In the semifinal round of the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions that aired Monday, Dhruv Gaur ’21 captured the spotlight with his heartfelt message to the show’s longtime host, Alex Trebek.
When responding to a question during the Final Jeopardy portion of the episode, Gaur chose to write “What is, We love you, Alex!” instead of answering the question. Trebek, who had recently told the contestants that he was reentering treatment for pancreatic cancer, was visibly touched by this gesture.
“That’s very kind, thank you,” Trebek said. “Cost you $1,995, you’re left with five bucks,” he added after.
Gaur’s message to Trebek was in response to the question — “In the title of a groundbreaking 1890 expose of poverty in New York City slums, these three words follow ‘How the’” — in the “Famous Phrases” category. Gaur finished in last place in Monday night’s round.
Following the airing of the show, Gaur tweeted, “for context, Alex had just shared with us that he was reentering treatment for pancreatic cancer. We were all hurting for him so badly,” he wrote. “When Final Jeopardy came up, I could’ve tried to puzzle it together, but really, just kept thinking about Alex, and thought he should know.”
Gaur won $100,000 last year on “Jeopardy!” College Championship as the grand prize winner, and returned to the show for the Tournament of Champions.
ADVERTISEMENT
