"Peril!" Champion James Holzhauer continues to annihilate the competition with his quick buzzing, seemingly endless knowledge and strategy – winning big money first and hunting Daily Doubles. early – that reverses the game.

But professional sports almost lost a loss Monday after winning by $ 18. Brandeis College Sports Information Manager Adam Levin finished with $ 53,999 versus Holzhauer's $ 54,017.

So what was Levin's secret, when other competitors say that playing at Holzhauer is like running "bareheaded in a buzzsaw"? It turns out that Levin had an advantage in his game.

From the Boston Globe:

Levin had a slight advantage that day: because the show was recording five episodes in one day and selecting 12 candidates to get to the game board for 10 seats, he was one of two additional contestants convened on Tuesday, February 26th. That day, he was not selected, which means he was able to watch Holzhauer play five games before facing him in competition.

"I was able to see what he was doing and see how he was playing differently from what we saw before, and I was able to deal with that," he said. he declared.

When Levin arrived to play in the first tape the next day, he was ready.

"I've had the chance to beat him a few times, and especially to have a late Daily Double and keep the game tight at the end and bet big on Final Jeopardy," he said. said, adding that a fan site thejeopardyfan.com, noted that his total of $ 53,999 was "the highest score ever won by a regular player in the history of the series". (The makers of "Jeopardy!" Could not immediately confirm this at the Globe Monday night.)

Levin added that he had changed his strategy because of his scouting job. He had followed the same path as Holzhauer at the top of the category rankings and heavily relied on a double daily.

Holzhauer continued on track with his 20th straight win on Wednesday, tied for the second-longest series of wins in the series history.