‘Jeopardy!’: Ben Chan Makes Wedding Crasher Confession in Stunning ‘JIT’ Game

Brittany Sims February 26, 2025, 7:30 pm

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, February 26 episode of Jeopardy!]

A Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament contestant made a shocking confession before winning Wednesday’s (February 26) episode. During the introductions, fan-favorite Ben Chan, a philosophy professor, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, admitted to crashing a wedding.

Chan started off the game in the hole as the first question that he picked was a Daily Double, and he got it wrong. Getting the DD wrong tripped him up and made his total under $1,000 before the first commercial break. His opponent, Shane Whitlock, from Benton, Arkansas, dominated the competition, racking up $5,600 halfway through the first round. The other contestant, Claire Sattler, a comedian and research scientist, was in the hole with $-200. Whitlock is a radiologist by day and a game show contestant by night. He is the 1996 College Championship winner.

During the introduction round, the contestants admitted some shocking things. The first was that Whitlock didn’t know that Marilyn Monroe was on the first cover of Playboy Magazine. Sattler, the 2018 Teen Tournament winner, tried to pitch herself to Pop Culture Jeopardy! host, Colin Jost, to be a writer on Saturday Night Live. He has been a staff writer on the show since 2005 and the coanchor of “Weekend Update”since 2014 with Michael Che.

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Perhaps the most shocking reveal of all was Chan’s confession: “I understand since the last time we saw you, you had a wedding incident. What happened?” host Ken Jennings asked.

“Yeah, so I checked Jeopardy! TOC bucket list item off. Next bucket list item was wedding crasher,” Chan admitted. “I was lingering on the sidewalk outside of a wedding. A couple of people recognized me from TOC and invited me in, and I woke up the next morning with my wife’s initials on me… It was a good time apparently.”

Jennings cracked up and asked if he actually crashed the wedding if he was invited. Chan said that it was a “vampire rule” for him. “I was not on the guest list, but I was invited.”

After the first round, Whitlock still led with $9,000. Chan was in second with $3,200, and Sattler was in third with $800, However, Whitlock’s luck was about to change.

In Double Jeopardy!, Chan, 2024 ToC winner and nine-time Jeopardy! champion, was fast on the buzzer. He answered a lot of questions correctly and was neck and neck with Whitlock. They both picked questions that were worth more money. Sattler barely got to answer any as the men battled it out. With the current lead at $19,600, Chan found the second Daily Double and only bet $5. Luckily, he did because he got it wrong once again.

'Jeopardy!' Battle is Decided on Final Question

Whitlock then answered a few questions correctly, catching up to Chan, especially when Chan answered a $2,000 question wrong and was now neck and neck with Whitlock. Whitlock found the next Daily Double and took away his lead by betting $3,500. He wasn’t sure either and his total dropped to $13,500.

Sattler appeared to have a hard time with her buzzer, fiercely pressing it. She ended the game with $0. Whitlock wound up in second with $14,700. Chan was the night’s big winner with $18,395.

The Final Jeopardy! question read: “The only 2 democrats to be elected president between James Buchanan in 1856 & FDR in 1932.”

Whitlock correctly answered, “Who are Wilson & Cleveland?” He wagered $6,000, making his final total $20,700. In a shocking turn of events, Chan answered: “Who are Wilson and Garfield?” He wagered $3694, making his final total $14,701. Sattler was unable to participate in Final Jeopardy! because her final total was $0.

Tomorrow’s final matchup before the semi-finals will have Seth Wilson, 12-game Jeopardy! winner, Jackson Jones, 2019 Teen Tournament semifinalist; 2nd place, 2023 High School Reunion Tournament, and Juveria Zaheer, Season 40 Second Chance & Champions Wildcard winner; 2024 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist.

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