Wisconsin-based Nicole Haase shines on Jeopardy! debut, takes second place

Jeopardy! season 42 aired on November 27, 2025 on NBC, featuring Harrison Whitaker, Nicole Haase and Paul Wenzel.

The game included 12 triple stumpers and came down to Final Jeopardy!, where Harrison Whitaker won with $22,000, followed by Nicole Haase coming second with $5,401, while Paul Wenzel came in third, winning $3,603.

Nicole Haase, who is a Milwaukee-based freelance journalist, stepped onto the Jeopardy! stage for the first time on Thanksgiving Day, playing opposite 12-day super champion Harrison Whitaker and Pennsylvania musician Paul Wenzel.

Haase held her own throughout the game, finishing second and leaving the studio with her head high, winning $5,401 without a single incorrect response in either the Jeopardy! or Double Jeopardy! rounds.

Here is how the debutant Nicole Haase performed on Jeopardy!

The November 27, 2025, episode of Jeopardy! opened with categories ranging from literature to NFL trivia and early on, Whitaker was ahead in the game. Midway through the first round, he jumped to $5,800, with Haase holding $1,400 and Wenzel at $800. 

Nicole later bounced back in the game with the standout moment being the one she later described as “iconic” in the NFL Grab Bag category. A video clue from Pewaukee native and NFL star J.J. Watt appeared on the screen.

She was asked to identify the Eagles and Packers legend known as the “Minister of Defense.” Haase barely paused before confidently responding, “Who is Reggie White?”

By the end of the first round, the scores were:

• Whitaker led with $8,800.
• Haase ranked second at $4,000,
• Wenzel ranked third at $1,600. 

The Double Jeopardy! board featured categories including 19th Century Americans, Weird Words and Around the Mediterranean. 

By the time all 60 clues had been revealed and not a single clue left on the board, the scores after the Double Jeopardy! were:

• Whitaker with $18,800
• Haase with $7,200
• Wenzel with $2,700

However, Nicole Haase made just one wrong move in the end that led her to the second finish.

The Final Jeopardy! question in the clue “Name’s the Same” was about Samuel Beckett’s 1957 absurdist play that also appears in the title of Marvel’s highest-grossing film. Haase couldn’t answer “Endgame,” resulting in $1,799 deduction and finishing with $5,401.

Haase said afterward that although she did not win, she felt good about her game with no regrets about her performance, strategy or anything else, saying:

I just sort of was able to block out everything else and zoned in on what I had to do.

Haase’s journey to Jeopardy! however, was not one of her lifelong dreams as she didn’t grow up attending quiz bowls or haunting trivia nights. Instead, she came to the show for a genuine love of learning.

Nicole was raised in Glendale, Wisconsin and studied print journalism and Spanish at Loyola University New Orleans, graduating in 2003. 

Over the past two decades, she has become one of the most respected voices in women’s sports. Her bylines have appeared in the BBC, ESPNW, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

She is one of the few journalists consistently covering women’s college hockey and she has reported from international tournaments around the world.

Jeopardy! season 42, hosted by Ken Jennings, airs at 7:30 pm on weeknights on NBC.

Stay tuned for more updates.