Ken Jennings says Jeopardy!’s Adriana Harmeyer plays ‘exactly’ as he did on show but gives stern warning

JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings revealed Adriana Harmeyer plays exactly like he did as a contestant – and gave her a warning for the future.

Adriana has been smashing through the competition so far with a 14-day winning streak.

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Jeopardy!’s Ken Jennings has told frontrunner Adriana Harmeyer she plays ‘exactly like he did’ when he was a contestantCredit: Jeopardy!

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He also warned her she might come up against more aggressive players in the futureCredit: Jeopardy!
The West Virginia native chatted to Ken about her conservative strategy in a postgame clip aired on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast.

“After 11 wins do you feel like you might be a little bit temperamentally underconfident?” Ken asked.

“Do you feel like you might be selling yourself short as a Jeopardy! champ?”

“I think I just wanna keep going,” Adriana said. “So I’m trying not to…”

“Big swings?” Ken asked.

“Yeah, I’m trying not to miss so I’d rather just be a little careful,” she said.

Ken said Adriana’s style of play reminded him of his own 74-game run on Jeopardy! back in 2004, where he also played more traditionally.

“That’s exactly how I played,” the TV star said.

“But today, you’ve got the generation of moneyball players,” he admitted, implying that times have changed and she may run into someone who is more aggressive.

Adriana has focused on an old-fashioned way of playing as a rare top-down player who refuses to hunt for Daily Doubles.

She previously revealed she “likes to know what the category means” before she “gets into the heart of clues.”

She has been steaming through the competition since her debut on May 31 and is now Season 40’s first super-champion.

It has been almost two years since there has been a 10-plus-day winner, the previous being 13-day champ Ray LaLonde in January 2023.

Adriana now has the longest winning streak since 21-day champ Cris Pannullo in fall 2022.

She has only found 14 of the 39 hidden clues during her streak, letting other contestants try to find the Daily Doubles and miss them with big bets.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

The archivist relies instead on her buzzer speed and impressive knowledge, getting an astounding 305 clues correct and 11/15 on Final Jeopardy.

Adriana recently slammed the Appalachian stereotypes surrounding education and ability that she faces.

“They’re wrong, like, they’re completely wrong,” she told The Parthenon on Monday.

“I personally don’t see any reason to let things stop me.”

She added that she “doesn’t like” watching herself on the show, which is filmed in pre-recorded episodes, but does so to keep up with what is being aired.

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Adriana has won 14 games since she started out in MayCredit: ABC

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Ken enjoyed a record-breaking 74-game run on Jeopardy! in 2004Credit: Getty

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He took over as host from the late Alex TrebekCredit: AP