Defeating a Jeopardy! super champion is no small feat. Greg Shahade won the April 27 game after Jamie Ding had won 31 games and over $800,000. Now, the giant slayer is speaking out about his victory, his love for trivia, and more.
Shahade, a professional chess player, beat Ding, a bureaucrat and law student, by over $16,000. They played against teacher Katrina Puckett.
Shahade, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told Philadelphia Magazine that he was “very, very nervous” going in. Even though he was nervous to be on a game show and go up against someone who is now in the top five all-time Jeopardy! players, Shahade said that Ding is “the sweetest person, really, really nice.”
“Before the match, I did hype myself up a bit. Hit my chest a little bit, just kind of like to get pumped,” he said.
After Shahade won, Ding said “some really nice things” to him. Everyone applauded Shahade in the green room, and he didn’t know if it was because they were happy for him or happy that they didn’t have to face Ding.
“Then, they moved me to the champion’s dressing room — you get your own dressing room once you win. And then, you’re right back out there playing again in 20 minutes. You just had one of the biggest moments of your life, and then they throw me right back out there,” he said.
Shahade only got into trivia a few years. He first took the anytime test in 2024. He did a second test and then an interview, but he wasn’t invited to be on the show until January 2026.
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He said that five games are taped in a day and contestants don’t know when they are going to play, unless they are the winner, of course. “I think they just draw names out of a hat. It’s randomly decided,” Shahade said.
The champion had gotten drawn first and got to practice on the buzzer. “If you’re not good at the buzzer, they will tell you what they are doing wrong,” Shahade said. “I had no issues with the buzzer.”
Shahade gave Jeopardy! hopefuls advice and said that taking online practice tests is a must, as well as studying old Jeopardy! matches. “And then betting strategy is huge. You have to be a little aggressive with your bets, and it also helps if you can find those Daily Doubles. I found all three,” he shared.
About his “all-in” wagers, he knew he was going to do that from the beginning. During practice, he got Daily Soubles correct 83 percent of the time.
“So I really needed to bet on myself and just hope that the question is one that I know. And the one — the one about Oscar Wilde — I knew what it was, but I just couldn’t get the name of the play out. I was really panicked. Time was running out, and I was just going through every single Oscar Wilde play in my head, and just before time ran out came up with, ‘What is Lady Windermere’s Fan?’ And, fortunately, I was right,” he said.
Shahade took to Instagram to thank fans for their support and congratulate Ding on his successful run. “Thanks to everyone for all the support! Tune in at the same time tonight to watch me try to defend the title 😊Congrats to Jamie Ding on a historic run and for being such a great human,” he wrote.
Find out if Shahade will win game two or if he is a one-time giant slayer on Tuesday.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
