The Jeopardy! fandom is in full meltdown — and all eyes are on breakout champion Harrison Whitaker, whose rise has become the show’s biggest shock of the season. Viewers are desperate to know the six jaw-dropping facts behind the quiet contestant who’s suddenly dominating the game. From his unbelievable strategy to the twist that nearly ended his streak, every detail is turning him into a viral sensation. This is the story fans can’t stop clicking on — and the mystery everyone wants solved.

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What To Know

Harrison Whitaker, a 27-year-old from Terre Haute, Indiana, is a two-day Jeopardy! champion with $59,801 in winnings and a background as a freelance researcher and academic in England.
He has extensive quiz experience, having captained Cambridge’s University Challenge team to the semi-finals, written questions for the show, and led his team to victory in the British Student Quiz Championships.
Raised by educator parents, Whitaker credits his love of learning to his upbringing and teachers, and currently resides in England, where he enjoys the local culture and climate.

Harrison Whitaker, 27, is dominating the competition on Jeopardy! after his second win on November 12. While fans know that he “ate the board” during his second game, they may not know much about his personal life.

Whitaker, from Terre Haute, Indiana, has a two-day total of $59,801 and will hopefully add to that during his third game on November 13. He beat out Allegra Kuney during her fifth game.

From his job to his love of trivia, here is everything to know about Jeopardy! champion, Harrison Whitaker.

Whitaker does his research

Harrison Whitaker is a freelance researcher at Lifted Entertainment, according to his LinkedIn. He had held the position since September 2024. Lifted Entertainment is based in London, England, and is home to some of the biggest TV shows in the world, including Love Island, Dancing on Ice, The Voice, and I’m A Celebrity.

Before this job, he was a supervisor and seminar leader at the University of Cambridge, where he earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Film and Screen Studies in 2024. Before that, he earned his Master’s degree in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.

Whitaker’s other jobs included an associate lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and a writer at Relevance.

He has been on a trivia game show before

Whitaker sprang to fame across the pond earlier this year as a contestant on the long-running game show University Challenge, which has aired on TV since 1962. The show features two teams of four students from different British universities competing against each other in a knockout competition.

Whitaker captained Cambridge’s Darwin College team, and they made it through to the semi-finals. Viewers were amazed by Whitaker’s impressive knowledge and it seems the show bosses were, too, as he now has a job writing questions for University Challenge.

“It’s thrilling — and a bit strange – to go from answering questions on one series to writing them for the next. I just hope that I can play some small part in future contestants and teams having as much fun on the show as I did with Darwin,” he told Darwin College.

Whitaker is a British Quiz Champion

According to The Times, Whitaker is part of the British Student Quiz Championships, which he led his team to victory in March. He was the team’s highest scorer. Whitaker was also a part of the winning team in 2022.

Being on Jeopardy! made him nervous

Despite being a quiz master, Whitaker was nervous to step onto the Jeopardy! stage. “The moment I stepped behind the podium, I was more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life,” he told The Tribune Star. “So, if I look a bit shaky and pale, I hope everybody forgives me.” Whitaker thought he “face-planted” the online Jeopardy! test, but “something went right.”

Whitaker shared that his fellow contestants were nice, but nervous as well. “Everyone’s trying to size each other up, while trying to be congenial,” he said.

He was raised by teachers

His love of learning and facts came from his parents, Todd and Beth Whitaker, who were Indiana State University faculty members. They raised Harrison, as well as his sisters, Katherine and Madeline, in Indiana. Now, Todd and Beth are both professors at the University of Missouri, according to The Times.

He also credited his teachers and schools for instilling a love of learning in him. “I do absolutely credit my schools and my teachers for inspiring this sort of academical love of knowing as much as possible about as much as possible,” Whitaker told the outlet.

Whitaker feels right at home in England

Since going to school there, Whitaker has remained living in England. He revealed on Jeopardy! that he walked more than 200 miles from coast-to-coast across England in two weeks.

About living there, he told Tribune Star, “I weirdly like the weather. I like the cold, and like that it’s a bit dank. And I like not having a car.” He has also seemingly gotten into British pub culture, naming the Peveril of the Peak pub in Manchester as one of his favorite bars.

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