Jeopardy! champion Stella Trout revealed the Final Jeopardy! mistake that cost her the game. In her first game, Stella, a software engineer originally from Houston, Texas, bested three-day champion Geoff Barnes and came into her second game as a new fan favorite due to her all-business personality. In her second Jeopardy! game, her opponents were Joey Quismorio, a product manager originally from San Antonio, Texas and Jay Borsom, a trivia content creator and DJ from Plainfield, Illinois.

Jeopardy! champion Stella Trout revealed the Final Jeopardy! mistake that cost her the game.

On the June 4 Jeopardy! episode, the Final Jeopardy! category was "American History." The clue read, "He recalled that, before an 1831 revolt, he had a vision of 'white spirts & black spirits engaged in battle.'" In third place, Jay incorrectly answered, "Who is Brown?," leaving her with $1,200, while Joey, who was in second place, correctly wrote, "Who is Nat Turner?," taking him to $17,201. Although she was in the lead, Stella incorrectly answered, "Who is Sitting Bull?," and was left with $15,200, making Joey the new Jeopardy! champion.

In a Jeopardy! Reddit thread, Stella explained her Final Jeopardy! error, and she shared that her answer of Sitting Bull instead of Nat Turner didn't fit the question. She wrote, "My answer doesn’t make much sense. The 'spirits' part made me think of ghosts, which brought me to Ghost Dance and Sitting Bull. I didn't even compute that 'white' and 'black' meant skin color until it was too late. Really silly but the nerves got me good; my head started spinning as soon as [Double Jeopardy!] DJ finished and I saw it wasn’t a lockout."

Stella then revealed that she reread the question and understood it just before time was up, but she'd already put her pen down and didn't have enough time to correct her answer. She wrote, "(Not so) fun fact, though, just as the music was ending (literally in the last 5 seconds), I took a fresh look at the clue and this time I got it."

Stella continued, "I realized what they meant and that it was Nat Turner at the same time I realized I didn’t have enough time to write it down (especially because I’d already set down the pen - future contestants, don’t do this), so I just accepted it was all down to Joey, who killed it, unsurprisingly and deservedly. So it goes."

What Stella Trout’s Mistake Means For Jeopardy!

There Were High Hopes For Stella

Unfortunately, despite fans having high hopes for Stella after her incredible performance in her first game, her Jeopardy! run has already come to an end. Her mistake means that she won't be back for another regular game, but, because she performed so well in her first one, she could be a contender for the Champions Wildcard Tournament. She won $28,800 in her first game, which was more than half of Geoff's total three-day winnings of $44,801 when she defeated him. Therefore, fans probably haven't seen the last of Stella.

Our Take On Stella Trout’s Advice To Future Contestants

Stella's Advice Makes Sense

I found it very interesting that Stella's advice to future Jeopardy! contestants was not to put down the pen during Final Jeopardy! because every bit of the thirty seconds to answer the question is so crucial. It must've been heartbreaking for her to figure out the answer as the time was ticking away and to realize that she didn't have enough time to correct her mistake. Stella's advice makes sense because holding the pen the whole time could save a second or two as time is running out during Final Jeopardy!

Stella was a fantastic Jeopardy! contestant who made the game exciting. She found all of the Daily Doubles in her last game, including back-to-back ones in Double Jeopardy!, which helped her to build her score because she got them all right. However, unfortunately, her Final Jeopardy! mistake cost her the game. Despite this, I believe that Stella will be back to compete in a future Jeopardy! tournament, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Jeopardy! airs weeknights. Please check your local listings for time and channel.

Source: Stella Trout/Reddit