Roger Craig (Jeopardy! contestant)
Roger Craig | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 22, 1976 |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Julia Collins |
Roger Alan Craig Jr. (born September 22, 1976) is an American
Early life and career
Craig, who was 33 years old at the time of his initial Jeopardy! appearance in 2010,[1][2] is a native of Ferndale, Pennsylvania. He grew up there and later in Virginia, where he graduated from Annandale High School in 1995.[3]
Craig holds a first degree in biology and biochemistry from Virginia Tech, and a master's degree and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Delaware. He was working on his doctorate at the time of his first appearance on Jeopardy!, and completed the degree later in 2010.[2][3][4]
In his scholarly career, Craig has published eight papers in the field of bioinformatics, specifically on topics of combinatorial protein synthesis and protein-protein prediction.[5][6]
As of November 2011, Craig was living in Newark, Delaware, and working as a computer scientist.[4] He is the founder of Cotinga, a company which performs data analyses and creates learning applications for smartphones.[7] Craig was a guest on KFC Radio of Barstool Sports on August 23, 2012.[8] When the Battle of the Decades tournament aired in 2014, Craig was living in Brooklyn, New York, and working a data scientist.[9]
In 2025, he revealed that he is married to Julia Collins, a fellow Jeopardy! champion.[10]
Jeopardy!
Preparation
Craig prepared for Jeopardy! by studying the online archive of past questions maintained on the J! Archive website. Using
Craig played quiz bowl as a student at both Virginia Tech and the University of Delaware.[17] Before his Jeopardy appearances, he played numerous Jeopardy scrimmage matches against his friends with quiz bowl experience.[16]
Craig believes his attendance at the two universities helped the most in his success:
Let's face it, for Jeopardy!, the name of the game is breadth not depth. I think the main reason both universities helped so much is that they cover just about all spheres of learning in extraordinary depth.[18]
Appearances
Original run
Craig set his record of $77,000 on the second day of the 2010–2011 Jeopardy! season on the episode airing September 14, 2010.
In his seven-day run, Craig earned $231,200,[21] all but $1,000 of which was from winning episodes.[22]
On April 9, 2019, professional sports gambler James Holzhauer broke Craig's single-day record, surpassing it 15 more times during his own run; the record now stands at $131,127 as of April 17, 2019. Holzhauer, like Craig, relied on aggressive Daily Double and Final Jeopardy! wagers to amass his totals. Holzhauer also surpassed Craig's records for most earnings won in a player's first five games and the largest successful bet on a Daily Double.[19]
Tournament play
In 2011, Craig returned for the Tournament of Champions, which aired in November. In the quarter-final match, he had $200 shy of $40,000 going into Final Jeopardy! and won despite losing $20,200 after getting Final Jeopardy! wrong. In the semi-final match, described as "a bloody, epic, inter-planetary death match... the Jeopardy! equivalent of a title-unification fight",[23] Craig beat college physics professor Joon Pahk and student and waiter Mark Runsvold, the sixth and tenth regular-play all-time money winners on the show at the time. On the first night of the two-day finals, Craig became the first player in the history of the show to uncover two Daily Double items in succession, wager all of his money on both, and win both times.[24]
When Craig hit the first of his back-to-back Daily Doubles, he wagered his entire pot of $9,000, and won when he correctly identified Anne Brontë as the author who wrote the 1847 book Agnes Grey under the pseudonym 'Acton Bell'. After switching categories and uncovering the second Daily Double, Craig wagered his entire pot of $18,000, winning when he correctly answered, "What is Suriname?" after being given the clue "Although Dutch is the official language, Sranan Tongo is spoken by most people in this South American country." At the time, his $18,000 win was the largest successful Daily Double wager in the show's history.[25][26]
Craig won the Tournament of Champions. In the finals, he defeated systems engineer Buddy Wright and writer Tom Nissley (the latter being the show's fourth highest all-time non-tournament money winner), to win the grand prize of $250,000.[27]
Craig returned for the
Craig later appeared in the 2019 All-Star Games with team captain Austin Rogers and 2013 Teen Tournament winner Leonard Cooper. His team went home with $75,000 after losing in the wild card match.
Records
During his Jeopardy! appearances, Craig set the following records:
| Description | Set Record | Current record |
|---|---|---|
| Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, first 5 games (unadjusted) | $195,801 | $298,687 (James Holzhauer) |
| Highest single-game total on Jeopardy! | $77,000 (September 14, 2010) | $131,127 (James Holzhauer, April 17, 2019) |
| Largest true daily double bet (unadjusted) | $18,000 (November 14, 2011) | $25,600 (James Holzhauer, May 17, 2023) |
| Largest daily double bet (unadjusted) | $18,000 (November 14, 2011) | $25,600 (James Holzhauer, May 17, 2023) |
References
- ^ "Pricey day at 'Pardy'", New York Post, September 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Graduate Student Roger Craig Surpasses Ken Jennings as Highest One-Day 'Jeopardy' Winner, CBS press release, September 14, 2010
- ^ a b "Local native winning big on 'Jeopardy!'", The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.), September 15, 2010; accessed April 3, 2014.
- ^ a b UD alumnus Roger Craig returns to 'Jeopardy!' for tournament, Newark (Delaware) Post, November 2, 2011.
- PMID 17212819.
- PMID 19889723.
- ^ Jeopardy! champ uses computer skills by Wade Malcolm, Delaware News Journal, November 30, 2011.
- ^ "KFC Radio Episode 11 – Jeopardy Champs And Bon Jovi In A Cage Match". Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ Sprung, Shlomo (April 1, 2014). "TONIGHT: Brooklyn data scientist to compete on 'Jeopardy!'". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ^ Jennings, Collier (March 28, 2025). "How 'Jeopardy!' Played Cupid, Turning Clues Into I Do's for Two Champions". Collider. Valnet Publishing Group. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- National Public Radio, November 20, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-547-48316-0.
craig.
- ^ Potter, Ned (November 17, 2011). "'Jeopardy!' Champ Wins Jackpot With Web App". ABC News.
...he didn't just use his smarts to memorize a lot of trivia. He's a computer scientist who was finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Delaware when he first went on the game in 2010 — and before playing he developed a computer app to help figure out the patterns of questions (er, answers for which you have to come up with questions) on the show. In a talk at New York University, he said he went to a website called J! Archive, where fans have diligently recorded the clues on the show, game after game. He said the questions really aren't random when you put them through a computer.
- ^ "Taking Down 'Jeopardy': Computer scientist Roger Craig comes clean on duping the popular game show" (video). ABC News. November 19, 2011.
- ^ Tate, Ryan (November 16, 2011). "How a Geek Cracked the Jeopardy! Code".
In the talk above, delivered to the New York 'Quantified Self Show & Tell', he explains how he developed a web tool and various supporting programs to analyze and effectively train himself on a database of past questions. Among his findings: high value questions are culled from academic fields like art, science, biology, and architecture, while low value questions tend to come from more popular topics like food, 'firsts', and inventions. Based on these types of weightings and his performance on random questions selected by his app, Craig was able to deduce topics he needed to study, like fashion. Three other contestants used the web app to good effect on the show, at least according to the anonymous quotes collected by Craig. His next venture: an iPhone app that will let anyone study in a similar fashion.
- ^ a b Alexandra Carmichael, "Roger Craig Wins Jeopardy Championship with Knowledge Tracking", Quantified Self, November 17, 2011.
- ^ Andrew Reilly, Tech alumnus Roger Craig becomes third-most successful contestant in 'Jeopardy', Collegiate Times, September 30, 2010
- ^ "UD alum Roger Craig wins 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions". UDaily. November 15, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave (September 15, 2010). "Record Set On 'Jeopardy!'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ Jelisa Castrodale, "Castrodale: Fear & loathing in the form of a question ... my brief reign as Jeopardy! champion", Off the Bench, NBC Sports, September 24, 2010.
- ^ Clodfelter, Tim (September 22, 2010). "Racking up $$: Winner on Jeopardy is local woman". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
- ^ Roger Craig Game 7, j-archive.com; accessed April 3, 2014.
- ^ Chris Jones. "The End of Delusion", Esquire Magazine, November 12, 2011.
- ^ "Roger Craig's Unbelievable Double Daily Doubles On 'Jeopardy!'". Huffington Post. November 16, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ Chris Jones,"Your Own Conversation with Alex Trebek". Esquire Magazine, November 15, 2011.
- ^ Saunders, Andy (March 15, 2016). "Quick Recap & Final Jeopardy – March 15, 2016". The Jeopardy Fan. -- Phillip Tiu made a successful $19,000 wager on March 15, 2016.
- ^ Aubrey Cohen, "Seattle's Tom Nissley wins $100,000 on 'Jeopardy'", Seattle's Big Blog, SeattlePI.com, November 15, 2011.
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