney General Tso, crushed most categories, knew ‘Friday’ by Rebecca Black, and wore that shirt? I hope he wins 50 games in a row,” another commented.