Justin Bolsen | |
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Name: | Justin Bolsen |
Born: | March 1, 2005 |
Birth Hometown: | Canton, Georgia |
Occupation: | Junior at Brown University |
Known for: | Jeopardy! Teen Tournament Semifinalist High School Reunion Tournament Winner |
Justin Bolsen is a junior at Brown University from Canton, Georgia known for winning the 2023 Jeopardy! High School Reunion Tournament.
Jeopardy! Run[]
2019 Teen Tournament[]
In the third quarterfinal game, he faced Rohit Kataria and Sophia Weng. Justin dominated the entire game, giving 24 correct responses and finding all three Daily Doubles. He entered Final with $25,300 to Rohit’s second-place $11,400, and was correct in Final. He and Sophia were correct in Final. His runaway advanced him to the semifinals, while neither Rohit nor Sophia scored enough for a wild card slot.
In the first semifinal game, he faced Lucas Miner and Hannah Nekritz. Unlike his quarterfinal, Justin struggled right out of the gate, never getting above $6,600 at any point in the game. Unfortunately, he missed a $6,600 True Daily Double with two clues left in Double Jeopardy, and could not ring in on either clue. He finished Double Jeopardy with no money and was eliminated from Final. Lucas would win that game, but finished third in the finals.
High School Reunion Tournament[]
In the fourth quarterfinal game, he faced Shriya Yarlagadda and Teagan O’Sullivan. The game remained close between Justin and Shriya until the final Daily Double of the game, where Justin doubled his $8,600 and nearly managed to turn the game into a runaway. All three were correct in Final, and Justin’s cover wager meant he advanced to the semifinals, with Shriya and Teagan taking home $5,000.
In the second semifinal game, he faced Stephanie Pierson and 2018 Teen champion Claire Sattler. Justin got off to the best start, aided by an early True Daily Double. However, the Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy would suppress the scores; Claire dropped $2,000 on hers, while Justin lost $5,000 on his. He entered Final Jeopardy $200 behind Claire in first place (with Stephanie in third). Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper, and Justin wagered conservatively enough to be ahead of everyone after each wager was revealed, so he made it to the finals.
In the finals, he faced Jackson Jones and 2018 finalist Maya Wright, the only finalist from their respective tournament to also make it to the finals of this tournament. (Jackson beat all three 2019 finalists in the quarterfinal and semifinal, Justin had defeated Claire Sattler in their semifinal, and Emma Arnold was unable to participate in the Tournament.) Justin led Jackson $18,401 to $14,000 going into Final Jeopardy, but a single get on Jackson’s part propelled him into the lead with $24,000, with Justin at $13,570.
In the second game, Justin barely had enough of a lead to control his own destiny over Jackson; Justin could finish with up to $35,570, while Jackson could only finish with up to $35,200. (Maya’s highest possible score was $31,770.) Final was a triple-get, and Justin bet all but $9 of his score, finishing with $35,561; this was enough for him to win the tournament, claim the $100,000 top prize, and get invited to the 2024 Tournament of Champions. Jackson received $50,000 for second place, while Maya received her second $25,000 prize for third place.
Tournament of Champions[]
In the eighth quarterfinal match, he faced 9-day champion Ben Chan and 3-day champion Emmett Stanton. He gave twelve correct responses and two wrong responses. Emmett finished Double Jeopardy with -$2,000 and could not play Final Jeopardy. Neither player got Final correct after Ben wrote down promethium, crossed it out, and changed it to thorium. Ben advanced to the semifinals with a runaway. He and Emmett took home $5,000.
Trivia[]
- Justin is the youngest Tournament of Champions competitor since the Teen champions stopped receiving invites to the ToC in 2001.
- He is the first person to play in a Tournament of Champions that was not alive during Ken Jennings’ original run.
- Like HSRT 1st runner-up Jackson, he has doing the same strategy to James Holzhauer, where he mentions a specific date. 23223 is Justin's mom's birthday, and 1220 is Jackson's mom's birthday.
- Like Kermin Fleming, who appeared at the 2006 ToC, he was a participant in two tournaments prior to the ToC.
- Like Caleb Richmond, he wears braces in the teen tournament. In the High School Reunion Tournament, he no longer wear braces.