It’s pretty hard to beat out Jamie Ding, who won 31 games of Jeopardy! earlier this season, but Caleb Groen did it in one category — the highest payout in Season 43 so far.
On July 9, Groen, a law and policy student, ended his sixth game with a total of $60,000. Host Ken Jennings noted that it was the “biggest payday this season, besting even Jamie Ding.”
Ding, a bureaucrat, became an overnight sensation as he won 31 games and $885,605, including the second-place prize during his 32nd game. Ding had the three highest payout amounts this season until Groen swooped in and beat him.
Groen, from Thousand Oaks, California, talked about the accomplishment in an after-show video on Jeopardy!’s Substack. “Earlier we told you that the record for the season was around $56,000, so you knew you could inch ahead of Jamie Ding, who is in the top three spots,” Jennings told Groen. “But now it goes Caleb, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie.”
“I’m really not sure I can beat his streak, so I figured why not at least that one record?” Groen said with a smile on his face.
“When I meet him at the Tournament of Champions, we’ll have something to talk about,” Groen said.
“Yeah, I think he’ll love that,” Jennings laughed.
“Maybe that isn’t the best idea to get him angry right away,” Groen laughed.
“When you bring that up: ‘Hey Jamie, I remember you. I saw you behind me on the list of highest-scoring games in the season,’” Jennings joked.
“He seems like a very nice guy,” Groen said.
“He’s lovely,” Jennings said. “But, $60,000 in a game. That’s not bad for 30 minutes’ work.”
Both Groen and Ding will face off against many other multi-day champions from the season in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. Find out how long Groen’s streak will continue as he plays his ninth game on July 14.
Despite having the highest payout of the season so far, Groen is nowhere near the top 10. James Holzhauer holds every one of those positions, which he earned in 2019. The tenth-place spot is for $89,229, and the highest of all-time is $131,127, according to the Leaderboard of Legends.
Season 43 ends on Friday, July 24. Will Groen’s reign continue until the end of the season?
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock