Just winning a single game of Jeopardy! can be as stressful and nerve-shattering as anything else in life, so anyone who wins enough games to qualify for the Tournament of Champions has no doubt run the mental gamut by the time the tourney begins. Still, no one is immune to the pressure of competing in up to five tapings a day, and current T.o.C. finalist Issac Hirsch reacted candidly after his “worst game” ever hit the 2025 TV schedule.
Jeopardy! remains one of the best game shows ever, partially due to (or in spite of) various changes that executive producer Michael Davies has implemented in recent years, from the onset of the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament (don’t repeatedly call it JIT, please) to the current “first to three wins” stipulation for the T.o.C. This bracket extension is more exciting for fans, sure, but it also allows more chances for contestants to slip up. Which is what Isaac addressed in his Reddit post, which stated:
I don’t really have a lot to say about this game, as it’s the worst game of Jeopardy I’ve ever played and I’m sure I didn’t do a great job masking my disappointment about that. At the same time, I’m hoping people don’t mistake my disappointment for a lack of grace— Neilesh and Adriana have both played fantastically and I’m genuinely happy for them. Coming into TOC, I think I felt a greater sense of pressure than I did in my original Jeopardy run, where I didn’t expect much of anything good to happen. I came into this Tournament as a top seed and felt a lot of pressure to perform up to that, and thus really couldn’t shake the feeling that ultimately I was disappointing my family, friends, and various well-wishers with how I had been playing. It’s a lot to emotionally process in a short time and I’m sorry if it makes me come off badly on television.
Despite having one of the most warm and toothy smiles of any Jeopardy! champion in recent seasons, frequent viewers are also likely aware of what his frustrated face looks like as well, usually whenever his fellow competitors are quicker to the buzzer than he is. But at least that part isn't entirely his fault.
But the February 11 episode went beyond just buzzer-beatings, as Isaac answered incorrectly for five of the 19 clues he answered. And one of those wrong answers was sadly for the third Daily Double of the game, which took him out of the running entirely. (As opposed to Neilish Vinjamuri, who was correct with each of his highly risky Daily Double wagers.)
All that said, I think that while Isaac Hirsch clearly wasn't happy-go-lucky or anything, he wasn't insultingly frustrated or anything. And I also don't think he was in the wrong for continuing to play the game, as opposed to gaming his play in a way that would have given Adriana a better chance to stop Neilish from securing a runaway victory. Sure, that can be part of the strategy in a tourney set-up like this, but calling him out for it (as somehave on social media) is a step too far, I think. He explained his line of thinking, saying:
I also do want to gently push back on the notion that I should have stepped aside to allow Adriana back into the game here. For one, the score at the time is 0-1-1, meaning the only reason I would let up at this moment is if I somehow believe Adriana is a weaker player and I should try and help her win. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that— Adriana and Neilesh are BOTH really strong players and I’m going to have to climb out of a 2-1-0 hole against either one of them, so I’m not going to sit on my buzzer to advantage one or the other. Obviously that changes next game— if I’m standing in the way of Adriana preventing a runaway against Neilesh, I’ll step aside. Keep in mind that’s no guarantee; Neilesh is really, really good at the buzzer. Anyway apparently I lied when I said I don’t have a lot to say about this game. At least I’ll always remember Diana Gabaldon’s name from now on.
As viewers may remember, the Final Jeopardy! clue was in reference to Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, whom Isaac referred to as "The Outlander lady," with only Adriana Harmeyer answering correctly.
It sucks to see any Jeopardy! contestants either facing heat from fans or fuming at themselves over a botched game. So here's hoping Isaac Hirsch can turn things around and secure at least one or two wins, even if he doesn't win it all. And I have to think getting some support from fan-favorite ball of energy Drew Goins, who chimed in under that post with:
Isaac you are so beautiful
I guess under these circumstances, Isaac would rather be quick, brilliant and rich, but we know that Drew is right on the money with his kindhearted message. I'm still mad that he's not part of the incoming group of JIT contestants, but I understand why he can't just put off his entire life to pop onto Jeopardy! every few weeks.
It'll be hard for any Tournament of Champions match to be more exciting than that all-time great Champions Wildcard game where Will Yancey came away with a $52,000 victory. But I have faith that Adriana, Isaac and Neilesh are all perfectly capable of keeping things interesting.
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