UBC graduate to return to Jeopardy! as champion

A University of British Columbia graduate won Jeopardy! Tuesday and will return as champion Wednesday night.

Basking in the spotlight of his win, Brendan Liaw says he always wanted to play on the trivia game show.

“I’m one of those contestants where it’s been a lifelong dream for me,” Liaw told The Leader Spirit Wednesday. “Watched it when I was a kid and realized pretty early on that I knew quite a bit of the answers and so made it a goal to be on the show one day.”

Liaw says he got the call saying he was going to be a contestant just four weeks before shooting. He says he prepared the way he had his whole life, by studying books, movies, and news stories, but says there are some aspects for which he couldn’t as easily train.

“The buzzer, it’s killer. If you saw last night’s game, I was struggling a bit in the first half and managed to eke a win out. My two competitors were very good and very tough,” Liaw explained.

“Also, making small talk on camera is really difficult. No one tells you about it, but I wish I’d prepared for the small-talk section more.”

Back in the days of Alex Trebek, Liaw says he visited the Jeopardy! set as a member of the audience. He says returning as a contestant to meet Ken Jennings was “surreal.”

“He’s a hero to many people who were fans of Jeopardy!, myself included. So it’s just great to talk to him. He’s super nice, super witty, and he really understands what it’s like to be a contestant, because he’s done it before. So he’s very, very kind about the whole process.”

Liaw says the game went well, as he sought out high-priced answers and hunted the famous ‘Daily Double’ challenge — though unsuccessfully.

“I think I accidentally brought my ‘Daily Double repulsor’ that day.”

Finally, faced with an NFL category in Final Jeopardy, Liaw says he was feeling unsure.

“I don’t watch a lot of American football as a Canadian. But I suspect as an American, I would also not watch a lot of American football. So hey — it would have been tough for me either way.”

He says he won with a well-calculated final wager.

Liaw will appear in the next pre-recorded episode of Jeopardy!, which airs at 7 p.m. Pacific Time Wednesday.

—With files from Jack Morse and Amy Beeman.