It was a close call for five-day Jeopardy! champion Adam Remsen when he competed against Jacob Ross-Ewart. The contestant spoke out after almost winning the game. Fans said he deserved a spot in the Second Chance Tournament.
He played against Deidre Purcell, an artistic director and director of education from Lowell, Massachusetts, and five-day champion Adam Remsen, an attorney and theater producer from Memphis, Tennessee. Remsen had a five-day total of $99,601.
Although Ross-Ewart ended the first round with only $600, Double Jeopardy put him in contention for first place. On clue three, he found the first DD. He wagered the allotted $2,000 since he only had $1,400.
The clue in “Science & Nature” was “They’re the 2 chemical elements whose symbols begin with ‘K.’” Ross-Ewart correctly answered with “What is potassium and krypton?,” giving him $3,400. Remsen had $11,200.
Remsen then found the second DD, getting it right for an additional $5,000, putting him in a far lead. From there, Ross-Ewart picked up momentum and ended with $11,800.
Remsen had $25,00 while Purcell’s total was $9,800. This final would determine who would win.
Ross-Ewart was the only one to get the Final Jeopardy clue right. In “Holidays and Observances,” the clue was “July 6, 2025, was designated a ‘Day of Compassion’ & the start of a ‘Year of Compassion’ in honor of his 90th birthday.” The correct response was “Who is the Dalai Lama?”
Purcell answered, “Who is Jimmy Carter?” She was wrong and wagered $5,000, ending her with $,800. Ross-Ewart had the correct response and wagered $7,801, making his final total $19,601.
Since Remsen got his answer wrong, Ross-Ewart had some hope of winning. He answered, “Who is [Fred] Rogers?” Remsen wagered only $99, giving him a final total of $24,901. He won his sixth game and will return on Monday for his seventh game.
Ross-Ewart spoke out about his game on Reddit. A few fans echoed that the game show contestant should come back for Second Chance. “Jacob was a question or two away from knocking off a TOC qualifier. I’d put him in the field for the next second chance tourney,” one said.
“It’s a crowded field already, but his unique appearance and being the only one to get FJ correct gives him a leg up, I’d bet,” a fan replied, talking about his bow tie.
Ross-Ewart said, “FWIW, my thinking going into DJ was ‘I’m down by too much, if I find the DD now, it still won’t be enough to catch Adam,’ so I was actually trying to avoid them at first, bank a few more low-value questions, and hope I was able to find enough rhythm on the buzzer that I could still control the board when it was time to go DD hunting. Didn’t really pull it off, but it wasn’t so much about comfort.”
He went on to say that going into the game, he planned to target the high-value clues before hunting for the Daily Double, but after her had a rough first round, Ross-Ewart “tried anything to get going again.”
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