A ‘Survivor’ Contestant Just Shocked Fans By Beating 15-Time ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Adriana Harmeyer

By Alex Vena
Published June 20, 2024, 1:33 p.m. ET

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It turns out that Survivor alum Drew Basile has both survival skills and smarts, and took his latter talents to Jeopardy! this week.

Basile, who competed on Season 45 of the CBS reality show, bested Tekla Sauter and 15-time Jeopardy! champ Adriana Harmeyer on Wednesday’s (June 19) episode, per Entertainment Weekly. According to EW, he teased to host Ken Jennings on the air that “it’s not [his] first rodeo.”

“I lasted 23 days of 26 with no shelter or food, which affected the noggin a little bit, but I’m hoping to be back on course for Jeopardy,” he shared.

As for how the two shows compare, he explained that “Survivor’s pretty hard on the body, but Jeopardy’s tough on the mind, so I’ll tell you after.”

Basile, a graduate student in pursuit of a master’s degree in English Literature at the University of Oxford in England, took home $23,842, per EW, and received praise from fellow Survivor Season 45 contestant Austin Li Coon on X, who wrote that he’s “unbelievably proud of [him] for taking down a jeopardy legend!!!!”

According to TV Insider, Harmeyer was on her way to becoming one of the Top 10 Jeopardy! winners of all time, if not for Wednesday night’s loss. Harmeyer, who is an archivist at Purdue University, received a shoutout from the school’s Libraries and School of Information Studies on X, who noted that she currently ranks 11th, and will be competing in the Tournament of Champions next March.

Harmeyer got some love from fans online, one of whom wrote on X, “adriana harmeyer is ALWAYS a champion to me.”

One fan called her “the most likable Jeopardy Superchampion in a long time,” while another congratulated both her and Basile, noting that “the Adriana Harmeyer era is now over.”

Jeopardy! airs on weeknights. Check out their website for your local listings.