Ken Jennings exclaims ‘really!?’ as Jeopardy! player recalls harrowing incident before upset win over 3-day champ

A JEOPARDY! player rose above a three-day champ on Wednesday night after sharing a scare involving waist-deep quicksand.

Actor and writer Davey Morrison faced reigning champ Neilesh Vinjamuri and engineer Wendy Zaballos.

Ken Jennings opened tonight's match by noting that Neilish had his first non-runaway last episode, setting an ominous tone.

The game was also crucial for Neilish, as a fourth win would have made him eligible for the next Tournament of Champions.

Before Neilish lost, the soon-to-be new champ stunned viewers and the host in the interview segment.

Ken began by asking how Davey once "escaped from what?"

"Quicksand," the player replied as Ken said, "Really!?"

'NO ONE TO CALL OUT FOR HELP'

Davey continued, "I was location scouting for a film project and took a step into some mud and took another step and was up to my waist in thick goopy bog from which I could not emerge."

"You're with us today," Ken noted, "How does one escape from quicksand?"

"So I deduced what you're supposed to do which is - I can't - I couldn't reach dry land," the player explained.

"And you can't push your way through, no one was around to call out for help."

"And so I tried leaning back and lifting my legs to see if my weight were more evenly distributed if I could scoot to land, and it worked, and I did."

Ken remarked in awe that the tip may be more helpful than any of the night's trivia, "That might be the most important thing we learn on Jeopardy! today!"

NEW CHAMP ALERT!

After the Jeopardy! round, all three players were in the game, and Neilesh led with $6,200 thanks to the Daily Double, Wendy had $4,200, and Davey $3,000.

In Double Jeopardy!, Davey found the second Daily Double early and went all-in with his $5800, giving him a sudden wide lead.

Davey was pummeled by a Novel Change a Letter category which allowed Neilesh to regain a slim lead going into Final Jeopardy.

Neilesh had $15,400, Davey $12,800, and Wendy trailed with $5,800.

The U.S Place Names clue was, "This name of a National Forest means “fool” & may be one Apache group’s name for another group; it’s also a problematic TV character."

Only Davey came up with a correct response of "What is: Tonto?" making him the new Jeopardy! champ with $15,500.

Looking overjoyed, he threw his hands up in disbelief.

Neilish looked disappointed and missed the ToC cusp - though he will go home with a combined total of $53,099 and plenty to be proud of.

FAN REACTIONS TO UPSET WIN

Fans took to social media where they reacted to the upset win and new champ.

"I like Davey because he sounds exactly as convinced of the correctness of his answers as I do, which is to say, not even remotely," one fan quipped on Reddit.

"I thought Davey corrected himself in time on the mice and hen and was hoping the judges would overturn during the break," wrote another. "Congratulations to him for getting final jeopardy correct!"

"YESYESYESYESYES! Good game today!" wrote a third on X, celebrating the new champ.

"Stop swaying back and forth! #DrivingMeCrazy!," posted a fourth on Neilesh's tendency to shift at his podium.

Davey will return on Thursday's episode to see if he can turn his upset win into a streak.

If he wins beyond Friday, July 26, when Season 40 ends, he will be the returning champion when Season 41 begins on September 9, 2024.

WHAT IS: THE SCHEDULE

The 40th season of Jeopardy! ends on Friday as summer reruns take hold.

As the show prepares to take its annual summer break, eight players have qualified for the next ToC so far.

The qualifiers are Isaac (9 wins) Survivor alum Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Celebrity Jeopardy!'s Lisa Ann Walter.

With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will also likely join in.

That said, the annual $250,000 is getting a shakeup.

The 2025 ToC will include players from this season and next season and will take place in the winter in the middle of Season 41.

Season 41 will premiere on September 9, 2024, and run through to July 25, 2025.