Drew Goins received a second chance after losing Jeopardy! in the Champions wildcard to Mehal Shah. Drew will be taking to spot of celebrity Lisa Ann Walter since she is unable to attend. Lisa told Drew he “Has to win.” Keep reading to find out why.
Drew Goins Thanks Lisa Ann Walter In T-Shirt
Drew Goins, a Jeopardy! fan-favorite is showing his appreciation for Lisa Ann Walter after stepping in to take her place in the Tournament of Champions. Goins had returned to Jeopardy! for the Champions Wildcard, hoping to earn a spot in the Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately, he lost to Mehal Shah. However, fate was on his side when he was called as an alternate after Walter, a Celebrity Jeopardy! winner, couldn’t participate due to a scheduling conflict.
Goins has been a big fan of Walter, who currently stars as the tough teacher Mellisa Schemmenti on ABC’s Abbot Elementary.
Lisa Ann Walter, actress and comedian, recently had some words of encouragement for Drew Goins, a contestant on the popular game show “Jeopardy!” In a tweet, Walter told Goins that he “has to win” and wished him luck on the show.
Fans of both Walter and Goins were delighted to see the interaction between the two, with many expressing their support for Goins and excitement to see how he performs on the show. It’s always nice to see celebrities showing support for each other, especially in such a high-pressure situation like a game show. We’ll have to tune in to see if Goins can live up to Walter’s expectations and come out on top on “Jeopardy!”
One “Jeopardy!” contestant had a bit of a blunder when it came to a Céline Dion hit.
Drew Goins, a Hawaii-based journalist who was competing in the “Jeopardy!” 2025 Champions Wildcard tournament, missed a question about the “My Heart Will Go On” singer — after giving a special shoutout to Dion earlier in the episode.
During the Jan. 24 episode, Goins listed several people he wanted to thank, including one celebrity.
“John the producer suggested, long story, that I thank Céline Dion. So, thank you, Céline Dion,” he said, while bowing and looking into the camera.
“Does she know what she did?” host Ken Jennings asked.
“Oh, she does,” Goins responded. “Deep down.”
Later in the episode, Goins was given the opportunity to flex his knowledge of the singer when presented with a $2000 question from the category “’90s No. 1 Hits.”
“Sharing its title with an earlier, more upbeat Huey Lewis hit, it was No. 1 for Celine Dion in 1994,” Jennings read.
But instead of buzzing in, Goins appeared stressed out and panicked about the question. He, along with the rest of the contestants, were unable to answer, and the buzzer signaled that time ran out.
“Oh, she’s going to be mad, Drew,” Jennings joked before the contestant left the podium and pretended to walk off the set.
Jennings eventually revealed the answer to the question, sharing, “Like Huey Lewis, Céline Dion sang a song called ‘The Power of Love.’”
Returning to the podium, Goins excused the blunder, saying, “I was born in 1994!”
The journalist ultimately came in second place in the final of the Champions Wildcard tournament, taking home a prize of $40,000. As the runner-up, Goins still sneaked into the upcoming Tournament of Champions, and he is scheduled to play in the quarterfinals on Feb. 3.
While Goins was let down by a question about Dion, he had a memorable moment of redemption during the Second Chance tournament with another pop superstar — Taylor Swift.
During a September 2024 episode of “Jeopardy!” Goins failed to answer the $800 question, “The first of Taylor Swift’s record 4 AOTY Grammys was for this album in 2010.”
None of the contestants buzzed in with the answer, which was “Fearless.”
Then, on the Jan. 6 “Jeopardy” episode, he was met with the $200 question, “In 2014 Taylor Swift gave us this album named for a different year.”
This time, the question was not met with silence, with Goins buzzing in to respond, “What is ‘1989’?”
“Redemption for Drew!” Jennings said as the audience began cheering. “And the crowd goes wild.”
In a recent episode of Jeopardy, contestant and self-proclaimed Céline Dion superfan Drew Goins missed a question about the iconic singer. The question, which asked for the title of Céline Dion’s Grammy-winning hit song from the Titanic soundtrack, left Goins stumped.
Despite his love for Céline Dion and her music, Goins couldn’t come up with the correct answer, “My Heart Will Go On.” The moment left viewers surprised and amused, as Goins had been confidently answering other questions about the singer throughout the episode.
While Goins may have missed this particular question, his passion for Céline Dion remains unwavering. And who knows, maybe he’ll have a chance to redeem himself in a future episode of Jeopardy. Until then, fans can continue to enjoy his enthusiasm and knowledge of all things Céline Dion.
TODAY’S Jeopardy! episode didn’t air in many parts of the country and viewers are furious they were unable to see breakout star Drew Goins snag his latest runaway win.
Drew Goins competes on the Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard semifinals Jeopardy! Ken Jennings hosts today’s game of Jeopardy! Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! did not issue any warning that it may not be airing the January 20th game due to the inauguration – leading many to believe the episode would proceed as normal.
However, footage from Donald Trump ’s inauguration continued to play in place of today’s game in most parts of the country.
The outrage over missing the episode was only increased when fan-favorite Drew delivered another impressive performance that some viewers won’t get to see.
One viewer wrote: “Can’t watch on my local ABC affiliate due to the inauguration, which really sucks, cause Drew is my fav.
“I was already bummed about today for obvious reasons but now it feels personal.”
“Here in Chicago we are preempted by the inauguration coverage. Talking heads keeping us from having 30 minutes of freedom from political craziness,” another said.
A third suggested: “Same. Total bummer. I really wish on national news pre-emption days that the Jeopardy Youtube channel would put up entire episodes.”
Drew, a journalist from Honolulu, Hawaii, has become a fan-favorite for his quick-witted game play, entertaining stories and fun fashion.
Jeopardy! players from L-R: Joey DeSena, Drew Goins, Jen Feldman Jeopardy! Footage from the inauguration aired in place of today’s Jeopardy! game for many viewers AFP
For today’s Champions Wildcard semifinals, he went up against Joey DeSena, a development engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina and Jen Feldman, a high school teacher from Brooklyn, New York.
Like his past games, Drew was off to the best start as he secured the most amount of correct answers, six, by the first break.
He had accumulated $4,200 by the commercial break, while Jen had $1,400.
Joey found and missed the first Daily Double – landing him with $0 by the break.
After the Jeopardy! Round was complete, Drew’s lead increased to $7,200.
Though Joey remained in third, he got himself on the board with $800 while Jen stayed in second with $2,400.
Host Ken, 50, then revealed the categories of the second round: “French Geography; 18Th Century Writing; Broadway; Psychology; Let’s Talk About Politics; Starts With ‘D.’”
Jen closed the gap of Drew’s lead when she found the second Daily Double – and accurately answered, adding $5,000 to her score.
WHIZ KID
However, Drew quickly made that up by finding the third Daily Double which gave him a bonus $4,000.
Overall, Drew racked up an impressive 29 correct responses from today’s game – having only buzzed into two incorrectly.
Jen had 10 accurate answers with 0 mistakes while Joey made 3 incorrect guesses but had 12 right responses.
Jeopardy! Universe
Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, many spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:
Jeopardy! – (syndicated) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7 pm ET.
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Second Chance Tournament – 2022 to present features hand-selected non-winners from the season prior, where the prize is entry into Champions Wildcard.
Champions Wildcard – 2023 to present, features all one, two and three-day champions from the season prior worth entry into the Tournament of Champions.
Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (syndication) – 2023 to present, features past greats invited by producers to vie for a slot in Masters.
Jeopardy! Masters (primetime) – 2023 to present, features the six highest-ranked Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Celebrity Jeopardy! (primetime) – 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Pop Culture Jeopardy (streaming) – 2024 to present, will feature teams of three tasked with pop culture trivia on Amazon Prime, hosted by Colin Jost, airdate TBD
Jeopardy! has done away with specialized tournaments like its College Tournaments, Kids Week, and Professor’s Tournament to gear towards a more sports-like model, with Masters being the top of the Jeopardy pyramid.
Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years as well, like Sports Jeopardy!.
Going into the final, Drew had $26,800 while Jen had $12,600 and Joey was close behind, having accumulated $9,200.
Only Joey was correct with the Final Jeopardy! and knowing he was too far behind to snag a win, used his opportunity to write a message for his opponent.
“What is the Nautalis? Go for it, Drew!!” Joey exclaimed in his answer.
The affection was mutual, as Drew – who bet $0 for the last round – wrote: “What is a mouse??? Thanks Jen and Joey! <3.”
For their final scores, Drew garnered $26,800 while Jen had $10,000 and Joey a solid $9,811.
Drew advances to the finals of the Champions Wildcard Tournament and is hoping to score a spot in the coveted Tournament of Champions.
Fan-favorite Drew wrote a sweet message to his opponents as he advanced to the finals After an impressive Jeopardy! run, Joey placed third Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! fans were left in shock as the popular game show abruptly stopped airing, leaving viewers feeling frustrated and disappointed. Many fans were eagerly anticipating the continuation of the episode in which breakout star Drew Goins was on the verge of snagging a runaway win.
Drew Goins had captivated audiences with his quick wit, vast knowledge, and strategic gameplay. Fans had high hopes for him to continue his winning streak and possibly even become a Jeopardy! legend.
However, their hopes were dashed when the show suddenly cut to a commercial break and never returned. Viewers took to social media to express their anger and disappointment, with many complaining that they had “missed” Drew Goins’ potential victory.
The sudden halt in airing has left fans wondering what happened and when they will get to see the conclusion of the episode. Some have even speculated that there may have been a technical issue or scheduling conflict that caused the abrupt stop.
As fans eagerly await an explanation and resolution, they have made it clear that they will not rest until they see Drew Goins’ final triumph on Jeopardy! and witness his well-deserved victory.
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jeopardy, jeopardy cancellation, jeopardy news, Drew Goins jeopardy, Drew Goins win, game show controversy, game show scandal, television drama, fan uproar, television news
Jeopardy! fan favorite Drew Goins chalked up another runaway victory on Monday’s (January 20) Champions Wildcard semifinal, but many viewers are fuming because they couldn’t watch the episode due to Donald Trump‘s inauguration.
The episode saw Goins returning to the Alex Trebek Stage alongside fellow semifinalists Joey DeSena and Jen Feldman. Fans had been highly anticipating the match-up due to Goins’ impressive run through the Second Chance tournament and the Champions Wildcard quarterfinals.
However, many networks across the United States chose not to air the episode, instead providing coverage of President Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. This led to frustration among Jeopardy! fans, as they weren’t previously warned that the episode would be preempted.
“I literally spent all day avoiding news about the inauguration only for it to f*** my nightly routine and the one thing I was looking forward to,” wrote on user on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
“It got preempted halfway through on the NBC channel we watch on,” said another.
“I was so looking forward to this all day. I audibly shouted when I saw what I saw instead of these lovely contestants,” another added.
One X user wrote, “What a lousy Monday 7PM #jeopardy peeps. The brain exercise is preempted.”
“I was already bummed about today for obvious reasons but now it feels personal,” added another.
“Talking heads keeping us from having 30 minutes of freedom from political craziness,” another said.
As with previous games, Goins got off to a quick start, answering an impressive 14 clues in the opening round to give him a solid lead of $7,200 over Feldman’s $2,400 and DeSena’s $800.
Goins continued to rack up correct responses in Double Jeopardy, though Feldman found the first Daily Double for a sizable $5,000. However, Goins landed on the second Daily Double, making an educated guess and snagging $4,000 for a total of $26,800, just enough for a runaway heading into Final Jeopardy.
Host Ken Jennings then read out the final clue, “A U.S. Navy website says its journey from New London to Norway in 1957 opened up Arctic waters previously ruled by the Soviets.”
Only DeSena answered correctly with the USS Nautilus, but it didn’t matter, as Goins (who wagered $0) had already secured his spot in the Champions Wildcard finals, where he’ll now be hoping to win and land a spot in the Tournament of Champions.
Did you get to see Monday’s episode of Jeopardy? What did you think of Goins’ game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Jeopardy!, Weekdays, Check Local Listings
Fans of the popular game show “Jeopardy!” were left fuming this week as millions of viewers missed out on witnessing the thrilling wildcard win by contestant Drew Goins. Goins, a software engineer from Chicago, managed to secure a spot in the next round of the tournament with his impressive performance.
However, due to a technical glitch on the network broadcasting the episode, many fans were unable to watch the nail-biting showdown between Goins and his competitors. Social media was flooded with angry comments from disappointed viewers who missed out on seeing Goins’ triumphant victory.
Despite the frustration expressed by fans, Goins himself remained humble and gracious in his win, thanking his competitors and the show’s host, Alex Trebek, for the opportunity to compete. He also expressed his gratitude to his family and friends for their support throughout the competition.
As the controversy surrounding the missed episode continues to brew, fans are hopeful that they will have the opportunity to catch a rerun of Goins’ wildcard win and witness his impressive performance firsthand. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
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