Hannah Wilson: 'Jeopardy!' fans compare champion to beloved player Ben Chan who dropped out after falling ill
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Jeopardy!' has been through a crazy ride this season and while we are instantaneously waiting for another episode, let's do a little recap of the Wednesday episode, where a new winner named Hannah Wilson ousted three-day champ Kevin with a sizable $24K debut. But, there was something quite similar to this win that got fans talking. There was a similar kind of winner in April called Ben Chan, who was also a three-day winner who had to exit mid-streak after having fallen ill.
The competition was between contestants Dan Czekalski and Hannah Wilson. Hannah is a data scientist from Chicago, Illinois, and Dan Czekalski, a project manager from Columbia, South Carolina, who revealed he was an extra in 'The Notebook'.
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20 clues and two daily doubles
Hannah Wilson was on top throughout the game and got 20 clues and two Daily Doubles. Dan, on the other hand, picked up the remaining Daily Double and was still in the game going into Final Jeopardy, but not by much. Hannah led with an extraordinary $22,800, but Dan had a competitive side with $12,300. The final question was the one that would decide the winner and the question was under the 'Business and Social Media' handle and read, "On Twitter in 2023, this food franchise followed an exact total of 11 accounts that included Victoria Beckham, Mel B & Herb Alpert."
The answer was "KFC" and both Hannah and Dan were right. Mayim Bialik, the host of the show explained from her cue card about the significance of Final Jeopardy before revealing Hannah won. Mayim Bialik concluded with "So Victoria and Mel B. were Spice Girls. And they are followed, as well as Mr. Dean and five other 'herbs and spices,' like in KFC's famous secret recipe!" Mayim concluded ecstatically.
Where is Ben Chan?
Ben is a philosophy professor at St Norbert College in Wisconsin and got on 'Jeopardy!' for the April 11 episode, while he stacked up over $69,000 total and three runaway wins. But, he was supposed to be on the show on April 14 and didn't show up. Later, he released a message stating a reason for his absence from the show and said, "Before yesterday’s episode taped, I had tested positive for COVID; it was a very mild case, as you can see, I’m fine." and continued to share that he'll be back for the May 15 episode. "Most importantly, my buzzer finger is fine, so I’m excited to watch what happens over the next few weeks, see who I’ll be competing against on May 15," Ben shared when he appeared virtually on 'Good Day Wisconsin'.
