Megan Wachspress

Megan Wachspress
Birth Hometown:	Berkeley, California
Occupation:	Attorney
Known for:	Her 6-game Jeopardy! champion

Megan Wachspress is an attorney from Berkeley, California.

Jeopardy! Run

Regular Play

• She made her debut on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, and defeated 6-day champion Eric Ahasic, who had previously defeated 16-game champion Ryan Long. She would win another five games (for a total of 6 wins and $60,603) before being defeated by Jeff Weinstock on June 22, 2022. Her streak saw her break the record for lowest total in 5 days (previously held by Donald Burgo with $52,360) and the lowest total in 6 days (previously held by Christopher Short with $94,752).
• Her run was characterized by her knowledge of Final Jeopardy! wagering strategy. Of her 6 victories, three of them - her first, third, and sixth - were won by exactly $2, in situations where the clue was only responded correctly to by Megan or was a Triple Stumper.
• Her fourth game caused one of the most widespread controversies in the entire history of the show. Going into Final Jeopardy, she trailed Sadie Goldberger by $600, with $9,200 to $9,800 (and Molly Fleming in a distant third at $3,300). All three contestants wrote down the correct response; however, Sadie’s response was deemed incorrect after she was judged to have left out the “N” in the name of the correct response (Harriet Tubman). While Sadie did not make the standard cover bet, her bet would have left her at $17,300; because Megan’s final total was $17,199, Sadie would have been crowned a new champion had her response been accepted. Because of the backlash against the show after the episode aired, Sadie was invited back for the Second Chance Tournament in October of that year; she won her semifinal match and finished second in the finals to Rowan Ward.

Game No.	Air Date	Final score	Cumulative Winnings	Notes
1	June 14, 2022	$17,201	$17,201	Megan's first win from second place and first win by $2.
2	June 15, 2022	$11,600	$28,801
3	June 16, 2022	$5,601	$34,402	Megan's first win from third place and second win by $2.
4	June 17, 2022	$17,199	$51,601	Last game with Lucinda Owens Margolis as the director and Megan's second win from second place after Sadie left out the “N”
5	June 20, 2022	$401	$52,002	First game with Russell Norman as the director and Megan's third win from second place after winning $401.
6	June 21, 2022	$8,601	$60,603	Megan's second win from third place and third win by $2.
7	June 22, 2022	$7,001	$62,603	Jeff Weinstock ends her streak and going to win one more game.

Tournament Of Champions

In the first quarterfinal game, she faced 16-day champion Ryan Long and 4-day champion Maureen O’Neil. She led Maureen going into Final, $9,600 to $8,400 (with Ryan in third at $4,200), but was the only player to miss Final Jeopardy, which led to her and Ryan’s elimination from the tournament, while Maureen advanced to the semifinals. Maureen would lose in her semifinal to eventual tournament winner Amy Schneider.

Records

Megan Wachspress set a different all-time record, and the record is as follows:

• Lowest 5-day total in the history of the syndicated version of the show ($52,002): Previously set by Donald Burgo in April 1986, Burgo won $26,180 when the dollar values were half of what they are today; that translates to $52,360.
  • This record was later broken by Ben Goldstein with $49,298.
• 6-game winning streak champion minimum payout record ($60,603): The previous record was $94,752 by Christopher Short
• Champion with 5 or more wins since Dan Pawson for less than $1,000.
• All 3 players who competed for the first time had 5 or more wins in a row.
• By any chance, her skills should not be underestimated by the minimum prize money record. It is difficult for a contestant who showed excellent skills right away to win one win but winning 6 consecutive wins means that she has considerable skills, especially considering that she defeated Eric, a strong opponent, it is not that her skills are weak.

Trivia

• Following Andrew Haringer, the S31 5-game winning streak champion, he is a come-from-behind champion at all but one FJ! for the fourth time in a row. She is also the champion with the most come-from-behind wins among regular game champions (5 times).
• She is female 6+ time champion to not reach the semifinals following MacKenzie Jones and Courtney Shah.
• The first champion to win 5 or more wins in a row, and the participant who won the same winning streak as the previous champion.
• Last 5+-time champion in a recording system with no audience.
• After her departure, the female participants' performance was sluggish. After her departure, after Emily Fiasco won three consecutive victories and before Mira Hayward came out, the women's champion had not won consecutively, and she was so sluggish that she could not even win four consecutive victories. Then, Hannah Wilson broke the slump of women's champions by winning five in a row.