Monterey: Naval Postgraduate School professor wins ‘Jeopardy’ tournament

MONTEREY — As of Friday, there is only one person who holds the title of the first-ever Professors Tournament Champion on “Jeopardy”: Naval Postgraduate School associate professor Sam Buttrey.

After two weeks and three rounds of competition, Buttrey took home the tournament’s $100,000 grand prize. Ed Hashima, a professor of history at American River College in Sacramento placed second and earned $50,000; Alisa Hove, a professor of botany at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, came in third, taking home $25,000.

“This has been the greatest time, and to come out ahead of all these other great players is something I’ll remember forever,” said Buttrey. “The group was uniformly so smart, charming and warm, and there’s been a real feeling of camaraderie from the very beginning.”

While accolades and rewards are an expected outcome of Buttrey’s seasoned performance on the trivia show, what he enjoyed the most was the actual gameplay — like a true fan of “Jeopardy.” From nights spent at his grandma’s house growing up to his regular television routine with his wife, Buttrey has watched, played along with and dreamed of being on “Jeopardy” for decades. So when he won, Buttrey viewed the experience as a culmination of his longtime love for the show.

“It was a blast,” he said. “I was delighted there were a couple of cases where I worked out a clue I didn’t happen to know off the top of my head.”

Buttrey also expressed his appreciation for the professors he became acquainted with through the course of the show.

“I made some real friends,” he said.

Winning the Professors Tournament gives Buttrey an automatic spot in the “Jeopardy” Tournament of Champions, which features 15 previous “Jeopardy” winners from the past season. The field of competition for the clash of champions, which is set to include a 13-game winner, excites Buttrey for the level of gameplay and clues going forward.