Spoiler alert for people who record Jeopardy! and haven’t watched Wednesday night’s episode yet.
Isaac Hirsch, a customer support team manager from Burbank, CA but originally from Montgomery County, grew up a fan of Jeopardy! And now he’s making headlines on the show as a contestant.
Isaac Hirsch was going for five wins a row Tuesday night. He told Jeopardy.com that his strategy is to have fun and not take himself too seriously.
“I think you can get in your own head a lot,” Isaac said. “So, I’m trying to be like a loose quiz-playing automaton.”
It worked. He won Tuesday night.
With his fifth win, Hirsch, who grew up in Ashton, was a quiz bowl contestant while at Blake High School and studied at the University of Maryland, qualified for the next Tournament of Champions where he will face off against Season 40 champions Drew Basile, Adriana Harmeyer, Amy Hummel, and Alison Betts.
“They all seem really good,” Isaac said of his fellow competitors. “You know, you watch people on TV go on big streaks, and you’re like, ‘Wow, I could never do that.’ And somehow, I’ve done it.”
On Wednesday night, he went for six in a row and won again and now has a total of $141,388 in winnings.
“The goal coming in was to win one or two games and not embarrass myself,” Isaac told Jeopardy!.com after winning five games in a row. “So, this was surprising and welcomed.”
As a child, Isaac said he would watch Jeopardy! and always dreamed of competing on the show.
“Jeopardy! has always been the goal in like all of my trivia pursuits,” Isaac said. “So, this has been a wonderful experience.”
During his first game, the six-game champion revealed his love for Jeopardy! runs in his family.
“My dad was on Jeopardy! in the ’80s, one of the first years Alex hosted, and he lost,” Isaac said. “I used to tease him about it as a kid.”
“And if I mess up, which I have…so what, it comes with the territory.”
