‘Jeopardy!’ contestant loses 15-game winning streak to ‘Survivor’ star in huge upset
The tribe has spoken.
A former “Survivor” contestant beat a “Jeopardy!” contestant who was on a 15-game winning streak on Wednesday night’s episode.
Drew Basile, 23, who came in sixth place on Season 45 of “Survivor,” dominated the match against returning champion Adriana Harmeyer, 34, and Tekla Sauter.
Harmeyer, an archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, was the odds-on favorite to win her 16th game in a row.
But she couldn’t outplay Basile, a Michigan-based graduate student who is pursuing a master’s degree in English Literature at the University of Oxford in England.
Basile mentioned his “Survivor” past when he introduced himself to host Ken Jennings.
“It’s not my first rodeo, Ken. I had the privilege of being on ‘Survivor’ recently,” he said. “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!'”
Basile also explained how the CBS competition series compares to the syndicated game show.
“’Survivor’ is hard on the body, but ‘Jeopardy!’ is hard on the mind, so I’ll tell you after,” he said.
Basile answered 21 questions correctly and took home $23,482. He only missed five questions, including Final Jeopardy.
“As Alex Trebek used to say, we have a Giant Killer on our hands, rarely as giant as this!” Jennings, 50, told Basile. “Congrats Drew on the big win!”
Harmeyer had won nearly $350,000 before she was knocked off the show by Basile.
Trebek pointed out that Harmeyer had the 11th-longest winning streak in “Jeopardy!” history, accruing almost $350,000, before her loss. He also confirmed that Harmeyer will compete on the next “Tournament of Champions.”
Fans were shocked after witnessing the huge upset and shared their reactions on social media.
“I’m actually a little sad we’re losing Adriana Harmeyer from @Jeopardy after so many days,” one fan tweeted.
“Adriana harmeyer is ALWAYS a champion to me,” another person wrote.
A third person said, “Weird sadness / nerd rage over #Jeopardy today.”
Some fans also ragged on Basile.
“I don’t like that the Survivor guy is on. He had his moment in the sun,” said one fan.
Another tweet read, “Nah, don’t wink Drew! Eh, I hate winkers.”
“God dammit I hate Drew. Total a douchebag,” a different fan wrote.
Basile is the first “Survivor” contestant to be on “Jeopardy!”
He’ll compete against Bob Longstreth, a superior court judge from California, and Jonquil Garrick-Reynolds, a theatrical wardrobe technician from Canada, on Thursday’s episode.
“Jeopardy!” airs weekdays at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.
