LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants weren’t supposed to face each other on the game show. Hannah was already on an eight-day winning streak and Ben was a returning champion with a three-day winning streak under his belt. But due to a rare scheduling oddity, the duo were pitted against each other and Hannah couldn’t face the force that is Ben Chan.
Ben recently ended a nine-day winning run which included a misspelled word and a controversial decision by host Mayim Bialik. A philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Ben amassed $252,600 during his run while her rival, Hannah Wilson, a data scientist from Chicago who couldn’t beat Ben, ended her winning run with $229,801. You would expect Ben and Hannah at odds with each other, avoiding each other’s presence due to their bitter rivalry on ‘Jeopardy!’ but the duo has surprised fans by reuniting for a trivia night at the Chicago Bar.
A 'victorious' night out
When Ben returned to ‘Jeopardy!’ and ended Hannah’s eight-day winning streak, fans were furious, and Hannah couldn’t have been more disappointed. It looked like that Hannah would take this defeat to her heart and will continue to curse Ben but all doubts were removed when she reunited with Ben to join a bar trivia team, along with several other familiar ‘Jeopardy!’ faces. It was a small reunion of Chicago’s 'Jeopardy!' alumni who attended the trivia night and went home with a gold and a silver medal.
Seven-time champion Brian Chang of Season 37, Cindy Zhang of Season 38, and 2022 Second Chance Tournament winner, Rowan Ward, were also present alongside Ben and Hannah. Brian clicked a photo of the group and posted it on his Twitter account channeling his excitement for his followers. He captioned the tweet, “Thanks to @cindypepper, Roy Camara, and @JeopardyBenBen for joining some of the Chicago #Jeopardy alumni at bar trivia tonight! Our teams took home the gold and silver.”
Exploring Ben and Hannah’s rivalry on 'Jeopardy!'
Ben had to leave the game show after a three-day winning streak as he contracted COVID. During his first three games, Ben won $69,001 with each game being a runaway before Final Jeopardy! While he was away, Hannah sprung to life and racked up a massive eight-game winning streak. Ben’s return was earmarked against Hannah by the show’s executives whose decision was critiqued by the fans, especially the fact that a returning champion was pitted against a current champion.
However, the show announced them as co-returning champions, and the unfortunate tie was won by Ben with many complaining that Hannah’s run should have been over before bringing Ben back into the mix. Nevertheless, Hannah and Ben seemed to have put the past behind them and have nothing but camaraderie between them.
