Did Isaac Hirsch Qualify for ‘Jeopardy’s Next Tournament of Champions?

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the July 8 episode of Jeopardy!]

Heading into the July 8 episode of Jeopardy!, Isaac only needed one more win to be eligible for the next Tournament of Champions. (Four wins are needed during regular season play.) He was impressive in his first three games—not the first episodes of a game show in which he’s participated), and host Ken Jennings did bring up his dominating runaway game from July 5.

The customer support team lead from Burbank, California came in with winnings totaling $70,186. Facing off with him were project coordinator Stephanie Lewis (from Washington, D.C.) and data scientist Karan Menon (originally from Edison, New Jersey). And unfortunately for them, they didn’t really seem to have a chance. Hirsch dominated the Jeopardy! round with significant leads at each break ($9,400 to Menon’s $1,000 and Lewis’ $400 at the first, then $11,800 to Menon’s $2,400 and Lewis’ $200). Jennings commented on his 18 correct responses in that first round, noting that was a tie for the season high.

Such was the case again in Double Jeopardy!, with Hirsch ultimately finding all three Daily Doubles of the game. With the second, he upped his total to $18,800 (already well ahead of Menon’s $2,400 and Lewis’ $1,800 at the time). Going into Final Jeopardy!, it was a runaway game for Hirsch, with his lead of $27,400 over Menon’s $7,200 and Lewis’ $5,000. (Jennings said the other two “put up a brave fight.”) Hirsch won his fourth game and became eligible for the next Tournament of Champions. He added $30,400, bringing his four-day total to $100,586. (Menon ended the game in second with $10,001, and Lewis in third had $5,000.)

At the end of the episode, Jennings noted that Hirsch is going for five wins “and that Tournament of Champions invite.” That’s because he’s now just eligible with four wins. But fans seem to expect that to happen tomorrow, given his impressive performance in this game.

“I think Isaac could be here for a while,” one wrote on the Reddit thread for the episode. Another fan agreed.

One viewer noted that Jennings commented on Hirsch’s play in the Jeopardy! round like he did seven-game winner Drew Basile, calling it “a nice touch, perhaps a confidence booster” and adding, “ToC is shaping up.”

Wrote another viewer, “I’m excited for Isaac. I hope he makes at least 5 wins for a guaranteed spot in the ToC.”

Two said that he’s in “elite company,” with one pointing to the fact that “Getting 30+ responses correct in three consecutive matches is an incredible feat that few have accomplished” and another calling him “the strongest contestant we’ve seen so far in Season 40 of Jeopardy,” explaining, “I know Adriana went on her 15-day win streak, but Isaac is attempting about 45 out of the 57 possible buzzes, very elite company. I’m sure his buzzer skills are good, but it seems like so far he is winning his games just from just knowing more stuff (as evidenced by higher number of solos).”

Hirsch is not just impressing viewers with his gameplay. “Yes, Isaac is winning these games in impressive fashion. But he’s also winning the interview portion of the show,” one noted. “I don’t recall any contestant having such a run of funny and/or charming anecdotes as he’s had to start his time on the show.”

What do you think of Isaac Hirsch’s gameplay so far? Do you think he’ll make it to the Tournament of Champions? Let us know in the comments section, below.

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