Who Is ‘Jeopardy!’ Player of the Season for Season 40?
As Jeopardy! prepares to wrap up Season 40 on Friday (July 26), fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the player of the season while looking ahead to the upcoming Tournament of Champions.
On the Jeopardy! Reddit forum, one fan put up a poll asking fans to choose their Season 40 player of the season. The options included multi-day champs like Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, Amy Hummel, Allison Betts, and Survivor alum Drew Basile.
As of writing, Harmeyer is leading the poll with 163 votes. Harmeyer, an archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, won 15 consecutive games earlier this year and accumulated $351,600. She was ultimately defeated by Basile, who went on to win seven games. Basile is currently third in the poll with 26 votes.
Hirsch, who recently won nine games in a row, sits in second with 119 votes. The customer support team lead from Burbank, California, quickly became a fan favorite, but a “bad math” blunder cost him his winning streak in dramatic fashion.
Commenting on the thread, one fan wrote, “It’s Adriana by default since she’s won the most games, but I’d say Isaac is probably the favorite to win the ToC.”
“I want to say Isaac but Adriana was a killer,” said another.
“Adriana’s dominance without using the Forrest bounce puts her on top for me. That being said, she’ll need to play & wager more aggressively to hang in the TOC,” wrote another commenter.
Another added, “I LOVED Adriana and I am glad she’s winning this poll! I remember during her run a lot of Redditors said she was boring but she has probably been my favorite champ this season.”
“I voted Adriana, although she may have not been as dominant as players like Issac and Drew, she managed to win many close games and that is an underrated skill,” said one user.
“What a great season this has been, with so many smart, likable champions. The TOC is going to be something,” added another.
One fan believed Harmeyer could have continued her streak if she’d “gotten the more customary break after clearing two tape days.” As producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss mentioned on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, this season has seen more three consecutive tape days compared to the usual two tape days.
“Five of Adriana’s first seven games were runaways too, which may be more indicative of her ability. No excuses, yet fatigue, which all of the champions this season have mentioned as a factor in their runs, must have been intense for Adriana,” said one fan.
Who do you think was the player of the season? And who are you rooting for in the TOC? Let us know in the comments below.
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