UNC sophomore Rotimi Kukoyi makes the most of his 'Jeopardy!' Second Chance

The "Final Jeopardy!" category was "The Ancient World."

After hearing the clue, UNC sophomore Rotimi Kukoyi immediately knew the answer — The Book of the Dead — and wagered $6,401.

When the first-place contestant answered incorrectly, Kukoyi won the round with $16,001, finishing with $1 more than the runner-up.

“When I saw that she missed it and that meant that I had won the episode, that was just unbelievable,” Kukoyi said.

A Morehead-Cain Scholar majoring in health policy and management, Kukoyi first appeared on "Jeopardy!" as a high school freshman in the show’s "Teen Tournament."

Although he did not win a "Jeopardy!" game as a teen, Kukoyi was invited back to compete in the "Second Chance" competition that aired on Jan. 9. Winning the first game advanced Kukoyi to the tournament’s next and final games, which premiered on Jan. 12 and 15. Kukoyi finished the tournament in third place.

Kukoyi said he watched "Jeopardy!" with his family while growing up and had a natural affinity for it. When he was in eighth grade, Kuyoki took a "Jeopardy!" test online and, after passing, was selected to attend an audition that eventually allowed him to advance to the show. 

Once you compete on "Jeopardy!" you typically cannot audition again, Kukoyi said. He also said he and other teen competitors were disappointed that they could not return as adults. 

“I think a lot of us felt like we still had a lot more to learn and we could be better players,” Kukoyi said. “That’s something that the new producers of the show kind of recognized, so they’ve started bringing people back.” 

Although Kukoyi was invited to the 2023 "High School Reunion Tournament" last January, he contracted COVID-19 during the show’s taping and had to be replaced by an alternate. Kukoyi said "Jeopardy!" reached out to him again in the fall and offered him a spot in the "Second Chance Tournament" that taped on Dec. 6. 

“It's pretty full circle for me because I lost my original chance and I always wanted another chance to go on,” Kukoyi said. “I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to have a second chance and I think winning is going to be something I'm always going to remember fondly.”

Landri Bigham, a UNC sophomore and friend of Kukoyi, attended a watch party with Kukoyi and other friends when the episode aired last Tuesday. She said the room lit up when he won the game. 

“He's an extremely serious person when it comes to academics, but outside of academics he is super fun, loving, cares about everyone and absolutely will make sure he is there whenever he can be,” Bigham said.

Kukoyi said that the content of the "Second Chance Tournament" was more difficult than the "Teen Tournament." To prepare, he said he read books, watched "Jeopardy!" every day, joined an online trivia league and practiced buzzing properly. Kukoyi also said he had to plan how to wager in the final round.

“There's a lot of game theory on how to wager in 'Jeopardy!' There are right wagers and wrong wagers, and not everybody knows about them,” Kukoyi said.  

Elias Guedira, who was Kukoyi’s roommate last semester, said he wasn’t surprised when Kukoyi won the game.

“I was really proud of him. But at the end of the day, I knew that he did the work and put in the work to win,” Guedira said.  

Kukoyi said the experience also taught him lessons for the future, like not to doubt himself even when he is the youngest person in a room or feels underqualified. 

“Sometimes it takes a little bit of luck," Kukoyi said. "Sometimes it takes a little bit of strategy. But as long as you really just believe in yourself and do the best you can, and have fun in whatever experience, it’s something that's attainable. And that's something I'm learning to embrace more and more."

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