Who won the first week of 'Jeopardy!' Second Chance? Hari Parameswaran turns the game around in Final Jeopardy

Hari Parameswaran earned a big prize for the night and another opportunity to appear as a contestant on 'Jeopardy!' during the first week of Second Chance
Hari Parameswaran's smart calculation for the wager landed him barely $400 ahead of Maybury, making him the winner of the week (Jeopardy!/YouTube)
Hari Parameswaran's smart calculation for the wager landed him barely $400 ahead of Maybury, making him the winner of the week (Jeopardy!/YouTube)

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: 'Jeopardy!' has finally gotten through the first week of its 40th Season, and with that, the show has also crowned the first champ for their Second Chance Tournament -- Hari Parameswaran.

Hari , a young engineer, struggled to stay afloat through the two days of gruesome trivia with his equally impressive competitors. However, in the final moment of truth, he came out as the winner, earning a big prize for the night and another opportunity to appear as a contestant on 'Jeopardy!'. 

The season will now move into the second week, with a new set of Season 37 players for another round of exciting trivia. 

Who is Hari Parameswaran?

Hari Parameswaran, while still very young, has already achieved a lot in his life so far, including two appearances on 'Jeopardy!'. He is currently working at Apple as a DRAM Validation Engineer, according to his LinkedIn profile.

His profile also displays many awards and accolades that he received as a college student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Hari had earned his Bachelor's degree in Science with a major in Electrical Engineering. 

Hari was barely a high school graduate and was 19 years old when he first competed for the champ title back in 2021.

Despite his impressive performance, he was not lucky in the final round and lost out on the champ title. But for the same reason, he was given another chance by 'Jeopardy!' to become an even bigger winner. 

How did Hari Parameswaran win 'Jeopardy!'?

Things were not looking great for Hari Parameswaran on the first day of the Second Chance finals. While competing against David Maybury and Kill Tucker, he was only able to earn $1,600 for his first-day winnings. 



 

On the second day, Hari decided to not let his last chance of making it on the show go to waste as he fired off correct responses and rounded up $19,200 by the time they moved into Final Jeopardy.

But Maybury was quite close behind and it became even more challenging when he got the correct answer for the clue of the final round, making his decent first-day score even bigger. 

However, Hari's smart calculation for the wager landed him barely $400 ahead of Maybury, making him the winner of the week. As the Second Chance winner, he won $35,000 along with a chance to participate in the Champions Wildcard tournament. 

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

‘Chicago Med’ has two reunions lined up for Season 12 Episode 6, with returning characters tied to Charles and Frost’s past.
2026-11-07T16:55:28.000Z
Will Estes’ reunion with Donnie Wahlberg prompts talk about Jamie Reagan’s ‘Boston Blue’ future and a possible spinoff.
2026-11-07T15:44:34.000Z
'Campus Drivers' has taken over the world by storm days after its premiere
2026-11-07T11:01:02.000Z
Episode 2 sets Dexter and Charley up as a fake couple while they plan their first kill together
2026-11-07T08:59:35.000Z
The sequel arrives 19 years after the haunted hotel room film grossed $132 million worldwide
2026-11-07T07:35:40.000Z
'Sheriff Country' and 'Fire Country' crossover forces Mickey and Manny to work together
2026-11-07T06:52:03.000Z
The teaser names a Nevada town and an exact date in 1955, while production heads to New Mexico
2026-11-07T05:54:40.000Z
The sitcom takes over the Wednesday slot that ‘Scrubs’ leaves when its second season wraps
2026-11-07T05:16:08.000Z
‘Nobody Wants This’ gets Season 4 renewal just weeks after the latest season’s release
2026-11-07T04:24:15.000Z
‘High Potential’ Season 3 will return nearly 9 months after Season 2 finale with special Super Bowl episode
2026-11-07T03:49:27.000Z