CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: 'Jeopardy!' seems to have picked up its fun pace again as it has been joined by a promising champ who is bound to make the episodes something desperately look forward to. Ittai Sopher has once again won the game show, and he is starting to garner recognition for accomplishments other than his victory on 'Jeopardy!'
Every time Sopher responds to a question, fans have observed a particular peculiarity that he sports, and this has quickly made him a favorite of all 'Jeopardy!' watchers. The Final Jeopardy round's thrilling conclusion added to the excitement of the Tuesday, July 12, broadcast for the spectators.
How did Ittai Sopher become the 'Jeopardy!' champ?
Sopher, a young digital journalist and news producer from New Orleans, Louisiana, managed to take home massive prize money as he managed to retain his 'Jeopardy!' champ title. While he performed well consistently throughout the first two rounds, he was given a major competition by the close second in lead contestant Dennis Leung.
It was a neck-to-neck situation by the time viewers got to Final Jeopardy round. While contestant Kathy Barkey was able to get the correct answer to the clue from the 'Famous Ships' category, she was barely able to get to $9900. Sopher, second in lead, also shared the correct answer, "What is: Maine?", and collected $13,801. This was a moment of much anticipation as the one in the lead, Leung only had $1 over Sopher at this point. But sadly for him, he gave the incorrect answer "Washington" and nearly lost all of his prize money because of his high wager. Sopher easily became the champ then, with a major difference in his score.
Buzzer-basher 'Jeopardy!' contestant
Besides his win on the game show, Sopher has also come to be known for his unique way of answering on the show. He is always excited to press the buzzer to prompt himself to answer and has lost a huge amount of money because of his wrong answers as well. But since he has still come out on the other side as the winner, fans find it to be just his funny quirk.
"Ittai gon' separate a shoulder if he keeps buzzing in like that," one 'Jeopardy!' said on Twitter. One also questioned, "Why did Ittai react like he was being electrocuted every time he buzzed in??" along with another fan who tweeted, "Ittai being a tad aggressive with that buzzer!"
Sopher also became popular for having fun on the show alongside his fellow contestant and friend Mia McGill. One user pointed out the similarity in the way they wrote their names for the podium display, "Look at Ittai & Mia with matching smiley face doodles!" After Tuesday, July 12 episode, McGill also tweeted for Sopher saying, "So anyway y'all are legally required to go watch my bestie @IttaiSopher try to defend his crown tonight against my other besties Kathy and Dennis." On the other hand, some fans seemed to have an issue with Ittai's playing strategy, one of them tweeting, "Ittai gotta go. I can't stand players who start at the $1,000 in each category to try to suck up the money and get the Daily Double. Just play the damn category normally! I'm an old fuddy duddy."
