‘Jeopardy!’: Jonathan Hugendubler ‘Almost Collapsed’ After Beating Scott Riccardi

‘Jeopardy!’: Jonathan Hugendubler Almost ‘Collapsed’ After Scott Riccardi Defeat

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Taking down a Jeopardy! giant is something only a handful of people can say they have done. Jonathan Hugendubler knows what that feels like after beating 16-game champion Scott Riccardi during the season finale, and he spoke to host Ken Jennings about how he felt about it.

The clip was released after Jeopardy! executive producers Michael Davies and Sarah Whitcomb-Foss launched a Substack for the game show. Substack is an online platform that allows its users to publish newsletters directly to their subscribers for free or a paid subscription.

Davies and Whitcomb-Foss shared a new episode of the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast on July 29, which will be shared on the Substack from now on. Davies’ newsletters will also appear on there, as well as a book club, and news about all of the Jeopardy! shows.

Just like any other Inside Jeopardy episode, they shared a never-before-seen clip from the show. For this episode, they shared Riccardi, Hugendubler, and Charlotte Cooper, talking to Jennings after Hugendubler’s shocking win.

“Jonathan, you look like you’re as close to the edge of collapse as I’ve ever seen in a Jeopardy! player,” Ken Jennings said in the clip.

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“I did not expect to win,” Hugendubler admitted, which made the host laugh. “I’ve been in the green room all day. I’ve been seeing it all.”

“So, you’ve seen a lot of dominant Scott Riccardi victories here?” Jennings asked.

“I mean, I was in the negatives at the end of Single Jeopardy, so I was like…” He made a cringing face.

“You started the game with three incorrect responses, but you didn’t let it get in your head, apparently,” Jennings said.

Getting emotional, Hugendubler replied, “It was truly a rollercoaster. As you know, I got off to a bad start, and I was like, ‘I’m not going out like this,’ and I had to recenter myself.”

“You were at -$2,600. At that point, I was not like, ‘Ahh, this is the guy!’” the host said. Everyone laughed as Jennings said, “No offense.”

“But, that’s very fair!” Hugendubler said.

Jennings then ended the clip by talking to Riccardi and asking him how he felt about his loss. The champion shared that he feels like he can have a relaxing summer. He said he feels like an “Italian Dorothy,” where he thinks he’s going to wake up and it’s all going to be a dream.

Jeopardy!, Season 42, September, check local listings