One contestant has Jeopardy! fans reeling after entering an impressive five-day winning streak and a six-figure payout.
Harrison Whitaker, a researcher from Haute, Indiana, secured his fifth consecutive win, taking his earnings to a whopping $160,999, the “biggest payout of Season 42,” according to host Ken Jennings. He also secured a spot in the 2027 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions after missing the cutoff for the 2026 tournament by just one day.
Fans have been blown away by Harrison’s gameplay and vast knowledge of a wide range of subjects as he took on contestants Lawrence Suba and Rachel Bernstein on Monday.

Jeopardy! fans discussed Harrison’s elite gameplay on social media, with many noting that he is one of the toughest contenders of the season.

“This dude on Jeopardy is kicking a–,” one fan wrote, as a number of Jeopardy! aficionados chimed in with similar comments like “Harrison is on a tear,” “This Harrison guy on jeopardy is a problem,” and “My Guy Harrison is f—– HOOPIN on Jeopardy.”

Harrison was on fire as he buzzed in for 10 of the 15 clues on the board during the first round, answering every single one correctly. By the end of the game, he had answered an outstanding 34 questions correctly without a single incorrect guess.

Throughout his five-day winning streak, he has answered a total of 152 questions correctly and only 11 incorrectly. He is also 5 for 5 in correct responses on Final Jeopardy! questions. “He’s a very, very impressive player. Seems to have such a wide swath of knowledge, including pop culture, which seems to trip up a lot of the more bookish people,” one fan noted.

Unfortunately, the cutoff for this year’s Tournament of Champions was on Friday, November 14, meaning that the quiz show wiz will have to wait until 2027 for his shot at the $250,000 grand prize and the chance to compete on Jeopardy! Masters.

More fans praised the 27-year-old for his dominating gameplay. One fan wrote, “Oh my goodness gracious Harrison is just blowing the challengers away, wow just so impressive,” as another echoed, “Current jeopardy champ is insanely good. Best player I’ve seen in a while.”

“Harrison is just an absolute fricking delight to watch – my favorite contestant in a very long time,” another gushed, adding, “He’s such a nice person to the other contestants after winning, dominates games (without betting aggressively on DD’s, which is something I’m not used to. For me, he may be my favorite from the last few years. Keep on killing it, my man!”