Jeopardy!’s Isaac Hirsch loses 9-day streak on shocking mistake that left him ‘in horror’ & reliving wager in his sleep

JEOPARDY! champion Isaac Hirsch has lost after nine wins in an utterly tragic last-minute twist on Tuesday night.

The show’s latest big winner made a Final Jeopardy math mistake and was left holding up his scratch paper in disbelief as the credits rolled.

Isaac Hirsch lost on a math error on this ‘Timothy Leary’ triple stumperCredit: ABC

He locked in an oversized wager that lost him the gameCredit: ABC

Isaac stared at his wagering scrap paper as Jay Fisher was declared the new champ in a shocker upsetCredit: ABC
Isaac – who’d amassed $215,390 as the reigning champ since July 3, was considered a shoo-in to win his tenth game.

The Burbank, California team lead—looking to reach super-champion status—faced Erika Stromerson from Woodinville, Washington, and brief senator Jay Fisher from Lisle, Illinois.

The first sign of trouble came in the Jeopardy! round, where Isaac stumbled into last place after floundering a $3000 fish Daily Double.

Jay, meanwhile, stormed ahead with $7000, Erika had $600, and the champ $400.

“You are in third place, I believe, for the first time in your run,” Ken Jennings said as Isaac winced.

In Double Jeopardy!, Isaac’s off-his-game performance continued when he found the other Daily Doubles back-to-back.

He missed the second Daily Double for $5000 and was correct on the third, but made a cautious bet less than the allotted amount.

He and Jay fought tooth and nail, and Isaac wound up in a close second place in Final Jeopardy with $15,300, Jay an impressive $16,200, and Erika with $600.

ISAAC’S FINAL FUMBLE

Tensions were high as the “1960s People” clue was revealed.

It was, “He said that California prison psych tests he took were ones he had designed, so he made himself look docile & unlikely to escape; then he did.”

No one correctly came up with “Timothy Leary,” and as the results were being revealed, Isaac realized what had gone wrong.

He accidentally over-wagered with $14,000, which dropped his score to $1,300.

Jay wagered $14001, which made him the new champ with a one-day total of just $1,799.

Isaac did a full 360 at his podium and held up his pink wagering scrap paper to the camera.

He looked astonished as it dawned on him that the amount was too large to win if he was incorrect while the credits played.

Jeopardy! champ Isaac Hirsch jokes he’s the ‘awkward kid’ in rowdy old stand-up clip as fans gush, ‘love him!’

‘UNFORTUNITE!’

Fans were also astonished, flooding social media in shambles over Isaac’s loss and the sheer drama of it all.

“Wow crazy ending there #jeopardy,” one X user wrote.

“Isaac Hive, we’ll rise again! #Jeopardy,” wrote another.

“Jay killing it on Jeopardy!” wrote a third.

“Ah man, I’m disappointed that Isaac lost, but at least he’ll be back in the TOC,” another fan wrote on Reddit.

“Rough day for Isaac, but the fatal blow came when he made a fatal wagering error in the Final Jeopardy,” wrote a fifth. “Had Isaac wagered any amount less than $13,500. He would have won.”

‘SEEING BAD MATH IN MY SLEEP’

Isaac chimed into the Reddit game thread, where he addressed the loss.

He wrote, “Okay, so why did I wager $14,000? The short answer is I did the math wrong. (Although I guess it’s kind of obvious based on how I spent the first minute after the game looking at my scratch paper in horror.)

“I was trying to subtract 14,401 from 16,200, and somehow came up with 1300 instead of 1800 as the number I needed to arrive at if I got it wrong, hence the 14,000 wager.”

Isaac said the blunder was so brutal that it’s all he thought about – and dreamt about – for weeks after taping.

“I spent the weeks after the taping seeing the bad math in my sleep. I remembered basically nothing about most of the games last week, but EVERYTHING about this game.

“All credit to Jay, who absolutely murdered me on the buzzer, especially in the first round. This was bound to happen— I barely survived yesterday and I was just really, really tired.

“It’s been a fun experience watching these air back and I appreciate how nice people have mostly been to me. I’ll have a lot to prove in ToC.

“Not least that I can do basic arithmetic,” he closed.

Fans rallied behind Isaac in the thread, telling him to keep his head up.

“You had a great run and were a joy to watch, Isaac!” one replied.

“That’s brutal. Id imagine you secured a recurring nightmare for the rest of your life,” wrote another.

“Hey don’t kick yourself, you’re still number 2 in rankings. Looking forward to seeing you in the TOC,” wrote a third.

Jay also wrote in the game thread that he was “in shock” to have won.

“I haven’t had a chance to watch the episode yet, but I was in shock when I won. I wonder if it shows.

“Isaac is a great competitor, and he wasn’t feeling his best. Any other day, the results would have been different. I will be cheering him on in the ToC. Congratulations on a great run, and good luck in the ToC.”

Isaac will return for the 2025 Tournament of Champions, while Jay will try for a second win on Wednesday’s episode.

Isaac opened up about messing up his ‘basic arithmetic,’ which left him ‘in horror’Credit: Reddit

HIRSCH’S HOT STREAK

Isaac may be done on the Jeopardy! stage for now, but he has plenty to be proud of.

The Maryland native finished with the second-longest winning streak of Season 40, only behind 15-day champ Adriana Harmeyer.

He won over fans with his hilarious Q&A stories – no surprise, given he’s a stand-up comedian.

During one win, he recalled impersonating Jeff Goldblum for a pool ballet gig, unable to capture the actor’s “strange, raw sexual energy.”

During another win, he recalled a “brutal” stand-up set where his mic wouldn’t turn as he performed on a minor league baseball field.

He also shared a recent fitness journey that left his figure “exactly the same” after “bulking up and gaining 30 pounds.”

“Protect Isaac at all costs how is he so effortlessly funny,” one Instagram user recently praised.

“I don’t recall any contestant having such a run of funny and/or charming anecdotes,” wrote another.

That said, Isaac’s gameplay was no joke. He went 272 correct, 47 incorrect on clues overall, 14/20 on Daily Doubles (three misses in tonight’s game), and 7/10 on Final Jeopardy.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

Isaac also notably turned heads with his look- a signature stache and wardrobe that gave ’70s menswear.

“That current champion looks like a 70s p*rn star,” one Facebook user recently snarked.

“I’m guessing Isaac hit Studio 54 after that show’s taping,” mocked another.

In an Instagram post, Isaac shut down his fashion haters, writing, “The Internet is divided on my love of 70s menswear.

“Good news for the haters: I am almost out of vintage shirts approved by wardrobe. So if I keep winning, the fits are going to get a lot more subdued.”

He also shared, “I went into this with actually pretty low confidence – as a local alternate, I watched seven games get filmed before I taped.”

AVENGING HIS FATHER

Isaac came in hot during his first win with a Q&A story revealing that his dad appeared on Jeopardy! – and lost – 30 years ago.

“My dad was on Jeopardy! in the ’80s and one of the first years Alex hosted, and he lost,” said Isaac.

“I used to tease him about it as a kid. Like Weird Al’s ‘I Lost On Jeopardy!,” being like, ‘It’s about you, Dad!’”

HIS GAME SHOW HISTORY

Isaac is also no stranger to the game show circuit, aside from the stand-up comedy circuit.

In 2023, he won $140,000 on the ABC game show The Chase, defeating Chaser and nine-day Jeopardy! champion Buzzy Cohen.

In 2017, Isaac also appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning $5,000 after botching the $20,000 question.

So far, the other qualifiers for the next Tournament of Champions are Survivor alum Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Celebrity Jeopardy!’s Lisa Ann Walter.