‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Klay Frappier Speaks Out After Loss

Jeanne Frappier

Klay Frappier was part of the one-game champions that cursed Jeopardy! during June. Now, the winner is speaking out about what went wrong during his second game and how he panicked on the buzzer.

On June 27, Frappier, 28, earned $20,001 during his first game after defeating one-day champion Rocco Graziano. During his second game, he didn’t know the Final Jeopardy question, and ended the game in second place on June 30.

Klay Frappier hosted a watch party at Hen House Bar & Restaurant in south Moorhead, Minnesota, and talked to local publication, InForum, about how he “took his foot off the gas.”

“I kind of got a little too comfortable, and all of a sudden I lost my advantage on the buzzer … then I kind of started to panic and I over-corrected, and I buzzed in on questions that I wasn’t that confident in, and I got incorrect responses there. So I kind of threw myself off of my rhythm,” he told the publication.

His parents were among those who attended the watch party. His mom, Jeanne, said she had “absolute pride” for him.

“We’re super proud of him. Yeah, he’s such a good kid,” Klay’s dad, Kyle, told the outlet.

Klay’s love for Jeopardy! started when he watched with his grandmother, who loved game shows. “That was always the one that stood out to me, because it always felt the most challenging and the most fast-paced,” he said.

While at the University of Jamestown, Frappier and his friends attended trivia nights at local bars. His current trivia team were in attendance at the watch party as well. His specialties are in pop culture, including movies, TV shows, music, and sports. After studying in college, he first took the Jeopardy! test in his senior year and then every year since, until he got on this year.

However, during his short-lived Jeopardy! run, Frappier aced the invertebrates category. “I wasn’t expecting it to be a strong suit of mine, but it turned out that it was,” he said.

Frappier said that it was a “rush” being on the famous Alex Trebek stage and noted that he got to meet host Ken Jennings, “which is just a really cool fact on its own.” Frappier took home a total of $23,001 between both games. He joined the 13 contestants who have been on a one-day streak. 

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