JEOPARDY! champ Ben Chan has stunned fans by snatching victory from under Troy Meyer’s nose in game four of the Tournament of Champions finals.

The Green Bay college professor snuck up on Troy and Yogesh Raut from last place in a Final Jeopardy shocker on Friday, putting him one win away from the title.

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Ben Chan (right) was in a far third place, but it wasn’t game over just yetCredit: Jeopardy

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He was the only contestant to know the answer, becoming the first finalist to notch two winsCredit: Jeopardy

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Fans went nuts, ‘BEN! This is getting insane’ and ‘I did not expect Troy to miss that final!’Credit: Jeopardy
Ken Jennings opened the 2024 ToC finals game by showing that each finalist was all tied up with one win apiece (it takes three to win it).

That said, with dominating play so far from breakout star Troy, many fans were predicting he’d sail to the coveted second win.

In the Jeopardy! round, Ben nabbed his first Daily Double of the entire finals and was beaming during what felt like a good omen.

But by the end of the round, Troy once again led with $8,000, Yogesh had $6,400, and a shaky Ben trailed with $1,800.

In Double Jeopardy!, Ben found the second Daily Double, going all-in on it “Juveria-style” to have $10,000 as the crowd roared.

Troy eyed lower-level clues, which paid off as he found the last Daily Double there, also going all-in to have a commanding $28,000.

Going into a Final Jeopardy! it was a very interesting wagering scenario. Troy led with $33,200, Yogesh had $20,400, and Ben had $12,800.

‘SURPRISE ENDING!’

Ken admitted, “But even that impressive score, Troy, does not make it a runaway.”

Under “HISTORIC AMERICANS,” the clue read, “Near Kirkbean on Solway Firth, U.S. Vice Admiral Jerauld Wright presented a memorial plaque honoring this man.”

Ken turned to Ben, who was in last place by nearly $20,000. He correctly wrote “John Paul Jones” and went all-in to have $25,600, smiling nervously.

Yogesh was incorrect with “Farragut,” dropping to $15,400 – and then came the make-or-break moment.

Troy, who Ken once again pointed out had a “big lead,” revealed he surprisingly wrote “Pershing” and looked wrecked, dropping to $25,599.

The audience collectively gasped, and the camera cut to show all three players where Ben, from last place, emerged the winner by a mere $1.

Ben gripped his podium in shock as Ken announced, “By $1, Ben, you have once again come from third place to claim your second win and take the 2-to-1-to-1 lead!”

“Will we have another surprise ending on Monday!?” Ken closed as the audience was losing it.

‘WHAT A COMEBACK’

Fans also lost it on social media since Ben just snuck his way to becoming the tournament’s frontrunner, now just one win away from the title.

“RIGHT ON, BEN! I was hoping this would happen!” one Reddit user wrote.

“I want Ben to win!” wrote another.

“Yay! Go Ben!!! Just think – Ben could have won this whole tournament by now if he had found one of the two DDs in the DJ round yesterday,” argued a third.

“Don’t wanna jinx him, but so far Ben has been more consistent on FJ than Yogesh and Troy,” wrote a fourth.

“BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is getting insane,” wrote a fifth.

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON ANYMORE,” exclaimed a sixth.

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Inside Jeopardy! ToC star Troy Meyer’s private life from marriage to trivia ace wife to sad family struggle_Jeopardy!_NBC
“I did not expect Troy to miss that Final,” a seventh admitted.

“Troy has been the most dominant player in this tournament, and it’s going to be heart-crushing to see him lose based on a couple of incorrect Final Jeopardy responses,” lamented an eigth.

Others pointed out that the wagering stars aligned for Ben to perfectly win out from last place.

He needed to be the only one correct- and he made the only bet he could have made to win, by quite poetically, exactly $1.

“It’s just divine serendipity that Ben’s max wager happens to be one dollar more than Troy’s missed cover wager for Yogesh doubling up. talk about the slimmest of possible margins, there is literally no margin…

“The math here is so utterly perfect and poetic that I can’t believe there aren’t aliens, honeybees, or witchcraft involved somehow. It’s crazy how the stars aligned for Ben to snag the win.”

One more surmised, “Hello, police? Yes, I’d like to report a Grand Theft Jeopardy… WHAT A COMEBACK!”

BEN’S ROAD TO REDEMPTION

Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, amassed nine wins, $252,200 last season.

Ben won all nine of his games in a runaway fashion and is the first contestant ever to do so.

The frisky teacher is a fan favorite, given that he was plucked from obscurity compared to his trivia titan foes.

He also has the most to prove of the three since he had a difficult journey during his initial run last May.

Ben fell ill from Covid and abruptly exited after his third runaway win- his return led to one of the most climatic matches of Season 39, against Hannah Wilson.

When Ben returned, he was pitted against 8-day champ Hannah in a “co-returning champions” scenario that unfortunately led to Hannah’s loss and Ben winning with a massive $60,000.

Hannah later admitted on Reddit: “I couldn’t ask for a better opponent to get utterly thrashed by!”

Then, Ben’s run came to a shocking end on that Benedict Final Jeopardy ruling.

A small spelling mistake on an otherwise correct Final Jeopardy! ended it all, a ruling that fans called “petty and even “awful.”

Meanwhile, it’s not game over yet, as all three champs will have rested up over the weekend (or until the next tape day).

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Ben Chan watching his original Jeopardy! run in 2023 with his students – which was cut in half due to him getting CovidCredit: YouTube /St Nobert College

GET CLUED IN ON TROY MEYER

Troy is a music executive from Tampa, Florida who dominated last season, earning $214,802 in just six wins.

While he may not have had the longest streak, his entire life seemed to be leading up to his Jeopardy! stint in 2023.

Troy was raised by his single mom, Cheryl, who died in 2021, shortly before his initial run – he wore her cardigan during his huge win on Thursday.

Troy still has a huge cheerleader in his wife Genevieve Sheehan, who was a contestant in 2009.

They anonymously met online on a message board when she, not he, was practicing to compete – she defeated James Holzhauer on The Chase.

They share a son, 10, and are expecting a daughter who will be named “Ken-Derella” if he wins.

Troy is the top quizzer in the United States on the invite-only online trivia club Learned League.

He also humbly revealed in 2023 that he was on what is technically the “world’s best quiz team”—he has won the Online Quiz League seven times running.

Fans have also not been shy in pointing out that he is sitting for his games, or that he looks a lot like Bill Hader.

AND YOGESH, BUT NOT LEAST…

Yogesh won three games and a massive $98,000 in 2023; like Troy, he is a pro-quizzer.

He has a controversial history with the game show and has even had some divisive moments upon his return.

During the semifinals, he was criticized for uttering the correct response to a Daily Double after his opponent missed it.

And during the finals, he oddly pretended like he “didn’t know” the answer to a Daily Double, later sharing on Facebook he “100% did.”

He also drew controversy by blasting Jeopardy! as “not important” and a “glorified reality show” on Facebook upon losing in 2023.

That said, he’s come back in fine spirits even if he’s still “pounding away at the buzzer,” as social media users have observed, it’s not game over for him either.

FORMAT FOR FINALS

Like the last Tournament of Champions, the finals are a first-to-three-wins format.

That means Ben, Yogesh, and Troy will continue to duke it out into next week.

Each game, their win results in a checkmark on their podium, and three checkmarks will win them the title.

The ToC finals are worth $250,000, a slot in May’s Jeopardy! Masters and the ultimate bragging rights.

With Ben now at two checkmarks and Troy and Yogesh at one each, they will return for more on Monday at 7 pm E.T. on ABC.

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Fans admitted, ‘It’d be heart-crushing to see Troy lose based on a couple of incorrect Final Jeopardy responses’Credit: Jeopardy

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But the seismic momentum shift means Ben Chan could now win the ToC on MondayCredit: Jeopardy

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Though everyone is buzzing about Troy Meyer, Chan had the longest – and most difficult – streak last season and would make for quite the victorCredit: Jeopardy