‘Jeopardy!’: Can ‘Unstoppable’ Jamie Ding Crack All-Time Top 10?

(from left) 'Jeopardy!' contrestants Nikki Svetov, Jamie Ding, and Brian Cho on April 2, 2026
Spoiler Alert
Jeopardy.com

Jamie Ding tried to go for two Jeopardy! records — the top 10 contestants of all-time and also the biggest champion of the season so far, Harrison Whitaker, with 14 wins. Did he do it?

Ding, a law student and bureaucrat, went into his 15th game with a total of $371,600 after making a risky wager in Final Jeopardy. On April 2, he played against Brian Chu, from Cary, North Carolina, and Nikki Svetov, from Long Island, New York. Warning: Spoilers for the April 2 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

The very beginning of the game did not turn out well for Ding. He was in the negatives until clue 10. He then took the lead with $800.

By the first 15 clues, Ding had $4,000. His opponents were both in the red.

During the interviews, Chu, a professor, revealed that he competed in Season 1 of Pop Culture Jeopardy! and told host Colin Jost that he was his “sixth favorite Weekend Update host of all-time.”

Ding found the Daily Double on clue 21. He had $8,000 and wagered $5,000 in “Authority Figures.” The clue read, “The name of this tequila brand, one of the top 5 sellers worldwide, is Spanish for ‘boss.'”

“What is Patrón?” he answered correctly. This gave him an even wider lead of $13,000. Ding’s opponents were still in the red.

Chu finally got on the board with only four clues left in the round. He ended the round with $400.

Ding had $15,400. Svetov, an entertainment strategist, had -$800.

In Double Jeopardy, Svetov finally got on the board. Ding found the first DD on clue 15. He had $30,400 and wagered $11,600 in “Author Figures.” The clue was “Nikos Kazantzakis felt this epic poem needed a 33,333-line sequel in which the hero gets tired of being home & leaves once more.”

“What is The Odyssey?” he answered correctly. This gave him $42,000.

Ding tried to keep his lead with the last DD on clue 24. With $48,800 in his bank, Ding wagered $21,200. In “International Geographic,” the clue read, “Situated among mountain peaks, this small country has the highest average elevation of any in Europe at about 6,600 feet.”

He answered, “What is Liechtenstein?” which was wrong. The correct response was Andorra. Ding dropped down to $27,600.

However, the risky Daily Double wager didn’t deter him from winning. Ding ended with $31,200. Chu had $2,800. Svetov ended in third place with $400.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Historic Names.” The clue read, “In 2025, France posthumously made this man, who was ‘accused, humiliated, & condemned’ a Brigadier General.” Only one of the game show contestants correctly responded with “Who is Alfred Dreyfus?”

Svetov did not answer anything. She also didn’t wager any money, so she ended with $400. Chu’s response was “Who is Louis XVI?” He was wrong and wagered $267, giving him a final total of $2,533.

Dingh had the correct response. He wagered $25,200. This made his final total $56,400. He had a 15-day total of $428,000.

According to the Leaderboard of Legends, Ding is only $100 away from tying for the top 10 highest winnings in regular-season play. Julia Collins currently holds the tenth spot with $428,100.

Ding surpassed Whitaker with 15 wins. Will he surpass  Collins on April 3 with his 16th game? Tune in to find out.

“Jesus Christ. He’s unstoppable,” one Reddit user said.

“That second Daily Double in DJ, of all the what-ifs, I have no doubt if he had been successful there, he would have gone for and broken the James Holzhauer one-day record. We are witnessing history,” another wrote.

“Jamie’s been on a roll, wow! It looks like the two-week filming break really helped,” a third added.

“Jamie has been on a tear the last few days,” a fan commented.

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock




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  1. M

    Mytri

    I'm sick of him! He's no fun to watch and he has ruined Jeopardy for me. There have been other unappealing contestants, but he takes the prize.

  2. Y

    yormc

    Despite a slow start, with the 1st penalty to start today's game, I thought he would gain more penalties than usual. Out of nowhere, he ended the game with just 2 incorrect responses, then as the game played on, the outcome was clear in viewers' eyes. Anyway, he surpassed Harrison Whitaker as this season's reigning super champ, and currently ties Adriana Harmeyer at 15 wins.

    I'm still mostly confident in his possibly surpassing 16-day winners, Scott Riccardi & Ryan Long; moderately in his possibly becoming the BEST Jerseyan by surpassing BOTH Dave Madden & Cris Pannullo; and not so much beyond that. IMO, he's focused more on breadth than depth, similar to but less aggressive than James Holzhauer; and he still struggles slightly more with specialized knowledge than other elites like Roger Craig, Matt Amodio, and Victoria Groce.

  3. J

    Joy

    Get rid of the phoney contestant. Everyone knows he has been given the answers. I will not watch the show. The poor contestants that are wasting their time.