JEOPARDY! breakout star Rishabh Wuppalapati has lost today’s game by just $1 as new champion Kelly Gates gushes the victory is ‘a dream come true.’

Fans have praised Rishabh, 20, as the “best” player so far in season 41 after he “fought tooth and nail” to secure three wins against his cutthroat opponents.

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Many were hoping Rishabh would score at least five wins which would qualify him to compete in Tournament of Champions however, he fell short in today’s game – and though it’s now not guaranteed, he could still be invited to ToC.

On Friday’s game, the college sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania went up against Kelly Gates, a librarian from Massachusetts a well as Kyle Compton-Troesch, a civil engineer from Ohio.

Fresh off of adding $52,802 to his bank account after his three-day winning streak, Rishabh came in hot with an early lead.

He added $1,000 to his total when he found the first Daily Double – on the very first question of the game – under the category “Peak Experiences.”

By the first break, he had secured $5,800 while Kelly was in second with $2,000 and Kyle had $600.

Kelly and Rishabh ended up swapping leads throughout the game which changed once again when she found the second Daily Double under the category “Biology.”

She got it right and added $4,000 to her total of $10,800 – putting her ahead of Rishabh’s $8,400.

However, moments later, she lost $4,000 when she incorrectly guessed the third Daily Double clue under “Twinning.”

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Despite the drop, she was still ahead of Rishabh by a slight margin due to her accuracy on other clues throughout the competition.

Going into Final Jeopardy!, Kelly remained in the lead with $13,200 while Rishabh was just behind with $11,600.

Though he put on a good effort, Kyle stayed in third with $5,800.

Host Ken Jennings read the final clue under the category “Literary Geography”: “A N.Y. Times article recognized Sands Point & Kings Point as the real “old-money” & “nouveau riche” settings in this novel.”

For the first time in awhile, all three contestants were correct in their response “What is The Great Gatsby?” – leaving the fate of the game up to the wagers.

Rishabh bet it all to get ahead of his opponent – doubling his final score to $23,201.

Kelly wisely wagered $10,001 – putting her final total at $23,201 – a single dollar ahead of her fellow player.

Kyle bet $5,600 to finish in third place with $11,400.

Though Rishabh appeared disappointed with the results, he clapped for Kelly – who flashed a huge smile when she was crowned the winner.

Following the episode, Kelly went online to share her thoughts about her Jeopardy! debut.

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).

She gushed: “Getting on the show was a dream come true, and it was an absolute blast.

“One of the best parts was meeting so many fantastic people and sharing that experience together.”

Viewers were also a fan of the literary worker, with one writing: “Congrats to Kelly! Librarians represent!”

“Loved watching you play today, Kelly!! Congratulations!!” another exclaimed.

“Great job, Kelly, Kyle, and Rishabh!” a third cheered on of all three contestants.

Fans cheered on Rishabh – who was just 19 when the game was filmed – and hoped to see him in the upcoming Tournament of Champions.

Although he was two games shy of officially securing his spot, he may still be chosen to be a part of the highly-coveted special.

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