‘Jeopardy’ Star Addresses Rumor He Lost on Purpose originally appeared on Parade.
After a remarkable 16-game winning streak, Jeopardy!contestant Scott Riccardi is setting the record straight following speculation that he may have thrown the game on purpose.
“Congratulations to Jonathan for the amazing win! It’s truly deserved, and I can’t wait to see him return next season; he is a powerful competitor and all-around wonderful guy,” Riccardi wrote in a statement shared via Reddit on Friday, July 25. “Kudos to Charlotte as well for a very strong showing in tonight’s game.”
Riccardi was referring to Jonathan Hugendubler, who unseated him, and fellow contestant Charlotte Cooper. The match ended Riccardi’s 16-day reign after he missed the Final Jeopardy clue in the “20th Century Names” category.
The clue: “According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, eight radio stations, two movie companies and $56 million in real estate.” Riccardi’s response was Howard Hughes — but the correct answer was William Randolph Hearst.
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“As for Final Jeopardy, my mind unfortunately went straight to Howard Hughes mostly due to overestimating the importance of the movie companies’ part of the clue,” he explained. “Hearst wasn’t on my mind at all until the moment Charlotte’s answer was revealed, and even then, it didn’t immediately strike me as correct until Ken [Jennings] confirmed it.”
Riccardi admitted he had struggled to retain information about Hearst during his preparation, often confusing him with other similarly named figures. “I had found that I was having a hard time properly retaining info on what I found to be a confusing amount of three-named Williams in publishing,” he wrote. Riccardi chalked up his loss to “several information near-misses and a poor understanding of the timeline in the clue.” He also added that he was, “Glad to have had the chance to be a meaningful part of this season!”
Several fans responded to Riccardi’s post, many praising his performance.
“You’re the man Scott, thanks for chiming in here!! You were so much fun to watch, congrats on your epic run!” one Redditor wrote.
Another noted, “I don’t feel you overstayed your welcome at all!”
A third said, “Scott, you’re an all-timer in my book. Your runs of consecutive successful buzzes are some of the most dominant streaks I’ve ever seen.”
Fans can catch Riccardi play again on Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions later this year.
‘Jeopardy’ Star Addresses Rumor He Lost on Purpose first appeared on Parade on Jul 30, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
