JEOPARDY! fans have uncovered player David Erb’s secret Hollywood connection.

The puzzle designer from Seattle enjoyed a landslide win – and has a famous spouse.

3

3

3

Taking to Reddit, a viewer revealed David’s star connection by writing: “David is married to Bonnie Garmus, whose book Lessons in Chemistry is a NYT bestseller (and adapted into an Apple TV series).”

The 2022 novel’s Apple TV+ miniseries starred Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, and Aja Naomi King.

Meanwhile, David triumphed over two-day champion Jen Feldman and fellow challenger Dana Schwartz.

Having accumulated $5,000, he was in front by the end of round one.

By the Double Jeopardy round, David cracked both Daily Doubles and ultimately finished with $30,000.

However, none of the three players managed to get the episode’s Final Jeopardy clue:

“Among those who attended his 1864 funeral were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott & Franklin Pierce.”

Ultimately, the answer turned out to be Nathaniel Hawthorne.

David had wagered $12,475 on the answer “Who is He Adams?”

The other contestants also answering incorrectly meant he won $17,655.

David’s win means he’ll be back in tonight’s episode, hoping to begin a long run.

Fans were full of praise for his gameplay, as one wrote on Reddit, “Great game, I really like David!

“He’s calm, collected, seems to have a good breadth of knowledge and also a friendly/gentlemanly personality.”

Jeopardy! Contestant Rules

Passing Jeopardy!’s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:

• The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
• Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
• Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
• The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
• Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
• If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
• If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).

“Strangely when I saw that Final Jeopardy! answer, I immediately knew it was Hawthorne somehow because I was reading his biography of Franklin Pierce a few months prior to seeing the answer,” another added.

“Nonetheless, it’s a tough FJ! answer.

“Also congrats to David for being able to lock-out in this game, and Jen and Dana for putting up a fight.”

A third penned: “I hope David goes on a run, he seemed very knowledgeable and sure of himself.”

A fourth commented: “Loved David’s big DD wagers and they paid off today. Strong player.”