Jeopardy! contestant spent over 30 years to get to the iconic game show stage

One Jeopardy! contestant proved that you should never give up your dreams.

Thursday's episode of Jeopardy! saw the return of Mark Fitzpatrick, a content manager from Riverside, Connecticut. He went into the game as a four-day champion with $81,600 racked up so far.

Cynthia Bullock, a nonprofit executive from Colorado Springs, Colorado and Mike Obstgarten, a test-prep coach and tutor from Henderson, Nevada faced off against the reigning champ. However, the latter had been waiting for a long time for his time on the Alex Trebek stage.

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After the first commercial break, host Ken Jennings always speaks to the contestants. When it was Mike's turn, he shared his journey to the hit TV show.

"I understand Mike this is not the first time you tried to be on Jeopardy,” Ken said to the contestant who responded: “Not even close, Ken."

Mike continued: "34 years ago, I passed the Teen Tournament test. A whole bunch of us were in a ballroom in New York. I was one of the lucky few to pass the test."

He added that he was able to meet the then-host at the time. "Alex Trebek made a surprise appearance in the ballroom and I got to shake his hand, as I was called up because I passed the test," Mike explained.

But it wasn't smooth sailing. "Since then, I passed the test, gotten to the final stage audition over a dozen times, never got the call. But here I am now," he said with a smile on his face.

Ken joked: "Now you’re the world’s oldest Teen Jeopardy champion." When Ken talked to Cynthia, she shared information about her charity that focuses on keeping pets and their people together despite financial issues.

When it was Mark's turn to speak, he shared that he lives in Mexico City now and wants to put some of his money towards opening an Irish Pub in the city, as he found it hard to find Guinness beer there.

Though they put up a good fight, Cynthia and Mike were unable to beat Mark's final score. Cynthia came in third with $1,400, Mike scored $12,800, and Mark won with $25,601 - bringing his total to a five day score of $107,201.

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