MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — It's been a whirlwind of a year for Eric Ahasic of Minneapolis.
Ahasic — who works as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen — went from a fan, to contestant, to 6-time Jeopardy! champion. Now he can add a Tournament of Champions (ToC) semifinalist to the list.
"Just the chance to compete with some of the legends of Jeopardy!... it was a really cool experience," Ahasic said.
This past summer, Ahasic's run aired on Jeopardy! It started with him beating reigning champion Ryan Long who had just won his 16th game — one of the longest streaks in the show's history. Ahasic went on to win five more games before losing on game seven. In total, Ahasic won $160,601.
He returned to Culver City, Calif. to film ToC in the end of September.
"Just the most stacked roster they have ever had. Three of the top five Jeopardy! champions of all time in this tournament alone," said Ahasic, referencing players with the most consecutive games won.
This year's ToC includes a record number of super-champions: Amy Schneider (40 games), Matt Amodio (38 games), Mattea Roach (23 games), Ryan Long (16 games), and Jonathan Fisher (11 games). Schneider, Amodio, and Roach have earned byes and will first appear in the semifinal round.
A typical ToC includes 15 people. This year, it's 21.
"It's the biggest Tournament of Champions ever and I am just thrilled and honored to have had the opportunity to compete," Ahasic said.
During Friday's quarterfinals, Ahasic was up against Jaskaran Singh, winner of the JEOPARDY! National College Championship, from Plano, Texas and Jackie Kelly, a 4-game champion from Cary, N.C.
Ahasic said his game style — a big gambler on Daily Doubles — was similar to his opponents.
"I knew I was going to be aggressive going into the competition but I knew for that game, specifically, I had to really, really, really, play my A-game," Ahasic said.
After trailing in the first half, Ahasic hit two Daily Doubles in a row and answered both correctly.
"My pulse is in my eyeballs. I'm just like out of my body at this point... it took me like 10 clues to get back into the game at that point," Ahasic recalled.
Ahasic went on to answer correctly during Final Jeopardy! which means he now advances to the semifinals.
"When Ken said I was right and won, it was honestly relief more than celebration," Ahasic said. "I know when I beat Ryan in my first game, I did a big first pump and was super excited, pumped up, but that was a battle. Every game in the tournament is a battle and just to beat two great competitors and the way I did it, I was just more relieved than anything."
You can watch Ahasic compete in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4:30 p.m. on KARE 11.
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