Revenge of the Nerd: Indian American Yogesh Raut Wins Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions
- It was a sweet comeback for the Vancouver, Washington-based blogger, freelance writer and podcaster who was “unfairly” criticized during his first run on the show in January last year for being “arrogant, unsportsmanlike and ungracious.”
Indian American blogger, freelance writer, and podcaster Yogesh Raut has won the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (ToC), taking home the $250,000 grand prize. During the March 19 final, he defeated Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Troy Meyer, a music executive from Tampa, Florida. Raut advances to the Masters Tournament in May.
“Jeopardy! is inherently a challenging game to play,” Raut told the Seattle Times. “There’s a lot of luck involved, and over and over again, I benefited from the bad luck of other contestants.” He told The Columbian that he was “born the same year the current version of the game show premiered.” Watching Alex Trek host the show has been “a constant presence in my life,” he told the local Clark County publication. “When you’re a child, you think ‘One day, I’ll be among those ranks.’ But it’s a very difficult process.”
Although he didn’t correctly answer the Final Jeopardy question on the March 19 episode, he “waged smartly” to ultimately win the tournament. “Even though I’ve worked my whole life for this, sometimes ultimately I’m at the mercy of luck,” he told The Columbian.
After two decades of repeatedly auditioning, Raut got his first opportunity to be on the show in January 2023. He won $98,000 after a four-day run. During his time on the show, he received criticism for being “arrogant,” “ungracious,” or having “bad sportsmanship.” He later got back at his critics in a series of articles and Facebook posts.
He later wrote a blog for American Kahani clarifying his position and justifying his stand on social media. Although he always “dreamed” of being on Jeopardy!, his “memories of the experience will always be dominated by the extreme and nonsensical hate directed at me by total strangers who I did not harm in any way,” he wrote. “Criticism of my overall ‘vibe’ was disappointing, but ultimately a matter of opinion,” he wrote. “Many went further than that, though, making firm judgments about my personality and my character that were as confidently stated as they were demonstrably false.”
In a blog on “Jeopardy!” website, Raut talked about his first appearance on the show and his most recent win. He said he “returned to his regular life and put Jeopardy! in the rearview mirror].” However, “that changed in December 2023, when local ABC affiliate KATU surprised me on air with the news that I had been invited to the Tournament of Champions,” he wrote. “My head spun. Chuck Forrest. Dan Melia. Colby Burnett. Brad Rutter. My fellow Indian American Vijay Balse. Was there a chance I could join these legends and all the other hallowed winners of the J! Tournament of Champions,’ he wrote.
So he carried out his “usual routine” and also began preparing for the tournament. Along with updating his blog daily, hosting and editing his podcast, “writing ‘friendlies’ for Online Quiz League, and playing Sporcle quizzes,” he also bought a copy of former ToC winner Fritz Holznagel’s book “Secrets of the Buzzer,,” to be “not accused on inaction.”
It took him “decades of hard work and dedication” to put himself “in a position to win the ToC,” he wrote, “along with a great deal of luck for me to triumph over equally skilled competitors.” But, “at the end of the day, I’m still the guy who — based on how bad I was at that airplane game — can easily be outperformed on a mildly complex visual search task,” he added.
Raut also busted some misconceptions like “photographic” memory is a myth. “But it does a great disservice to the personality traits actually correlated with quizzing success: boundless curiosity, pride in one’s own passion, a desire to connect with others over their passions, and creativity.”
Born in New York City, Raut grew up in Springfield, Illinois. He is a graduate of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Stanford University, New York University, the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and the Washington State University Carson College of Business. He holds master’s degrees in psychology, cinema-television studies, and business administration.
(Top photo, courtesy jeopardy.com)