University of Texas senior competing in "Jeopardy!" finals
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Jeopardy! contestant Jaskaran Singh. Photo: ABC/Casey Durkin
A University of Texas senior will compete tonight in the finals of the "Jeopardy! National College Championship."
Why it matters: At stake is a $250,000 grand prize, plus lifetime bragging rights.
Catch up quick: UT finance and economics major Jaskaran Singh, a 21-year-old from Plano, pocketed $24,000 in his semifinal victory Friday.
You can't make this stuff up: Singh triumphed as the only contestant to correctly guess the Final Jeopardy answer in the "Characters in Banned Books" category.
- The prompt was: "Introduced in 1928, this character has a disappointing affair with a writer before she begins a more satisfying relationship."
- Singh answered, "Who is Lady Chatterley?"
- The book, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D. H. Lawrence, was banned in 1928 for obscenity and not published in the U.S. until 1959.
- Texas right now is at the epicenter of a nationwide banned books debate, and state leaders have threatened to stifle teaching on race at UT..
What they're saying: "I'm a normal guy, but I like to read the news to keep up with what's going on, and I especially like learning about history," Singh said in an interview with UT News. "The videos YouTube recommends for me are pretty nerdy based on my preferences. Just now, I was watching this video on Luigi Cadorna, an Italian World War I general. So there you go."
He took a break from his Russian language homework — he was learning words for transportation — to talk with Axios about his in-game strategy.
- “When I’m winning, I like to just preserve the lead,” Singh said, “and when I was behind, I bet big.”
Between the lines: Singh is a member of UT's Quiz Bowl Team.
- Plus: The "Jeopardy!" competition was actually taped in November.
What's next: Singh has received hundreds of requests on LinkedIn — and has a full-time job lined up with Boston Consulting Group after graduation.
- As a senior, he's taking one computer science class to finish out his minor, Russian as an adjunct to his economics double major, and a bunch of history classes.
How to watch: Tune in Tuesday to KVUE at 7pm.