Jeopardy! champ Ben Chan soars to 3rd victory as fans spot 'unconventional' detail about his winning
JEOPARDY! contestant Ben Chan has clutched his third straight win on Friday's episode with an impressive combined $69,001 total.
Viewers have spotted that he "is holding the buzzer like it's a baby" and yet, "it seems to be working."
The returning champion faced Greg Czaja, a cardiologist for the U.S. Navy from San Diego, California (in uniform no less), and Kari Elsila, a grant strategy consultant from Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Ben is a philosophy professor at St. Norbert College from Green Bay, Wisconsin who keeps schooling his opponents.
For the first time since six-day champ Troy Meyer back in February, Ben achieved his third runaway - or ensured win by Final Jeopardy - out of three games.
While Greg made a solid comeback after dropping to $0 on the second Daily Double, Ben simply had his game face on.
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He nabbed clue after clue and had a sizable lead when he found the last Daily Double.
He stuck his tongue out a bit looking like he didn't know his move, bet $5,000, was correct, and essentially put the game away.
Going into Final Jeopardy, Ben had $20,800, Greg $8,000, and Kari had $7,200.
Final Jeopardy under "Writers' Lesser-Known Works" read: "Known for more philosophical works, he wrote the play 'La Mandragola,' in which Florentines are rewarded for immoral actions."
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Ben and Greg were both correct with "Machiavelli" - Ben added a safe $2,200 to win $23,000.
Jeopardy! fans were left buzzing over Ben's chops and also couldn't ignore his distinguished buzzer stance.
'CLUTCHING THE BUZZER LIKE IT'S A BABY'
At times, Ben held the signaling device as close to his chest as humanly possible and Twitter users cracked jokes across the board about it.
"Ben is holding his clicker like a baby and he’s absolutely adorable," one fan tweeted.
"Interesting handhold there Ben," wrote another.
"Watching Ben clutch that buzzer like it’s a lifesaver and he’s going down on the Titanic, seems to be working!" wrote a third.
"Ben certainly keeps his controller close to his heart," wrote a fourth.
Others applauded: "Ben is an awesome new player. Hope he makes the Tournament of Champions!" from which he's now one win away.
"Ben is killing it," wrote another: "Ben! may be around for a while," wrote a sixth.
One more person predicted: "I think Ben can become a super-champ."
A "super-champion" entails winning 10 games, which has not happened since the gentlemanly Ray LaLonde's 13-day streak even further back in January.
As far as the buzzer holding goes, Ben clapped back tweeting an image of him clutching his signaling device.
"As the old saying goes, 'show the buzzer kindness and the buzzer will respond in kind.'"
NEXT BIG CHAN-PION?
Ben - whose soft-spoken nature was a winning contrast to his podium signature (BEN!) - has clearly come to play.
His first win was $17,000 - which would have been higher barring a gutsy $7,000 Daily Double bet - his second win was a round $30,000.
Even Ken Jennings, 48, had to remark that Ben’s score during his debut was “all the more impressive given your big Daily Double wager in the first round.”
He told host Ken during his Q&A that he's "happy to say I beat" fellow Wisconsinite and former Jeopardy! guest host Aaron Rodgers "at pub trivia"
In his second Q&A, he shared that he taught his foster dog how to hug.
He's also found seven Daily Doubles in his three games and has an average of 93 percent on correct responses.
WATCH PARTY!
Ben watched back his first victory with a packed classroom cheering him on in a winning video at his Wisconsin-based college.
Ben did an interview while donning his Jeopardy! cap and revving up the projector for the all-out watch party.
Ben shared: "Starting in October [when he got The Call] I started studying with flashcard decks an hour a day.
It was really enjoyable because I know all of the countries in Africa but not necessarily where they are."
"I'd say about 75 percent of the studying was like that - was making me a better person, and 25 percent was making me a better Jeopardy! player," he said with a knowing smile.
"The day I taped back in January, all told it was a 10-hour day.
The gameplay was incredible and one of the most fun things I've ever done, but the downside was, like, being at the airport."
"I really respect the whole institution of Jeopardy! I wanted to honor the institution and make my family proud."
Ben received his BA from Swarthmore College and his PhD from UCLA, per his college's Flickr profile.
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Someone else recently wrote on Reddit: "Dude teaches at my College, campus is buzzing about him right now."
Ben's Twitter bio reads: "Jeopardy April 12 2023 - ???"
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