CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: In another jaw-dropping game, 'Jeopardy!' has crowned its new champ for the day - Justin White. While he had first seemed like a lost cause, he was quick to turn the game around.
Previous champ James Tyler could not retain his title after missing out on the win by a very close margin. Host Ken Jennings joked at the beginning of the episode that Tyler was forced to return to the episode after he won $8,200 from the last one.
Who is Justin White?
White's 'Jeopardy!' profile calls him the 'Director of Orchestra Personnel' from Overland Park, Kansas. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been working for the Kansas City Symphony for the past 15 years. He first joined the symphony as an assistant personnel manager back in 2007 after graduating from college. As the director, he is "the main point of contact between musicians and management in all matters, especially as they pertain to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and related processes."
White received his dual degree graduate diploma from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Trumpet Performance and Music Education. During his time there, he performed with groups like the University Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, British Brass Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Trumpet Ensemble. He then went on to get his Master's in Music from The University of Kansas.
How did Justin White win?
White was struggling initially and even reached a negative score at one point. He turned the game around towards the end of the Double Jeopardy round where he got closer to Tyler's lead score. The three contestants, including Erin Sheedy, had scores of $15,000, $9,200, and $7,000.
But it was the final round where he finally managed to surprise everyone. The Final Jeopardy question was from the category of 'Olympic Teams'. The clue was: "A city of about 2.5 million people, since 1984 for political reasons it has been in the name of an Olympic team." Only White was the one with the correct answer "Taipei" and garnered the winning price of $14,701. White will now be facing Ittai Sopher and Mia McGill in tomorrow's episode.
