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It was a shocking win from behind.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Carmel native Shaan Mishra was named the new champion of Jeopardy! in a thrilling competition in which he only claimed the top spot in the final round. Mishra’s win even elicited a “way to go!” from Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watchlist: <\/strong>‘Stranger Things’ headed to movie theaters. How to watch the season finale<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n In the final round of Jeopardy! on Friday, Oct. 24, Mishra scribbled “Who is Cook ???” to a clue about a man whose bones were reportedly preserved and considered sacred by the people of Hawaii in 1825.<\/p>\n Mishra took his time answering, head up, eyes looking ahead as the iconic Jeopardy! theme song played in the background. Competitors Kristina Pohribnij, a stay-at-home mom from Palatine, Illinois, and returning champion Tom Devlin, an attorney from Washington DC, were focused, heads down and writing.<\/p>\n For much of the game Mishra had been in last place. Then it was time for the final Daily Double Jeopardy game. He correctly answered sclera to a clue about what covers 5\/6 of the eyeball and surged ahead of Pohribnij to second place.<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner is getting married again. Who is his fianc\u00e9?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The pressure was on for Final Jeopardy with Mishra a distant second place and trailing Devlin by $7,200.<\/p>\n Mishra, a management consultant, said he was in the midst of a two-and-a-half long backpacking trip that took him to 17 countries when he found out he’d be competing on Jeopardy. “I realized that the best way for me to study as I was traveling was just to ask the people around me what they knew the best.”<\/p>\n He studied the Bible while driving though the Caucasus Mountains in Armenia and Georgia and heard about The Summer I Turned Pretty, a popular TV show, while in India. That drew a laugh from host Ken Jennings.<\/p>\n With the Jeopardy timer up, Pohribnij unveiled her answer. “Who is Father Damien?,” she wrote, wagering $5,000 of her $10,800. Incorrect.<\/p>\n Jennings moved on to Mishra, noting that Mishra had thought about the answer for a long time. Mishra shook his head as his answer was revealed.<\/p>\n “You’re shaking your head but it is Captain Cook,” Jennings said. “After his death, they kept his bones.” The Indiana man smiled. Mishra had taken a more cautious approach. He wagered nothing of his $15,600 in earnings.<\/p>\n “Interesting,” Jennings said.<\/p>\n The host moved on Devlin, who also said Father Damien. He wagered $8,401 of his more than $22,000 in winnings and fell to second place with $14,399 \u2014 a stunning and tight loss.<\/p>\n Mishra stood with both hands on his head and a smile on face. Jennings announced him as the new Jeopardy! champion.<\/p>\n “He can’t believe it,” Jennings said.<\/p>\n Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com<\/a>. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @allyburris<\/a><\/em><\/em> and on Bluesky at<\/em>\u202a@allymburris.bsky.social\u202c<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jeopardy! win for Carmel native Shaan Mishra<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n