JEOPARDY! champion Will Wallace’s impressive resume as a video game designer has been revealed before scoring his third win.
Fans of the Ken Jennings-hosted game show were shocked to learn the trivia contestant has worked on a number of famous projects – most notably several in the Star Wars franchise.
Will currently works as the Design Director for PeopleFun – a company that creates mobile games.
According to the Austin, Texas native’s LinkedIn profile, his current role includes: “Product owner/design director for Wordscapes: Solitaire, a new word/puzzle game in the Wordscapes franchise”
Previously, Will worked on a number of famous video games from a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Hunters (2024), Astrobreaker, Dungeon Boss (2015) Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel (2013), Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011), Star Wars: Galaxies Trials of Obi-Wan (2005) and Star Wars: Galaxies (2003) were among some of the projects he worked on.
He began his career as a game designer for Sony Online Entertainment back in 2001.
On his bio, he boasts he’s a: “Game designer and creative leader with over 20 years of experience on MMOs, F2P, action RPGs, and mobile games.
“Proven builder and manager of large design teams, creator of engaging gameplay, systems, and content, and creative liaison and partner for major IP holders.”
When a fan wondered why Will didn’t discuss his illustrious career on the show, he said: “I’m off the clock!”
“No shop talk, just lots of Neil Young and Orson Welles. The Wookiees can’t find me here.”
On Thursday’s Jeopardy! episode, returning champ Will went up against Dan Meyer, a fundraising professional from Chicago, and Kiki Jamieson, a nonprofit consultant from Toronto.
At the beginning of the game, Will was fighting an uphill battle as both of his opponents came in strong.
With dominating debuts, and Dan scoring extra when finding the first Daily Double under the category “Random Books In Fiction Series”, the pair were able to hold Will off for the lead.
Going into the first break, Dan had $3,600 while Kiki was shortly behind him with $3,400 and Will remained in third with $1,600.
By the first break, Will was also the only one to have missed a clue with one incorrect response.
After the Jeopardy! round, Will had made up a lot of his loss with $5,000 – but was still in third as Dan had $5,800 and Kiki secured $5,400.
Will’s luck quickly changed under the “Ballad” category after he found the second Daily Double – which he got right – inching him out of third place.
When Kiki incorrectly guessed the third Daily Double under “Photographer + Their Craft”, her total dropped closer to the returning champ.
After some impressive responses and quick buzzer gameplay, Will was able to resecure the lead going into Final Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! Set Secrets
Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:
- Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
- After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
- Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
- The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
- Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
- To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
- All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
- There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
- Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
- The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
- Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
- Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
- Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
- Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.
Heading into the last round, Will had $13,400 while Kiki stayed in second with $10,800 – Dan dropped to third but still had $8,200.
Will recognized his opponents were right on his tail and decided to go big before going home.
He wagered $13,399 – all but a single dollar – which paid off as he was the only one to correctly write “What is Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
The gamer walked away with $26,799 – for a three-day total of $55,598.
Dan did not bet anything, leaving his score at $8,200 while Kiki bet over half her earnings to end the game with $5,199.
Fans are hoping Will can secure his fourth win on Friday’s game, after pointing out: “If Will wins tomorrow, he’ll be the second champ this season to survive a Friday game.
“Only two day champ Jen Feldman has managed that thus far, and that was in spite of an FJ TS.”
