Who won ‘Jeopardy!’ today? Fans think this 5-time winner looks like famous movie character — and you’ll see why
Tristan Williams returned for his eighth straight game on Friday's episode of 'Jeopardy!' The Woody look-alike went up against Chayce Griffith, from Saline, Michigan, and Valerie Fulton, from Greenville, South Carolina. At one point, it seemed that Williams' winning run had come to a close. But he managed to make a grand comeback after some Double Jeopardy magic. It all came down to the Final Jeopardy round, where the one who had the correct answer took home the win. The first round went smoothly for Williams. Before the first commercial break, Williams was in the lead with $4,000. On the 16th clue, he found a Daily Double.
Daily Doubles (DD) are a tricky territory. It can both make or break one's game. Williams threw caution to the wind and wagered $3,000. The DD came from the category of "Expressions From the Sporting World." The clue read, "Anything easy to answer, or more specifically, 'what if the game is tied after the regulation 7 innings?'" Williams answered "What is a pop fly?" with some hesitation. It turned out to be wrong. The correct response was "What is a softball question?" The answer not only took Williams to $1,000 but also pushed him to second place. Some correct responses brought him back in the game, and by the end of the first round, he was again in the lead.
In 'Double Jeopardy, ' Griffith took the lead from Williams after gathering $7,800. On the eighth clue, Griffith found a Daily Double. This clue was from the category 'Peoples' and read "Most indigenous Africans prefer Amazigh, meaning 'free man,' to this name derived from one the Romans used for foreigners." The answer was "Who are the Berbers?" which Griffith gave correctly. This took the winnings to $10,800 and widened the lead. Williams got the opportunity to change his fortunes when he found a DD on clue 14. This DD was from the category named "Let's Talk About 'X.'" The clue read, "Examples include silent scream & working vacation." After betting $4,500, he answered with "What is an oxymoron?" This turned out to be correct. Williams now had $10,500, while Griffith had $12,000.
Williams gave the correct answer to the 15th clue and took his winnings to $12,500. Griffith got the next clue wrong and ended with $10,000. The tussle continued throughout the round and finished with Williams being at $18,900, Griffith on $12,800, and Fulton at dead last with $600. It all came down to Final Jeopardy, which came from the category 'Play Characters.' The clue read, "This title character of a 1890 play is often called 'the female Hamlet.'" Only Williams responded correctly with "Who is Hedda Gabler?" The wager of $6,702 took his final total to $25,601. He was far ahead of Fulton's $1 and Griffith's $4,800. The win meant that Williams will return for his ninth straight game on Monday.
Has anyone else been watching Jeopardy! this week? The current champ, Tristan Williams, looks familiar. Separated at birth? pic.twitter.com/CqDUECpDTf
— Jason Trommetter (@jasontromm) May 16, 2026
Williams has earned quite a fandom with his continuous run on 'Jeopardy!'. Some have drawn comparisons with the popular character Woody from 'Toy Story.' Williams loves the comparison. "I had heard once or twice before that I kind of looked like Woody from 'Toy Story', and then the internet caught it, it spread like wildfire, and it's so fun," he shared with Lincoln Journal Star. "Woody is a great, great character. It's an awesome thing to be tied to," he added. 'Jeopardy!' is a syndicated show that streams on Hulu.
