Georgia man wins ‘Jeopardy!’ High School Reunion Tournament, snags $100,000 prize
A Georgia man has cemented himself among “Jeopardy!” champions after winning the trivia show’s first High School Reunion Tournament.
Justin Bolsen, a freshman studying economics and international and public affairs at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, took home the $100,000 grand prize after defeating fellow players Jackson Jones, a junior at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, and Maya Wright, a senior at Emory in Atlanta, in the final that aired March 9.
The Canton, Georgia, native also secured his spot in the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions, set to begin this fall, according to a news release. Bolsen will be the youngest player to compete in the event.
“It’s going to be crazy,” he said in a statement. “I think everybody knows that people who go on mega-streaks are really, really good, so I can only hope to do my best against them. We’ll see what they have in store for me.”
Bolsen’s win comes more than four years after the now-18-year-old competed in the game show’s Teen Tournament in 2018, according to Brown University.
He returned to the “Jeopardy!” stage in February to face off with 26 other former teen contestants. The 14-day special event featured nine quarterfinal games, three semifinals and a two-day final, according to a release. The player with the highest two-day total was crowned the winner.
Thursday’s Final Jeopardy! clue was in the “Landmarks” category and read: “After its completion in the late 19th C., it was called a ‘truly tragic street lamp’ & a ‘high and skinny pyramid of iron ladders”.
All three players answered correctly: What is the Eiffel Tower?
Bolsen finished the final round with $35,561 — wagering just enough to surpass Jones, who came in second with $35,198. Wright, who’s from Peachtree City, Georgia, placed third with $24,610.
“It feels really good,” Bolsen said of his tournament win. “It feels like all the Quiz Bowl stuff I’ve done, all the coaching I had ... I go to Brown, which is a really open, collaborative environment, so I had a lot of friends who helped me study too, which was nice.”
Canton is about 40 miles north of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 7:30 PM.