COULDN'T SURVIVE
Jeopardy! star Adriana Harmeyer loses to Survivor alum after 15 wins as fans accuse ‘know it all’ of ‘gloating’ over win
Plus, Drew Basile's controversial reputation from Survivor
JEOPARDY! champ Adriana Harmeyer was outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted by a former Survivor contestant in an utterly shocking game on Wednesday.
The 15-day winner lost to Survivor 45 alum Drew Basile in a runaway, leaving viewers stunned and some put off by his victory lap move.
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Adriana faced Drew and Tekla Sauter to try for her 16th straight win on June 19, having amassed $349,600 so far.
Ken Jennings noted that if so, she would be tied for the 10th-longest streak in Jeopardy! history.
Drew also made history by being the first Survivor contestant to compete on the game show—and he came to play.
After the Jeopardy! round, Adriana was off and running as usual, with $8,100 (and the first Daily Double), Drew $5,600, and Tekla $3,200.
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In the interview segment, Drew got the elephant in the studio out of the way; “It’s not my first rodeo, Ken. I had the privilege of being on Survivor recently.
"I lasted 23 days of 26 with no shelter or food, which affected the noggin a little bit, but I'm hoping to be back on course for Jeopardy!."
Ken asked Drew how they compare. “Survivor is hard on the body, but Jeopardy! is hard on the mind, so I’ll tell you after,” he quipped. Ken laughed, shadily saying Drew was “reserving” his real feelings.
In Double Jeopardy!, the torch-snuffing moment for Adriana came when Drew found the second Daily Double and fearlessly wagered $10,000.
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"Wow," Ken exclaimed, and he got it correct as "Midway," going from $12,200 to the lead.
While Tekla got the last Daily Double, it was game over from there on out.
'BIG WIN!'
Drew had an uncatchable lead going into Final Jeopardy at $23,600, Tekla at $10,600, and Adriana had $9,300.
The "BRANDS" clue was, "In 1978, a new cologne for men came out called this, what's being played in the company's iconic logo."
Adriana was incorrect, a rare sight to see, from third place, an even rarer sight, with "Axe," dropping to $7900.
Tekla was correct with "Polo," finishing with $18,601.
Drew revealed he used his wiggle room to write a joke response, "What is Jeopardy?"
He flashed a huge smile, and the audience laughed.
“We should have a cologne named Jeopardy!” Ken said, taken aback by the joke answer. "What would it smell like, flop sweat right now?"
Drew dropped $118 to win with $23,482, clapping in excitement.
“As Alex Trebek used to say, we have a Giant Killer on our hands, rarely as giant as this!" Ken exclaimed. "Congrats Drew on the big win!”
The camera cut to Adriana, who took a deep, disappointed sigh.
Ken added, “Adriana Harmeyer, of course, leaves us after 15 wins.”
“That’s the 11th-longest streak in Jeopardy! history, we’ll be seeing you again in the Tournament of Champions. Congratulations.”
Drew and Adriana then had an awkward interaction; he motioned to shake her hand, and she lifted hers to congratulate him but put it back down.
They then made eye contact again and finally sternly shook hands.
'GOOF ANSWER'
Fans flooded social media where they were astounded by Adriana's defeat- to a Survivor contestant no less.
"I knew Drew was previously on Survivor, so I had a gut feeling he'd be willing to play more aggressively than normal. That $10k wager was even more than I was expecting. Shame to see Adriana go; I hope she goes far in the ToC," one Redditor wrote.
"Well, I was expecting Drew to do well, but I didn’t think he’d have a runaway. Hope to see him get at least 4 wins and make the TOC as well," commented another.
Others didn't like that Drew used his runaway to write a joke answer given the context; he had just defeated a 15-day champion.
“I was not a fan of Drew in this game. This was one of the few games that I actually was rooting for Adriana," wrote a third.
A fourth asked, "No love for his joke response?"
They replied, “I found it to be gloating in a way. I think you should still play the game to your full extent rather than giving a goof answer because you know you had a runaway."
Another defended, "Or… maybe he just didn't know it and chose to write a joke once he didn't?"
One more wrote, "Yep. Adriana lost to Drew Basile from Survivor. In a runaway, too.
"Godspeed to you, Adriana. You were a joy to watch, your games were competitive, and you knew your stuff. It will be hard not to root for you in the ToC!"
Yet another posted, "Good run for Adriana, Drew played great, really gutsy."
An additional fan said, "I like Drew! He seems like a goofball. I wonder if they asked him to stop pointing at the clues after the first break."
Adriana will return for the 2025 ToC, while Drew will go for his second win tomorrow to see if he can turn his shock win into a streak.
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'HATERS HAVE CALLED ME KNOW-IT-ALL'
Drew was announced as a Jeopardy! contestant last month.
The 22-year-old immediately praised his intellect on Survivor and also did so after being booted from the top six.
"I'm one of the smartest people you've ever had on Survivor. Now, I don't say that to brag. I say that factually," he told Parade.
"I'm a great talker. I can sell, sell, sell. So I thought that those attributes would set me up pretty well in any Final Three combinations."
The Ivy League grad student, the youngest of his season, used his trivia knowledge in every Tribal Council confessional.
Drew would use history, philosophy, and other random topics to weave his experiences on the island and his mindset in the game into long soliloquies.
Currently getting his Masters at Oxford in England, he also won a national trivia event in 2019.
"Yeah I found him kinda arrogant on the show," one user posted when it was announced he'd be on Jeopardy! last month.
"Good for him, but dude was pretty full of himself on Survivor. Called himself one of the smartest to ever play the game," someone else posted at the time.
Others like the guy, "Drew is a top 5 survivor player for me. I freaking love Omar and Juveria. I’m freaking ecstatic."
"The haters have called me a know-it-all," Drew wrote on Instagram, announcing his appearance. "It’s time to prove them right."
Drew isn't the only Jeopardy! champ with a Surivor connection.
Juveria Zaheer is the older sister of Omar Zaheer, who competed on Survivor 42 in 2022. Juveria won the Second Chance tournament and Champions Wildcard, winning $100,000.
ADRIANA'S RECORD RUN
Meanwhile, Adriana first arrived on May 31's episode and has plenty to be proud of as Season 40's first super-champion.
She was the first 10-day-plus winner in nearly two years, the previous being 13-day champ Ray LaLonde.
Adriana outlasted Ray and had the longest streak since 21-day champ Cris Pannullo in fall 2022.
However, Adriana plays nothing like Cris, who went a vicious 48/49 out of 66 Daily Doubles.
Instead, Adriana used an old-school strategy that set her apart from all other streakers in the post-Holzhauer era.
She is a rare, top-down player who refuses to hunt for Daily Doubles.
She's only found 14 of the 45 hidden clues in her streak, and she doesn't bounce across the board to find them.
She relied on pure knowledge, going an astounding 92% correct on clues overall and 13/16 on Final Jeopardy.
The other qualifiers for the next Tournament of Champions (all female) are five-day winners Alison Betts and Dr. Amy Hummel and Celebrity Jeopardy!'s Lisa Ann Walter.
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That said, with four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will likely join in as well.
Jeopardy! airs at 7 pm Eastern on ABC - check your local listings.
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