Featured J!Buzz

Reigning Jeopardy! champ Alison Betts is on a roll! She notched her fifth consecutive win on Wednesday and became the first player in Season 40 to secure a spot in the next Tournament of Champions.

"When I came here today, I really just thought, you know, as long as I do well and I play a game I can be proud of — I’ll be happy,” Alison said. “So, to have this outcome, I feel like someone is punking me.” 

Alison, a writer and creative executive originally from San Jose, California, defeated Vidya Ravella and Jeff Plate on Wednesday with a runaway score of $13,800 and brought her five-game total to $121,800. 

In addition to earning a coveted spot in the ToC, Wednesday’s win marked Alison’s third runaway victory.

“I feel very fortunate,” Alison said. “I had some luck as far as categories, and landing on good Daily Doubles, and getting finals.” 

As a lifelong fan of the show, Alison said becoming a five-game champ has been “a dream come true,” but the best part of her experience so far has been playing the game she loves. 

“Obviously, you want to win, you want to play hard, you want to do your best, but you know you’re having fun,” Alison said. “This is a game and honestly I really enjoy playing it.”

As she heads into her sixth game on Thursday, Alison said she would like to offer a bit of advice to anyone interested in starting their Jeopardy! contestant journey: “Take the Anytime Test … You might surprise yourself and end up a five-day champion out of nowhere like I did.”