Regular Play[]
He made his Jeopardy! debut on June 6, 2022, and won his first game by defeating 16-day champion Ryan Long. He would go on to win 6 games and $160,601 before being defeated by Megan Wachspress on June 14, who herself won 6 games and $60,603. He is one of six giant killers - players who defeat a 10+ day champion - to win at least one more game, along with Jonathan Fisher (11 wins and $246,100 after defeating Matt Amodio), Emma Boettcher (3 wins and $98,002 after defeating James Holzhauer), Danielle Maurer (2 wins and $27,999 after defeating Mattea Roach), Lloyd Sy (2 wins and $55,578 after defeating Ray Lalonde) and Drew Basile (7 wins and $129,601 after defeating Adrianna Harmeyer). Eric is the second-longest-streaking and second-highest-winning giant killer.
He is known for his knack for finding Daily Doubles and his extreme aggressiveness on them, finding 15 of the 21 available during his run and being correct on 13 of them. He scored an average of $6,800 per game on the three Daily Doubles, which is the second highest of any competitor in the 2022 Tournament of Champions. (Only Matt Amodio, who averaged $7,800 a game, is stronger.) However, Eric is also the weakest Final Jeopardy competitor in the 2022 Tournament, being correct on just two of the seven Final Jeopardy clues during his initial streak.
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 6, 2022 | $18,401 | $18,401 | Eric's first game without a runaway and defeats 16-day champion Ryan Long. |
| 2 | June 7, 2022 | $21,600 | $40,001 | Eric becomes the fourth giant killer to win more than a single game after an upset of a superchampion. |
| 3 | June 8, 2022 | $35,600 | $75,601 | |
| 4 | June 9, 2022 | $30,200 | $105,801 | |
| 5 | June 10, 2022 | $28,000 | $133,801 | Sarah Whitcomb Foss's last game as a member of the Clue Crew. |
| 6 | June 13, 2022 | $26,800 | $160,601 | |
| 7 | June 14, 2022 | $17,199 | $162,601 | Eric's second game without a runaway. Megan Wachspress ends his streak and goes on to win five more games. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the fifth quarterfinal game, he faced National College Championship Winner Jaskaran Singh and 4-day champion Jackie Kelly.The game remained close throughout the Jeopardy round and the first six clues of Double Jeopardy before he found back-to-back Daily Doubles, went all-in both times, and got both correct to take his score from $5,800 to $23,200. Even though Jackie and Jaskaran played well enough throughout the final 22 clues to prevent a runaway, he and Jaskaran were correct in Final and he advanced to the semifinals. Jackie and Jaskaran took home $5,000.
In the third semifinal game, he faced 5-day champion Andrew He and 23-day champion Mattea Roach. He got off to the best start, holding a sizable lead throughout the entire Jeopardy round, with Mattea and Andrew trailing. However, Andrew more or less did exactly what Eric did in the quarterfinals - found both Daily Doubles, went all in both times, and got both correct to take his score from $3,400 to $33,600 seven clues into the Double Jeopardy round. Andrew entered Final Jeopardy with $39,200 and a lock game. Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper and everyone blanked. Mattea and Eric were both eliminated and took home $10,000.