Featured J!Buzz

“It was amazing to win,” said an emotional Seth Wilson, the 12-game Champion whose streak just ended. “It was even better to get to win in front of my family.”

Moments earlier, Seth was about to claim another runaway game to extend his streak to 13 games. But in the final minutes of Double Jeopardy!, Margie Eulner Ott hit some big clues and nailed a sizable Daily Double. Coming into Final, Seth saw a tough category – THE ECONOMY – and bet $5 thinking the clue would be a challenge for all three players. The gamble didn’t pay off and everyone got it right. In the end, Margie’s bold $17,000 wager won her the game.

Despite the loss, Seth smiled when asked about that bet, saying, “I wish that I had wagered more on that last question.” But it didn’t get Seth down. He was still beaming during his Winners Circle interview as we asked him about his journey. And, who wouldn’t be? The guy passed names like Buzzy Cohen and Arthur Chu to end up at fifth place on Jeopardy!’s all-time games won list, and is seventh for all-time money won at $265,002.

Some of Seth’s favorite moments? “The first category on my first day was GEORGE CLOONEY MOVIES, and I ran that category, so I got to run a category my first taping of Jeopardy!” Seth said. “I felt very good in the game where I got Haile Selassie as a Final. Because it was a little bit of a guess, and it turned out that I was right. Also I remember a true Daily Double in a theater [category], and I felt really good about that.”

As a doctoral student, Seth plans on spending his winnings paying off student loans. But he’s going to have some fun with “a vacation now planned to England and Europe.”

For more Seth Wilson, check out his five-game streak video and 10-game feature, “Who Is Seth Wilson?”