Comedic actor Ike Barinholtz plays naïve, belligerent numskulls in The Mindy Project, The Afterparty and Blockers — but it turns out that he's really good at trivia. Having previously won the Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament, he's now crushing it on Jeopardy!'s Tournament of Champions.
Barinholtz is the first Celebrity Jeopardy! contender to appear alongside regular Jeopardy! contestants in the Tournament of Champions. On Monday (March 4), Barinholtz beat Melissa Klapper (who previously had a streak of three Jeopardy! wins) and Thunder Bay-born, Toronto-based Ray Lalonde (who previously had 13 wins).
Barinholtz entered Final Jeopardy in second place behind Klapper. The final question was about the Ancient Roman poet Ovid. Klapper got it wrong, and while both Barinholtz and Lalonde got it right, Barinholtz's aggressive bid put him in first place with $28,601 USD.
Asked by host Ken Jennings about being the first Celebrity Jeopardy! contestant in the Tournament of Champions, Barinholtz responded, "I feel like a guinea pig a little bit, but I like guinea pigs, they're adorable, like me. But yeah, it’s an honour to be here."
Barinholtz now advances to the semifinals.
