‘Jeopardy!’: Isaac Hirsch Shares Emotional Message After His ‘Worst Game Ever’

Martin Holmes February 12, 2025, 7:26 am

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Jeopardy! fan favorite Isaac Hirsch is feeling the hurt after his agonizing defeat in Game 3 of the Tournament of Champions and has taken to social media to share what he was going through at the time.

In Tuesday’s (February 11) game, Hirsch faced off against fellow finalists Adriana Harmeyer and Neilesh Vinjamuri. He struggled to keep up with his opponents throughout the episode and then continued to buzz in toward the back half of the game, stopping Harmeyer from catching up to Vinjamuri and preventing his runaway victory.

After the episode aired on TV, Hirsch took to the Jeopardy! Reddit forum to share his thoughts on what happened, calling it “the worst game of Jeopardy I’ve ever played.”

“I don’t really have a lot to say about this game, as it’s the worst game of Jeopardy I’ve ever played and I’m sure I didn’t do a great job masking my disappointment about that,” the customer support team lead from Burbank, California said.

He continued, “At the same time, I’m hoping people don’t mistake my disappointment for a lack of grace— Neilesh and Adriana have both played fantastically and I’m genuinely happy for them.”

Hirsch went on to say that coming into the TOC, he “felt a greater sense of pressure than I did in my original Jeopardy run, where I didn’t expect much of anything good to happen. I came into this Tournament as a top seed and felt a lot of pressure to perform up to that, and thus really couldn’t shake the feeling that ultimately I was disappointing my family, friends, and various well-wishers with how I had been playing.”

“It’s a lot to emotionally process in a short time and I’m sorry if it makes me come off badly on television,” he added.

As for people saying he should have held off the buzzer and allowed Harmeyer a chance to close the gap on Vinjamuri, Hirsch said he wanted to “gently push back on the notion,” noting, “For one, the score at the time is 0-1-1, meaning the only reason I would let up at this moment is if I somehow believe Adriana is a weaker player and I should try and help her win.”

Isaac Hirsch Instagram

“Unfortunately, I don’t believe that— Adriana and Neilesh are BOTH really strong players and I’m going to have to climb out of a 2-1-0 hole against either one of them, so I’m not going to sit on my buzzer to advantage one or the other,” he continued.

“Obviously that changes next game— if I’m standing in the way of Adriana preventing a runaway against Neilesh, I’ll step aside. Keep in mind that’s no guarantee; Neilesh is really, really good at the buzzer,” Hirsch added.

He concluded with a joke, saying, “Anyway apparently I lied when I said I don’t have a lot to say about this game. At least I’ll always remember Diana Gabaldon’s name from now on,” referring to a clue he got wrong in Tuesday’s game.

Fans were accepting of Hirsch’s reasoning, with one Reddit user writing, “Your frustration/disappontment has been noticeable. But, IMO, it just seems like genuine disappointment, not like unsportsmanlike or anything negative.”

“No lack of grace at all. Your feelings are completely understandable,” said another. “You set high standards for yourself, it’s not going how you hoped or expected, and you’re a competitor. Thank you for sharing your insights with us, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing what Game 4 brings.”

Another wrote, “I hope you’re not beating yourself up over the facial expressions you’ve made during the games. I’ve never played but I imagine it’s a high-stress environment, particularly during the toc and your feelings are valid. There just happens to be a camera capturing them.”

'Jeopardy!': Neilesh Vinjamuri Gets Candid About Stress in Nailbiting TOC Finals Game

“I think it’s truly admirable that you came to the sub to share your thoughts and feelings with us both about your own game and your fellow competitors,” added another. “Of course, we here don’t know how it all ended but if it turns out that you didn’t have the success you would have liked don’t be too hard on yourself. You are a finalist in a Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions and that says it all.”

“I don’t think you have anything to apologize for Isaac. It’s natural to be frustrated and to me at least it does not come across as unsportsmanlike or disrespectful in the slightest,” said one fan.

“Your frustration comes off as genuine and understandable, I don’t think you come off poorly at all. I’m 100% rooting for you my man!” added another.

The TOC continues tonight, Wednesday, February 12, where Vinjamuri could win the entire tournament if he wins the episode.

What do you think of Hirsch’s performance so far? Are you enjoying the TOC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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