DANGER! contestant Isaac Hirsch surprised viewers with a powerful performance on Friday, instantly making him one to watch.
Isaac beat out Duke student Alex Wang and Colorado writer/editor Sarah Crocker, who confused fans with an inexplicable final bet.
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After two impressive wins, the stylish customer support team leader from Burbank, California was back for more.
In danger! round, Isaac advanced with $7,000, while Sarah had $3,000 and Alex (after a failed Daily Double) $400.
Double penalty! it was pure domination from the returning champion, who won both Daily Doubles for $2,000.
On Final Jeopardy, Isaac led at every commercial break and had a complete escape.
Not only that, but he tied Drew Basile’s record with a season-high 33 correct answers.
Isaac had $26,200, Sarah $5,000, and Alex $1,600; the clue was in the “World Languages” category.
It was: “The flag of Aruba features a 4-pointed star symbolizing its 4 main languages: the local Papiamento and these 3 imported ones.”
Was Alex correct with “English, Spanish, Dutch?” finishing with $2,010.
Sarah was wrong and surprisingly bet $4,500, falling to $500 and last place.
Isaac was also incorrect, losing $4,000, but it was just pocket change for him.
He won $22,200 for a three-day total of $70,186, which Ken Jennings hailed as “Awesome!”
‘WHY?’
Fans took to social media, where they were surprised by Isaac’s money moves and Sarah’s baffling final gamble.
If she hadn’t bet anything, she would have won a guaranteed second-place prize given the scores – instead, the large bet that couldn’t have won the game left her in third place.
“Am I missing something or did Sarah move up from second place and win an extra $1,000?” a fan asked in a Reddit thread.
“Why did she bet $4,500? The game was a huge success, with Isaac winning $26,200. Even though [Alex] bet everything and won, he couldn’t catch Sarah. She just needed to bet $0 and secure second place.”
“She did. The game was frozen twice if she had noticed,” lamented another.
“Worst bet I’ve ever seen,” wrote a third. “There’s no reason to bet anything.”
“I was also surprised by her bet,” wrote a fourth. “But at least the extra $1,000 became a bonus for Alex for being the one to get the FJ right.”
The prize for second place is R$3,000, while the prize for third place is R$2,000.
The rest praised the defending champion, whose streak is suddenly getting serious.
“Isaac with majority game (33 of 61). It’s almost impossible to beat someone like that,” wrote a fifth.
“I think Isaac will be on ToC Tracker on Monday. It was a scary performance,” wrote a sixth.
“Until looking at the stats, I didn’t realize how dominantly Isaac has played so far – his average Coryat score is 23,400. Granted, we’re only 3 games in, but that’s elite“, commented a seventh.
“I’m surprising Isaac! He is so nice and seems like a really fun person,” wrote another.
Isaac will be looking for his fourth victory on Monday, which would unofficially qualify him for the next Tournament of Champions.
The other qualifiers are Drew, Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins) and Lisa Ann Walter from Celebrity Jeopardy!
With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde are also likely to participate.
SAVANT GAME SHOW
Isaac arrived on Wednesday, June 3, and his streak comes a week after seven-day champion and Survivor alumnus Drew Basile was defeated.
Since then there have been a number of one-day champions, but no one expected another potentially long race so soon.
In terms of gameplay, Isaac scored 88 and 12 incorrect on the clues – nothing to sneeze at.
But he also has a vast resume of past games that are paying off now.
In 2023, Isaac won $140,000 on the ABC game show The Chase, defeating Chaser and nine-day Jeopardy! champion Buzzy Cohen.
In 2017, Isaac also appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning $5,000 after answering the $20,000 question incorrectly.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Isaac also drew attention for his vintage wardrobe style, sporting wide lapel shirts and eye-catching patterns.
A fan on Reddit who was loving Isaac’s camo jersey from Thursday’s game wrote, “I NEED to know the brand of tonight’s jersey!
Isaac responded to the fan, saying he buys vintage: “According to the tag, it’s a 1993 UK St Michael shirt.”
Isaac also shared that when he was on The Chase, he wasn’t allowed to show off his vintage clothes and they made him tone it down.
“They wouldn’t let me dress like myself on The Chase,” he wrote.
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REVENGE YOUR FATHER
During his first win, Isaac told a hilarious story about being a second-generation Jeopardy! competitor.
Isaac’s father, Steve Hirsch, was on the game show’s second season — and lost.
“My dad was on Jeopardy! in the ’80s — one of the first years Alex [Trebek] hosted and he lost,” Isaac recalled.
“Ooh,” replied Ken, 50. “And we used to tease him about it all the time as a kid,” Isaac continued.
“I play him ‘I Lost on Jeopardy!’ [and say] ‘It’s about you, dad!'”
Ken started laughing as Isaac concluded, “So today we’re going to find out how real karma is.”
Danger! airs at 7pm ET – check your local listings.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
