“I got matched into the group of death,” the “Survivor 45” star says.
But theSurvivor 45alum reveals that getting that bye for the quarterfinals ultimately cost him everything.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How are you feeling about your Tournament of Champions performance?
Drew Basile, ‘Jeopardy’.Credit:Jeopardy!
I had defeated Isaac and Adriana in the exhibition match Adriana for the second time.
Then I got matched into the group of death.
I was nervous about that matchup.
Drew Basile, ‘Jeopardy’.Jeopardy!
You really had your work cut out for you in the semifinals.
Yeah, I always sayJeopardy,likeSurvivor,is a physical sport.
Do you have the buzzer speed?
Are you able to tune in under pressure?
But do you feel like that actually hurt your overall performance in the semifinals?
Yeah, too much of a good thing, that’s what they say.
But that in and of itself didn’t matter, because I had the most buzzes that game.
I’m confident my knowledge base stacks up to anybody.
I mean, I was close to the top of the hill, but Neilesh really was a mountain.
So the bye was painful.
You had a rough start but inched up to second place going into Final Jeopardy.
How were you feeling about your chances at that point?
I was feeling good on Final Jeopardy.
I’m a clutch player.
So that made me really hopeful.
It was so close, but yet so far.
That was the worst part.
Adriana and Isaac are great players.
I’m sure they’re going to be lights out in the finals.
But they had easier matchups.
So it was a worst case scenario.
What’s something you should probably work on if you ever come back toJeopardyagain?
I think thatJeopardyis fun.
They study, they practice, they get their own buzzer system at home, they prep.
I’ve already been looking at some things like that, some flashcards, getting people to help me.
And I’m confident that if we come back, we’ll come back invincible.
I didn’t beat anybody this time, but next time I’ll be swinging.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
