Jeopardy! 12-game champion Adam Remsen, an attorney and theatre producer from Memphis, Tennessee, saw his winning streak end on a final Jeopardy question about a 1958 novel. The category was 20th Century Novels, and the clue read: 'David Ben-Gurion called this 1958 book “as a piece of propaganda… the greatest thing ever written about Israel.”' Remsen answered 'What is Fiddler on the Roof?' but the correct response was 'What is Exodus?' by Leon Uris.
How the final round unfolded
Remsen faced contestants Mandy Moreno, a social psychologist from Brooklyn, and Richard Nguyen, a research attorney from California. In the final round, Remsen wagered $8,001, reducing his total to $12,779. Nguyen correctly answered and wagered $6,401, ending with $20,801 and dethroning the champion.
Remsen's strategy and success
Despite the loss, Remsen left as the most successful Jeopardy! contestant from Tennessee and joint 17th on the all-time champions list. He earned $306,415 over 12 games. Speaking to the Commercial Appeal, he revealed his preparation: 'I knew what my weak spots were, so I studied those, which were opera, 19th century presidents, European monarchs and rivers.' He added, 'It's so hard to get on Jeopardy! that on every question, you have to assume that at least two of the contestants know the answer. So it's not a knowledge contest, it's a buzzer contest.'
2026's top champions
Remsen is not the most successful contestant of 2026. That honor belongs to Jamie Ding, who won 31 games earlier this year, taking home $882,605 and becoming the fifth all-time most successful contestant. The all-time champion Ken Jennings, now the show's host, won 74 games and over $2.5 million.
