JEOPARDY! star Grant DeYoung has said goodbye after his winning streak came to an end last week, but that doesn’t mean he’s gone for good.
Fans were shocked to discover a little-known rule that could see the return of the four-day winner.
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Last Tuesday, Grant was defeated after a four-day winning streak.
He racked up a total of $81,203 for his run on the game show when his fifth game, in which he landed in second place, came to an end.
Though his time on regular Jeopardy! is over, Grant could be back for one of the show's special runs.
Host Ken Jennings told Grant he "had a feeling" he'll return for the next Tournament of Champions, despite only having four consecutive wins.
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The last tournament ended a few months ago and saw Yogesh Raut, Ben Chan, and Troy Meyer battle it out in the finals, with Yogesh winning it all.
Many fans were confused by Grant possibly being able to join the next tournament, though, as they believed that contestants needed to have at least five wins to join ToC.
“Why will he be back," one surprised fan asked on Instagram. "I thought 5 wins for toc?”
GRANT-ING HIM ACCESS?
Others echoed the question, but some helpful fans explained that that's not actually a set rule, and it depends on the eligibility window for the tournament and how well other players do.
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“Victoria [Groce] was only a 1-day champ during her original Jeopardy appearance, so maybe we will see [Grant] again someday," one fan said.
“I hope so. They brought back Yogesh [Rout] and I think he only won a couple of games," a second Instagram user said.
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“All 4 game champions were eventually qualified at ToC in the last 3 editions," another fan explained.
"With a shorter eligibility window and the expansion of ToC field in the last 2 editions, I think Grant might get in the 32nd ToC," the user continued.
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"Since 2021 TOC where all 4 game champions competed, some of them made it to the semifinals," the Instagram user added.
Either way, fans said they’ll be rooting for Grant if he’s chosen to return for the next Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions.
Another rule fans were surprised to learn during Grant’s run on the show was that contestants could use chairs.
LITTLE-KNOWN RULES
"Looks as if we have another tall one, and his name is Grant he was sitting in a chair tonight," one fan speculated.
"Why do some contestants sit on chairs and others stand? Just curious, no complaints," a second online user asked.
Grant decided to explain his situation and hopped on Reddit to do so.
The contestant revealed the producers allowed him to sit in a chair because he suffers from "back arthritis."
Jeopardy! Universe
Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:
Jeopardy! - (primetime) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm.
Tournament of Champions - 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Celebrity Jeopardy! - 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Jeopardy! Masters - 2023 to present, features six notable recent Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Jeopardy! National College Championship - 2022 to present, undergraduates from 36 colleges and universities across America compete to win $100,000.
Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years.
"They give it if you ask," he shared. "I have some back arthritis that makes standing still for that long very difficult."
"I wouldn't expect everyone who sits for Jeopardy! to disclose their reason for needing one, but I don't mind saying mine," Grant added.
He's not the only player to recently request a chair on the game show.
NOT ALONE
Amy Schneider used one during the end of her run on Jeopardy! Masters last week.
“I have watched #Jeopardy my whole life and today is the first time I saw a chair,” one viewer tweeted after noticing Amy sitting. “I thought they were always standing.”
“I only noticed because Amy was moving around in it,” the X (formerly Twitter) user explained.
“Didn’t know that either,” another fan admitted.
Jeopardy! champs who also sat in a chair on show from Grant DeYoung and Troy Meyer- and more secret rules revealed
After losing in the semifinals, Amy revealed on X that she wasn't feeling her best at the end of the competition.
“It's a fact that I wasn't feeling well on the day we taped the semifinals,” she said.
"They had a chair out for me because I was experiencing some dizziness and wasn't sure I could stand for a whole episode," Amy explained.
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She then insisted that that's not why she lost, though, as she believed that while she needed to be at the top of her game to have a chance at winning, the other players didn't need to be at their peak to do so.
Victoria Groce ended up winning the Masters tournament, while Yogesh Raut came in second, and James Holzhauer in third.
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