Rowan Ward, a nonbinary contestant in the Second Chance Tournament on Jeopardy!, won their semifinal game in an episode that aired Wednesday and advanced to the two-part finals in the tournament, which will be broadcast Thursday and Friday.Ward competed last year against Matt Amodio, one of the top champions of the 2021-2022 season.
The Second Chance Tournament, which began airing last week, gives Ward and others who lost to big winners like Amodio, Amy Schneider, and Mattea Roach the opportunity to claim a berth in the Tournament of Champions, which begins airing Monday and brings together all the leading champs of the season.Ward took an early lead on Wednesday’s show and dominated the game.
They finished with $36,800 and were the only player to answer the Final Jeopardy! question correctly.When Ward was on the show last year, they were not out publicly as nonbinary and competed under a different name.
They had expressed some regret about being known under a deadname, but on Wednesday’s episode, they discussed their nonbinary identity.